Brayons (; ), also called Madawaskayens, are a

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

people inhabiting the area in and around Madawaska County,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada, and some parts of northern Maine. In French, Brayons are referred to by the masculine or the feminine . They speak with a French accent also known as "Brayon".

Etymology

"Brayon" used to be written as "Breillon". The origins of the word are not well known. It is hypothesized to have perhaps been derived from the verb "Brayer" (to pull on a rope), the noun "Braie" ("old clothes" in certain dialects of the West of France), or the verb "Broyer" (to crush; the inhabitants of the region used to crush

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

Culture

Given their location in New Brunswick, and that most Brayons descend from

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

s who escaped the deportation of the Acadians, they are considered by many to be Acadians. However, some residents relate more to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and have strong roots and ancestral ties to Quebec. Therefore, Brayons formed a distinctive culture with a history and heritage linked to

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

in the Madawaska area. This is unlike both the primarily maritime heritage of the modern Acadians and the St. Lawrence Valley history of the Québécois.

Geography

Historically, the formal borders between New Brunswick and Quebec, and to some extent

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, did not matter much to the people of the area. This caused blending and commonalities and close relationships between people in the area, whether Acadian or Québécois or people from parts of northern Maine, forming a Brayon identity. This Madawaska region was part of a border dispute and was claimed by Quebec when it was called

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

. The view of uniqueness led (at least jokingly) to the founding of the République du Madawaska during the Aroostook War of 1838, wherein some Brayons, disgusted with the actions of both British and American interlopers on their historical lands, declared themselves allied with neither and independent. The ''république'' was never formally recognized and was ultimately split by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty into American and Canadian parts. Brayon French is not completely restricted to Madawaska County. Brayon is a

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

Acadian French Acadian French () is a variety of French spoken by Acadians, mostly in the region of Acadia, Canada. Acadian French has seven regional accents, including Chiac and Brayon. Phonology Since there was relatively little linguistic contact with F ...

Other uses

Brayon(ne) is also the name of the inhabitants of the

Pays de Bray The Pays de Bray (, literally ''Land of Bray'') is a small (about 750 km2) natural region of France situated to the north-east of Rouen, straddling the French departments of the Seine-Maritime and the Oise (historically divided among the Pr ...

in northwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(Normandy,

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inf� ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

and Picardy,

Oise Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...

References

{{French diaspora Acadia Acadian culture in New Brunswick Edmundston French-Canadian culture in Maine French-Canadian people Quebec diaspora Ethnic groups in Canada French-speaking ethnicities in Canada