The Statue of Evangeline and Acadian History エヴァンジェリン像とアケーディアンの歴史を訪ねて [English and Japanese]
Published on HivePostify by @koto-art · Fri Aug 28 2026
The Statue of Evangeline and Acadian History
Our history is not always impressive and does not always motivate us to feel proud of our lives. Sometimes, we feel like time-travelling through historical places, buildings, or stories. I often like to learn about the deeper history that is not always shown in public places. The real history is sometimes in people's minds, which can be deep and sad. However, many places show realistic history based on the truth and allow us to listen to the real stories.
One of my favourite towns is called Grand-Pré in Nova Scotia. The town is located next to the beautiful ocean. The view is so breathtaking. I can imagine the peaceful scenery from a long time ago, before the sad events happened.
There is an old railway track that people can't use anymore. There is a trail called the Evangeline Trail. Evangeline is a key figure in the history of Grand-Pré. I'll show you her statue soon.
I don't speak French. I know some French words because I learned some during my student years. However, I don't know enough French to speak it. Although I'm very interested in French culture. Living in Canada, we definitely see French in our everyday lives, such as almost all products being written in both English and French. National news, official logos, and signs are mostly in English and French. This road sign looks so cool.
Here comes the sign for the statue of Evangeline. Evangeline is a heroine in the history of Grand-Pré.
> Evangeline is a young Acadian woman from Grand-Pré who is separated from her fiancé, Gabriel, when the Acadians are deported. She spends her life searching for him, but they are reunited only briefly before Gabriel dies.
In the poem, Evangeline travels a very long distance across North America searching for Gabriel. She walks and travels through many places for years, but the poem does not mean that she walked the entire distance on foot.
The Evangeline Trail was named after Evangeline, the heroine of Longfellow’s poem, because the trail passes through areas connected with Acadian history and culture, especially Nova Scotia’s Evangeline region.
The name also honours the story’s connection to Grand-Pré and the Acadian people.
Phew... I'm already feeling melancholy before checking out the historic church and seeing the statue of Evangeline here.
The bricks look so beautiful. The design of the church is so delicate. I have wanted to see inside for many years, but I've never had a chance to visit. There is a big museum next to this property. I visited the museum when I moved to Canada quite a long time ago.
I changed the colour of the photo because the cloudy weather had faded the beautiful colour of the church. Here you go. It's so charming.
The facilitator welcomed us and said, "Hi, and Bonjour." I felt so special to go inside. I feel so humble when I enter historical buildings, such as churches, shrines, or temples. I bowed in my mind as I entered, which is kind of my habit when I go inside historical buildings.
The pink ceiling looked so beautiful. My eyes were immediately caught by Maria, who was standing in the middle of the church.
This etched glass looked like typical window glass when you see it from the outside of the church. But when you see it from inside, it looks so colourful.
The stained-glass window by Terry Smith-Lamothe represents the Acadian Deportation of 1755. It expresses the pain of families being separated and forced from their homes, while also symbolizing hope, renewal, and the survival of Acadian culture.
Back in the main room, I loved the details of the decorations on the ceiling and walls, as well as the sign next to the Maria statue.
I love Maria very much. I don't know why, but I love Kannon (the Japanese name for Guanyin) and Maria as peaceful symbols. I spent a few minutes in front of her.
These are traditional Acadian clothes and wooden shoes, which are in the box. I can imagine how hard they worked on the land.
Here is Evangeline again.
I watched this movie before at the museum, so I didn't watch it this time. It shows a sensational historical moment. The Acadians had created a stable and peaceful lifestyle in this area, but they were suddenly attacked by the British.
The painting shows the British capturing the Acadians and separating the men from the villagers before deporting them. In the picture, the British burned down the houses that the Acadians had built and maintained with so much effort. I feel so sorry for the animals who lost their owners.
This shows Acadian people working on their farms. They made a peaceful agreement with the Mi'kmaq First Nation. They had a healthy relationship with each other. The Acadians created huge dikes to start farming fields next to the ocean. Amazingly, we still have these dikes to control the ocean water level. I recently read articles about repairing these dikes.
This is a shocking image for me because I see this view, with the cliff, almost every day in my daily life. I'm so sorry that these Acadians had to experience this tragic and unwanted event.
I was overwhelmed after seeing the inside of the church. I needed to refresh my feelings for a while.
My dog looks happy as usual.
We left the church and walked around the building. I love checking the old stones. Of course, people have renovated the building throughout its long history, but I am impressed by how strong the stones are as building materials.
There is a written phrase: "Église-Souvenir," I guess. 1755, 1922.
This stone looks very old.
After checking the inside of the church, I checked the Kitchen Garden. I really enjoyed looking around it. This is my ideal garden. The black-and-white photos show how convenient the garden was for ladies when cooking.
This is a wonderful image of a kitchen garden! I saw some birds eating sunflower nectar directly. Everything looked tasty and happy.
The blacksmith shop was also very cool.
This looks like a typical standard shed style in Nova Scotia, using shingles and wood.
This is a special spot for shoeing horses. I think it's very interesting work that requires special skills.
Look at this iron! I can imagine that people have used this useful iron for many years. It is a valuable tool in their lives.
I think this workshop was a necessary part of their lives. I like the smell of this workshop.
The sky was clearing up after we got out of the workshop. My dog was busy checking out the tourists. He got a lot of attention from them. He likes to hear words like "puppy" and "cutie." We met a lot of American tourists on this day.
It was a wonderful historical excursion day.
These statues were originally on the field. They were moved to near the museum. This is such a sad image of a family. I took a photo from the angle of the little girl, who was separated from her mother, who was holding a baby, as well as her father and brother.
Here is the map of Grand-Pré. The red lines are the dikes that the Acadians created. This land mostly became their heritage.
Japanese
エヴァンジェ��ン像とアケーディアンの歴史を訪ねて
私たちの歴史は、いつも誇らしいものとは限らないですし、自分たちの生き方に誇りを感じさせてくれるものばかりでもないのだと思います。時々、歴史的な場所や建物、物語の中をタイムスリップしているような気持ちになることがあります。公の場所では必ずしも語られていない、もっと深い歴史を知るのが好きです。本当の歴史は、時として人々の心の奥深くにあって、悲しいものでもあります。それでも、多くの場所では、真実に基づいたありのままの歴史が示され、実際の物語に耳を傾けることができます。
ノバスコシアにあるグラン・プレは、お気に入りの町のひとつです。美しい海のすぐそばにあり、景色は息をのむほど素晴らしいです。悲しい出来事が起こる前の、ずっと昔の穏やかな風景を想像することができます。
もう使われていない古い線路があります。そこにはエヴァンジェリン・トレイルと呼ばれる道があります。エヴァンジェリンは、グラン・プレの歴史における重要な人物です。彼女の像は、後ほどお見せします。
私はフランス語を話しません。学生時代に少し勉強したので、単語は少しだけ知っています。でも、フランス語を話せるほどの単語数ではありません。それでもフランス文化にはとても興味があります。
カナダで暮らしていると、日常生活の中でフランス語を目にする機会が本当に多いです。ほとんどの商品には英語とフランス語の両方が書かれています。ニュースや公式ロゴ、標識なども、ほとんどが英語とフランス語で表示されています。この道路標識、なんだかとてもかっこいいです。
エヴァンジェリン像の案内標識が見えてきました。エヴァンジェリンは、グラン・プレの歴史を象徴するヒロインです。
> エヴァンジェリンはグラン・プレ出身の若いアカディアンの女性です。アカディアンの人々が追放されたとき、婚約者のガブリエルと引き離されます。彼女は生涯をかけてガブリエルを探し続けますが、二人が再会できたのはほんのわずかな時間で、その後ガブリエルは亡くなります。
Tags: #hive-194913#japanese#photography#history#life#canada#culture#blog