Veillon to discuss traiteur traditions at festival

Crafts, trades and skills are often passed down from generation to generation in families, and local traiteurr Berk Veillon is no exception.
“My grandfather Herole Veillon of Ville Platte was a traiteur,” Veillon said. “One of my earliest memories was sitting on the porch with him. People would come to him to heal warts. He would go into his trance, and people would come back to him a few weeks later and couldn’t find the wart.
“He told me he would pass on his secret to me, but died before he could pass it on.”
Following his grandfather’s passing, Veillon studied faith healing by speaking to other traiteurs, and he earned his bachelor’s, master’s and a doctoral degree to learn the scientific parts of healing.
“Attitude is more important than the words you are saying,” Veillon said. “I approach healing from both ends (faith and science) and come to same place. It’s a question of energy and how to direct it. Direct energy toward healing.”
The ailments Veillon treats most often are headaches, eye problems and warts, and he has even treated someone for shingles. According to Veillon, there are traiteurs that specialize in blood work, warts and stomach problems.
Veillon has also written a book on his work as a traiteur, “Cajun Healing: Les Traiteur et Les Traiteuse.”
“I spent 10 years writing the book,” Veillon said. “I spent time speaking to those who couldn’t read or write.”
The traiteur also hosts workshops in Lafayette, and he also participates in Cajun story telling events at the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center.
“I treated a man with migraine headaches during story telling,” Veillon said. “I tied a string around his wrist. I told him to pray, make knots in the string, leave the string on his wrist for several days and then cut the string off and burn it.”
Veillon will give a presentation on his work as a traitor at the Experience Louisiana Festival Oct. 17-18 at the LSU-Eunice campus.
“The festival is a really good thing that is happening,” he said. “The festival is good for the Cajun history. The history is good to know. It is such a unique history of the last 250 years.”
“I’m going to eat some good food and dance to Geno Delafose at the festival, too.”