Cackalacka, Cackalacky, and variants [long]

[Bonnie Taylor-Blake]

For the past two or three years, there's been some interest at the
University of North Carolina in tracking down the origin and early uses of
"Cackalacky" and "Cackalacka," slang terms of somewhat indeterminate age for
"Carolina."

The term, and it's important to note that it appears in many forms [1], is
used with regard to both North and South Carolinas.  And while the use of
"Cackalacky" doesn't seem to be particularly prevalent at the moment, it is
gaining in popularity, which may be due in part to its use in hip-hop and
rap.  In fact, the earliest printed form I've managed to find is this,

---------------------------

Boom bip with a brother named Tip and we're ready to flip
East coast stompin, rippin and rompin
New York, North Cak-a-laka, and Compton
Checka-checka-check it out!

[Lyrics from A Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario," from the album "Low End
Theory"; Jive Records; Release date, 24 September 1991.]

---------------------------

Yet there *is* a recollection among some Carolinians (as well as outsiders)
that the term or several of its variants may have been in use as early as,
say, the 1950s and '60s.  At the same time, though, it's worth noting that
"Cackalacky" and its cousins are quite unfamiliar to many lifelong residents
of both Carolinas.

UNC's Paul Jones and Connie Eble have taken separate looks at "Cackalacky."
Their takes on the term -- including their experiences with it and ideas
about its origin -- can be found at the links below. [2]  In a piece that
appeared in *The [Raleigh] News & Observer* in 2001 [3], rappers talked
about that community's use of "Cackalacka" and UNC folklorist Glenn Hinson
very informally offered up another theory about its derivation.


This Tar Heel, then, is hoping to see whether anyone on the list has any
thoughts about "Cackalacky" and its relatives.  Is anyone able to shed light
on possible origins or document some early appearances of this place name?

-- Bonnie

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[1] Present popular spelling variants include Cackalackie, Cackalack,
Kakalak, Kakalaka, Cakalacky, Kackalacky, Cakalaka, Kakalacky, Kakalaky,
Cakalaky, and Cackalacka.

[2]

-- Paul Jones's post to the Stumpers list, 25 July 2003,

http://listserv.dom.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0307&L=stumpers-l&P=76335

-- A 9 August 2003 reprinting of a piece that appeared in *The State*
(Columbia, South Cackalacky) on 30 July 2003 (Connie Eble is quoted
extensively there),

http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/internetworkers/2003-August/010708.html

-- Paul Jones's informal poll results on "Cackalacky," 11 August 2003,

http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/internetworkers/2003-August/010718.html


[3] [From David Menconi, "Origin of an Epithet," *The News & Observer*; 30
September 2001; Arts & Entertainment, Pg. G9.]

In hip-hop, describing someone as "country" used to be a sign of serious
disrespect. But not anymore. Thanks to the Dirty South wave of rappers from
more rural regions, there can be as much honor in being from New Orleans,
Atlanta or St. Louis as the Bronx or Compton.

The rise of the Dirty South has also rehabilitated the word "Cackalacka," a
slang term for Carolina (either North or South).  Before North Carolina
rappers began to reclaim the word, it had some negative connotations.

"It's probably more of a pejorative term, by New York emcees to describe
anything hickish," says Triangle writer-performer Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla
(R.C. Glenn).

While the word "Cackalacka" has been around for decades, nobody seems to
know just how, where or when it originated. Queries to linguists and
scholars at a variety of institutions (including Columbia University's
Institute for Research in African-American Studies) turned up nothing.

"I don't think there's any one originator, really," says Rayted R (Raymond
Patterson) of Hickory, who uses a variant of the word in a refrain on his
"Give It Up!" single ("Cackalack, watch your back"). "You know, being
country, down South, Cackalack; that all goes together as part of the whole
Dirty South thing."

But even if nobody knows the word's origins, there is no lack of anecdotes
about where people first heard it. Usually, it was on a hip-hop record.

[...]

Other North Carolina nicknames in the hip-hop world include "Northclick" and
"NowCee." Sarsaparilla even cites a new Carolina nickname that sounds as if
it could be derived from "Cackalacka": "Knock-It-Back."

But none of that sheds any light on "Cackalacka's" etymological origins. One
of the few theories comes from Glenn Hinson, chairman of the folklore
curriculum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the 1930s,
Hinson says, a certain style of a cappella gospel singing became very
popular in the Southeast. Its most distinctive feature was the phrase used
as a rhythmic chant: "Clanka lanka."

"The first groups on record with that actually came from Birmingham, Ala.,"
Hinson says. "But it very quickly found its way into the Carolinas and
became associated with groups here. So there were generations of gospel
singers doing this, and eventually folks started talking about 'those old
clanka lanka songs.' And it was a cappella jubilee songs where the rhythmic
background would be that refrain."

Hinson confesses, however, that this is nothing beyond "wild speculation" on
his part.