Wirh all due respect, M Ted, I've met a number of Yoruba persons in the USA as university students and otherwise.

Imo, it's highly possible that at least one person from Nigeria could have traveled to Louisiana and heard Zydeco music and brought back that word-if not the music style-to Nigeria and used it there.

But I'm not convinced that serico means "ritual" in the Yoruba language. I've not seen any proof of that statement.

However, it's possible that 'serico' is Yoruba and your definition is right and that Black Creoles in Louisiana heard that word from some Yoruba person or retained a memory of that word from way back when since some of their ancestors might have been Yoruba.

And I suppose it is also possible that these same French speaking Black Creoles used that word that you say means ritual as a refrain in decidedly unreligious party music and that eventually this dance music was called Zydeco which you say comes from serico.

Hey, anything is possible.

As for me, I'm still sticking with the beans aren't salty story until more evidence of an African origin-Yoruba or otherwise-is provided by you or anyone else.

Best wishes,

Azizi