Ted Warmbrand emailed me to ask if I knew about the Creole version of "Sweet Potatoes," and I couldn't help him. So he kept digging, he found this at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette:
QUAN' PATATE LA CUITE
Quan’ Patate La Cuite
Nava mange, nava mange
Quan’ Patate La Cuite
Nava mange, nava mange li.
Many of you may recognize this:Born in New Orleans, LA on May 8, 1829, Louis Moreau Gottschalk composed this piece (Bamboula, Op. 2) from 1844-1845. It is based on two Creole melodies, Musieu Bainjo and Quan' patate la cuite. It was published with the subtitle of Danse des nègres in April 1849 by the Paris publisher 'Escudiers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUvBu7pqEpkAlso see this fascinating article:
https://www.offbeat.com/articles/300-songs-300-years-roots/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboula_(Gottschalk)