Today, we’re off to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer to discover a culture that some people still don’t know much about: gypsy culture.
In January 2019, Camargue’s capital, Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, joins the closed circle of « Villes sanctuaires de France ». This honorary title recognizes a town’s religious and cultural wealth, and is already held by Lourdes, Ars and Mont-Saint-Michel.
But in Les Saintes-Maries, we celebrate a very special spiritual heritage: that of the Travellers and their patron saint: Sara la Noire. Perhaps you’ve already seen images of the procession, where the statue of Sara la Noire, wrapped in an opulent gown, is taken from the church of Les Saintes-Maries to be immersed in the sea?
It’s the highlight of a two-day show on May 24 and 25. During these festivities, Gypsy pilgrims spend time with Sara la Noire, just as they would visit a member of their own family. And while the pilgrimage is naturally associated with gypsy culture, it also involves all Traveller peoples: Roma, Bohemians, Yenish and Gypsies.
We take you on a journey to discover a unique and festive pilgrimage to Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, to better understand this event that attracts thousands of people every year!
A short tour of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Before turning to the spiritual, let’s familiarize ourselves with the pretty commune of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, located at the mouth of the Petit-Rhône. Here, 2,500 souls live full-time in this picturesque, isolated Camargue village, little bigger than a fishing village.
The commune is close to the Camargue Natural Park, home to the pink flamingos for which the region is famous. Les Saintes-Maries is also close to Arles, a city of culture famous for its annual photography festival.
In fact, the 30-40 minute drive from Arles to Les Saintes-Maries is renowned for its beauty: it passes through rice fields, a few marshes, but also bull-breeding parks and equestrian centers. The route also passes by the Musée Camarguais and the Château d’Avignon: two establishments that provide an insight into local culture and the rich heritage of the Camargue.
Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a sunny, discreet seaside resort, where tourists enjoy strolling through the old village with its cobbled streets and white houses. It’s all the charm of Provence and the Camargue that makes this an ideal summer vacation spot. At Saintes-Maries, there’s no need to bother with a vehicle: let your legs guide you to the seafront, then opt for a horse to enjoy the coastline.
So you see: Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a small tourist village in the South of France. However, in certain Traveller communities, such as the gypsies, tziganes or roms, Saintes-Maries is much more than a seaside resort where life is good: it’s a sacred place, the final resting place of Sara the Black, whose story we’ll tell you a little later…
The Three Marys, travelling saints of Palestine
We’ve introduced you to Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, deliberately omitting to mention its church: because that’s where our story really begins.
The sanctuary of Les Saintes-Maries, also known as the church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer, stands in the heart of the village. Built in the 9th century (between 1165 and 1170 to be precise), the edifice first served as a fortress against the various invasions of the Middle Ages. The church features a keep and a facade reminiscent of a fortified castle. Its style, once Romanesque, then adapted to the Gothic trend, also echoes the nearby Palace of the Popes in Avignon.
If you visit the church, you can walk through its three sections: nave, chapel and choir. Take a trip to the roof, where the view over the Mediterranean is mesmerizing.
What makes this sanctuary unique is the presence of sacred relics: those of two of the Three Maries, Marie-Jacobé and Marie-Salomé. The third, Marie-Madeleine, Christ’s wife according to certain sacred texts, is said to have moved around Provence.
Her relics are therefore not in the sanctuary. Marie-Jacobé and Marie-Salomé are joined by a third sacred figure: Sara the Black, a dark-skinned saint from Upper Egypt.
The stories of the Three Marys and Sara vary according to legend and gospel. Each story has its own bell ringing from both Provencal traditions and sacred books. The most popular story is that the Maries came from Palestine in a boat with a group of Christians and washed up in Camargues, where Sara the Black welcomed them and became their servant.
In one version of the Gospel, the Three Marys are said to have been disciples of Jesus who went into exile in the Camargue after being threatened by the Romans. Another legend has it that the Three Marys may also represent the three daughters of Jesus’ grandmother, Sainte-Anne. They are said to have embalmed Christ’s body after his crucifixion.
The Three Marys are no strangers to astronomy either, as in some countries the constellation « Orion’s Belt » is named after the « Tres Marias », in homage to them.
In any case, the mystery surrounding their lives, their role in the Catholic religion, and their entry into the heritage of this small Camargue village remains unsolved…
The first pilgrimages
It was finally in the Middle Ages that the Avignon pontificate designated Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer as a sacred place for pilgrimages. Indeed, as early as 1448, King René learned that the relics of the Saintes-Marie were still to be found on the Camargue coast, not far from the town of Arles.
He ordered excavations in the hope of discovering the famous relics: it would be a « coronation », but also a lucrative opportunity to turn this small coastal hamlet into a place of pilgrimage. In the end, the relics were discovered on the very spot where the crypt now stands. In the course of their search, the workmen of the time reported finding a human head, bones and some pottery.
After the discovery, the relics of the Saintes-Maries were installed in steles in the heart of the church. The bones would have been placed in a reliquary for the two Maries, and in a simple box for Sara. At this point, it was finally decided to celebrate Marie-Jacobé on May 25, Marie-Salomé on October 22, and then the two Saints without distinction on December 3.
As Les Saintes-Maries lies on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, pilgrims have been flocking here to pray since the late Middle Ages. However, the French Revolution, followed by major illnesses and extreme poverty, brought pilgrimages to a halt. The spirituality of the place was finally abandoned in favor of seaside tourism.
Pilgrimages gradually resumed in the 19th century, with the addition of a new date for religious celebration: May 24. It was decided that on this date, Sara la Noire, the Maries’ handmaiden, would finally be celebrated. Her cult began in the 1800s, marking the arrival of travellers to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
Traveller worship shakes up traditions
For Travellers, whose roots go back to India around the 10th century, Sara la Noire is the Indian goddess of life and death: Kâli. Sara la Noire, or Sara la Kâli, would ultimately be her Christianized form. While Kâli is celebrated in certain communities in India, the origins of the cult of Sara la Noire for gypsies remain unclear.
Let’s return to Les Saintes-Maries, to understand how the commune has become a place of pilgrimage for Travellers, even beyond national borders. Gypsies, yeniches, gypsies, gypsies, gypsies or Roma are international peoples and communities, present mainly in Europe since the 15th century. They are characterized not only by their itinerancy, but also by their folklore and beliefs.
Although they prayed « differently » from the Catholics of the time, it was this religion that animated them and that led them to Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the late 19th century.
In the 19th century, the first gypsy pilgrims arrived from all over Europe to celebrate their patron saint, Sara la Noire, whose plaster statue is displayed on the altar of the Saintes-Maries church. Their arrival, however, is not well received by the locals, or the other pilgrims for that matter. All noticed that these « strange believers » slept in the church at night, an act considered blasphemous.
On the one hand, there was concern about their « way of life » and their « disconcerting appearance », to quote the testimonies of the time. Others took a dim view of the exuberant devotion of these pilgrims, who kissed Sara, wept, sang hymns and went into trances. In short, according to the parish priest of the time, « they do too much » to be true Catholics.
On the other hand, most believers feel that Sara the Black should not be recognized as an equal of the Holy Marys, since she is ultimately only their servant. Outside the Traveller community, devotion to Sara is generally misunderstood.
From the 1850s to the 1950s, several laws attempted to prohibit the presence of gypsies in Saintes-Maries. It was finally thanks to the intervention of a Camargue marquis, Baroncelli, a fervent supporter of the gypsies, that they were accepted. Baroncelli believed that this unique pilgrimage alone had the power to boost tourism to Saintes-Maries. Like King René in another era, Baroncelli saw this event as an opportunity to boost tourism to Saintes-Maries, and therefore committed himself to ensuring that the cult of Sara la Noire was recognized as such among the traditional Catholic cults of Provence.
The result was a battle won for the gypsies, as the procession of Sara la Noire to the sea became an official event on May 24, 1935.
Spirituality, sacred processions and festivities
Since then, the gypsy pilgrimage to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer has become an annual event, bringing together between ten and fifteen thousand gypsies from all over Europe, like their forebears before them. Pilgrims of all ages and generations gather in the church, candles in hand, singing and praying.
Sara waits wisely for them every May 24th and 25th, sitting in the cool of her crypt. She waits to be worshipped and to be carried to the sea, her annual bath of water and crowds, her sacred procession. The Grail for every pilgrim: to touch Sara’s finery by making a vow.
On May 24 and 25, gypsy music and flamenco beat the rhythm of life in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. The event is also a festival of color: men dress in traditional garb, with gold chains around their necks and other flashy jewelry. The women, meanwhile, wear elegant, colorful dresses, with hats or flowers in their hair.
The pilgrimage is an opportunity to celebrate the patron saint, yes, but also to shine a spotlight on the different facets of gypsy, gypsy and Roma cultures, which are often associated with prejudice and discrimination. The expressive, intoxicating staging combines with spontaneous prayers, bursts of joy and emotion.
Travellers’ handicrafts are also showcased during the event. Street vendors offer knives, furniture, blankets, jewelry bearing the image of Sara, adorned with Catholic crosses or miniature guitars hanging from gold chains. Some more unusual items attract attention, such as giant pots symbolizing convivial, shared cooking, clogs for life in a caravan, or women’s jogging suits, a « must-have for female travelers » according to one of the vendors.
« When you’ve been here once, you always want to come back, » shares one pilgrim. And we want to believe her. Religious or not, a visit to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer during the gypsy pilgrimage represents an opportunity to discover the culture of travellers and explore a spiritual heritage that has spanned the ages.
It’s also a chance to meet Sara la Noire, a unifying figure, a goddess for some, a saint for others. Don’t hesitate to whisper your dearest wish in her ear as you brush against her dress – you may be in for a few surprises…