Camargue Gypsy Festival Provence The South of France

Camargue Gypsy Festival Provence

Camargue Gypsy Festival Provence The South of France

The Gypsy Patron Saint Sarah, White Horses, and A Unique Lifestyle On the Rhone River Delta

During the Gypsy Festival
in the Camargue, Gypsies
from throughout Europe
travel to Saintes Maries
de la Mer to honor the
legend of Sarah the Kali,
a mythical woman who,
legends claim, helped
two Marys related to
Christ, the Saintes Maries
de la Mer.

In the vast pastures of the Camargue
the Gardians raise the black bulls
used in the bullrings of southern
France and Spain.

The Camargue Gypsy Festival, Provence

Non lethal bullfighting of Provence

During the May
festival, thousands of
Gypsies travel to Saint
Maries de la Mer,
population 2,400, to carry
the statue of their patron
saint from the church and
bring it to the beach. The
Gypsies, accompanied
by the Gardians on their
white horses, bring the
statue of their black saint
to the Mediterranean Sea
in an age old ritual.

Festival in the Camargue

In May the Gypsies travel from all over Europe to return to the wilds of the
Camargue in the Rhone River delta to honor their Patron Saint Sara. The
event becomes a festival in the seaside fishing village of Saintes Maries de la
Mer, at the edge of the Mediterranean.

Legends

The Gypsy Festival is an annual event that sees the Gypsies join with the
Camargue Gardians to celebrate history and legends. Visitors to the
Camargue in the South of France during May will see the Gypsies joined by the
Camargue Gardians, local men and women famous for their riding skill with the
white Camargue horse, in a re-enactment of their age old legends.

The Saintes Maries

On 24th and 25th of May, the celebrants will honor the women who, according
to legend, arrived in Provence by boat in the year 40 AD after traveling from
Jerusalem.

White Horses and Black Bulls

The festival starts with the honoring of the Patron Saint of the Gypsies, Sarah la
Kali, with a parade to the beach and a symbolic return of the statue to the
Mediterranean. The festival continues with another parade bringing the Saints
Maries statues to the beach. Parades continue with the Camargue cowboys on
their white horses, demonstrations of horsemanship, and bull events in the
streets and arena.

The chapel below the church Notre
Dame de la Mer is a pilgrimage site for
Gypsies

During many festivals in
Southern Provence, bull
events with the
Camargue Gardians will
take place

The Camargue Gardians herd the bulls
through the streets of a Provence
villages during bull festivals

The Camargue Gypsy Festival in Provence sees the Gypsies
of Europe join the Gardians and their white horses in a
Camargue Festival. They meet in the South of France to
honor the Gypsy Sara-la-Kali and two Marys related to
Christ.
See Event Schedule

A Gypsy visitor honors the statue of Sarah the
Kali at the chapel beneath Notre Dame de la Mer
Church in Saintes Maries de la Mer,Provence,

Camargue Gypsy Festival Schedule:
The festival in the Saintes Maries de La Mer of the Camargue brings
together the Gypsies, the Camargue Gardians on white horses and the
black bulls.

They meet to honor the Gypsy Saint Sarah and two Maries related to
Christ, the Saintes Maries de la Mer.

On May 24th at 10 am the ceremony starts withe Mass in the church.
At 4 pm the Gypsies carry the statue of the black St Sarah to the shores
of the Mediterranean as they honor their patron Saint.

On May 25 at 11 am the statues of Saint Mary Jacobe and Saint Mary
Salome are brought to the shore.

On May 26 bulls run through the street escorted by the Camargue
Gardians on the white Camargue horses. An afternoon of Camargue
horse events and Provence bull events honors the Marquis de
Baroncelli.

Where Is Camargue
Provence

How Do You Reach
Provence

Carcassone

Saints Marie de la Mer
Camargue Tradition-

Camargue-Horses-Provence