Camargue Gypsy Festival Provence The South of France

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 come to honor the legend of
Sister Sarah the Kali, a mythical woman who helped
two Marys related to Christ, the Saintes Maries de la
Mer.

Arles is the gateway to the Camargue

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, immerse the statue of their black saint into 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 three women who, according to legend, arrived in
Provence by boat in the year 40 AD after traveling from Jerusalem.

Gypsies, White Horses, and Black Bulls

The festival starts with the honoring of the Patron Saint of the Gypsies, Sister Sarah la Kali, with a parade
to the beach and an immersion of the statue into the Mediterranean. The festival continues with parades
by 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 the
festival,
bull events
with the
Camargue
Gardians
will take
place

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

The Camargue Gypsy Festival in Provence the South of
France brings To mind images of Gypsy guitars, salt, white
horses and black bulls.
You can find them all in the Camargue along with the legend
of two Marys related to Christ, the Saintes Maries de la Mer.

A Gypsy visitor honors the statue of Sarah the
Kali at St. Maries de la Mer Provence,

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

They meet to honor the three 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.

See Schedule of Events Below