Gypsies in Southern France

This video from Education 2000's takes you to see the Gypsies in southern France.

Gypsies in Southern France The Cowboys called guardians use the small white horses to round up the black cattle. Guardians are proud of their long tradition and they play an important part in the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer where they preside over the activity surrounding the largest in-gathering of European gypsies. Some gypsies still travels in their traditional wagons pulled by horses but most arrive in motor homes or in house trailers pulled by pick-up trucks. The name ‘Gypsy’—up the image of Nomadic Wanderers, Gypsy is derived from the word Egyptian as most people thought that they’d originally come from Egypt but scholars are now convinced that they originated in India. Over the centuries, the gypsies have developed a terrible reputation. They’ve been accused of everything from witchcraft to baby stealing. When I was a boy, my mother used the gypsies to frighten me into good behavior. She convinced me that the gypsies would carry me off if I didn’t obey her. That must have sounded appealing to me because here I am a gypsy at heart, a wandering travel adventure filmmaker. The gypsies have come to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer for a festival to honor their Patron Saint Sarah. Saint Sarah was a servant of Mary Jacobe, a sister of the Virgin Mary and Mary Salome, the mother of the apostles, James and John. Legends says that these two Mary’s and Sarah along with Mary Magdalene fled the holy lands on a boat that landed on this coast where the women converted the people to Christianity and the name of the town Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Sarah was an Ethiopian woman of exotic beauty and dark complexion that was probably part of the reason that the gypsies chose her as their Patron Saint. For centuries, they’ve been coming to honor her in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer on the 24th of May from the church where her relics are kept a statue of Saint Sarah is carried through the streets in a recreation of that event. Slowly, the procession winds its way through the town. Many of the gypsies join in the parade while thousands of others line the street watching the procession go down to the sea. The crowds are waiting for that moment when Sarah is taken out into the water and placed in a replica of the boat of Bethany that carried these religious refugees to the shore. Everyone is anxious to get close to Sarah’s effigy. They go right down into the water. Sarah’s effigy is then carried back into the church and placed near her relics and everybody cheers when Sarah lands on the shore who wants to see the most important part of the ceremony riding sometimes upon the shoulders of their parents. Well, I’m not questioning the parentage but sometimes a dog wants to take a look and longs for a different view of things rather than being always at eye level with the ankles and heels of the world. Now, it’s time to relax before the festivities of the evening begin. Here I had a chance to meet several of the gypsy women. They wanted me to film them during the day because they knew that I couldn’t catch much of the activity at night. These young women will dance around the bonfires until dawn and their eyes flashing in the fire light. Those gathered around in the circle clap to the music. Very little time is taken from dancing except to stand in a circle and applaud the intricate steps of another dancer. A young girl begins to dance as soon as she can stand. She continuous to dance for the rest of her life as an expression of her heritage and one of the gals told me it’s an expression of her joy, of her freedom, of being a gypsy. The next day is celebrated in honor of the two Mary’s. A crowd is smaller and somewhat less exuberant than on the previous day. Maybe the all night festivities, the dancing and drinking have something to do with this or maybe it’s the fact that not a flamboyant gypsy but two stern looking women are being honored. The two Mary’s are carried through town to the boat. The narrow road out a little way then brought back to shore with a great deal a fan fair. After this ceremony, the town quiets down as over 30,000 gypsy pilgrims take to the road once again.