There are a lot of amazing festivals out there: Steve Davey should know, he has just finished a book detailing 500 of the best cultural celebrations around the world.
You don’t have to head to the far flung and dusty regions of the world to find vibrant festivals and see the faithful displaying tremendous religious fervour. In the days leading up to the 24th and 25th May the tiny seaside village of Saintes Maries de la Mer in the Camargue region fills up with caravans as Roma Gypsies gather for one of the most atmospheric festivals in Europe.
The Pélerinage des Gitans is a pilgrimage to honour the two Saint Maries who gave the village its name. Saint Marie-Jacobé and Saint Marie-Salomé were believed to have fled across the Mediterranean from the Holy Land following the crucifixion, bringing with them their maid Sara, who later became the patron saint of the Gypsies.
On the first day of the festival, great crowds flock to the massive stone fortified church for a mass. Statues of the two Saint Maries are lowered from the loft high in the roof of the church, and then processed around the town by hundreds of gypsies with an escort of the gardians: the cowboys of the Camargue who ride the famous white horses.
The lively procession is accompanied by musicians and eventually sweeps down the beach and into the sea, much to the surprise of the holidaymakers. The gardians follow them into the sea, their horses leaping around as the waves wash into their nether regions. Blessings are made before the dripping wet pilgrims carry the statues back to the church.
The procession is repeated on the following day for the black-skinned statue of Saint Sara, who if anything is treated with more reverence by the gypsies. Once more the whole procession wades out into the sea to remember the arrival of Saint Sara on the coast of France.
Back at the church, the faithful jostle to make offerings to the statue of Saint Sara. Scarves are placed around her neck, and down in the cramped and sweltering crypt people light more and more candles until the temperature becomes all but unbearable. Even the candles are feeling the heat and many of them droop markedly. Pilgrims light their candles and say hurried prayers before fleeing back to the fresh, cool air. .
In the evenings the square around the is filled with the sound of musicians and gypsy dancers, in part entertaining the crowds, but really socialising and renewing links before they leave Saintes Maries de la Mer for another year.
The day after the final procession, the gardians hold a festival to commemorate the Marquis de Baroncelli who was a champion of gardian culture and a friend of Wild Bill Hickock. The day starts off with a rounding up and branding of new calves on the outskirts of town, before a horseback parade to the grave of the Marquis.
In the afternoon an exciting abrivado or bull-run clatters through the streets of Saintes Maries. A French style bull-run uses the feisty Camargue bulls, escorted by gardians on horseback. They gallop into the bullring on the coast for a display of riding skills and local bull games. Anyone who is brave or drunk enough is welcome to jump into the arena with a bull and be chased around!
In the days after these two stunning festivals, the caravans and gypsies start to drift away and Saintes Maries de la Mer returns to being a quiet seaside town, and a favourite for holiday-makers. Although this being the Camargue, things are never completely normal. The gardians still herd Camargue bulls in the surrounding marsh land, and every night Greater Flamingos fly overhead on their way to roost in the saline lakes called etangs on the edge of town.
Steve Davey is a writer and photographer who travels compulsively to festivals all over the world. He has just finished writing a major new book on festivals: Around the World in 500 Festivals will be published in October 2013.
Steve is the author of Footprint Travel Photography, and has just embarked on a revised edition which should be out in time for Christmas!
Steve leads photography tours to to some of the most exotic parts of the world, often coinciding with local festivals. More information of www.bettertravelphotography.com