Saint Sarah, also known as Sara-la-Kâli ("Sara the Black", rom, Sara e Kali), is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

. The center of her

veneration Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Ety ...

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (, lit.: "Saint Marys of the Sea"; Provençal Occitan: ''Li Santi Mario de la Mar'') is the capital of the Camargue ( Provençal Occitan ''Camarga'') in the south of France. It is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône ...

, a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

for Roma in the

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the '' ...

, in Southern France. Legend identifies her as the servant of one of the

Three Marys The Three Marys (also spelled Maries) are women mentioned in the canonical gospels' narratives of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, several of whom were, or have been considered by Christian tradition, to have been named Mary (the most c ...

, with whom she is supposed to have arrived in the Camargue.

Accounts

The Three Marys at the Tomb 1396 Monaco Lorenzo

Bain rituel dans la mer aux Saintes-Maries

According to various legends, during a

persecution of early Christians Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

, commonly placed in the year 42, Lazarus, his sisters

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and

Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness ...

Mary Salome In the New Testament, Salome was a follower of Jesus who appears briefly in the canonical gospels and in apocryphal writings. She is named by Mark as present at the crucifixion and as one of the Myrrhbearers, the women who found Jesus's empty ...

(the mother of the Apostles

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

Mary Jacobe According to the Gospel of John, Mary of Clopas ( grc, Μαρία ἡ τοῦ Κλωπᾶ, ''María hē tou Clōpá'') was one of the women present at the crucifixion of Jesus and bringing supplies for his funeral. The expression ''Mary of Clop ...

and Maximin were sent out to sea in a boat. They arrived safely on the southern shore of Gaul at the place later called

. Sarah, a native of

Berenice Troglodytica Berenice Troglodytica, also called Berenike (Greek: ) or Baranis, is an ancient seaport of Egypt on the western shore of the Red Sea. It is situated about 825 km south of Suez, 260 km east of Aswan in Upper Egypt and 140 km south o ...

, appears as the black Indo-Egyptian maid of one of the Three Marys, usually

. (The natives of

had ancestors who once came from the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...

, through

Indo-Roman trade relations Indo-Roman trade relations (see also the spice trade and incense road) was trade between the Indian subcontinent and the Roman Empire in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Trade through the overland caravan routes via Asia Minor and the Midd ...

, and settled in Egypt (Roman province) and intermarried with Egyptians.) Though the tradition of the Three Marys arriving in France stems from the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 150 ...

, appearing for instance in the 13th century ''

Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...

'', Saint Sarah makes her first appearance in Vincent Philippon's book ''The Legend of the Saintes-Maries'' (1521), where she is portrayed as "a charitable woman that helped people by collecting alms, which led to the popular belief that she was a Gypsy." Subsequently, Sarah was adopted by Romani as their saint. Another account has Sarah welcoming the Three Marys into Gaul. Franz de Ville (1956) writes:

One of our people who received the first Revelation was Sara the Kali. She was of noble birth and was chief of her tribe on the banks of the
Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
. She knew the secrets that had been transmitted to her... The Rom at that period practiced a polytheistic religion, and once a year they took out on their shoulders the statue of
Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...
i (
Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart ( Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...
) and went into the sea to receive benediction there. One day Sara had visions which informed her that the Saints who had been present at the death of Jesus would come, and that she must help them. Sara saw them arrive in a boat. The sea was rough, and the boat threatened to founder. Mary Salome threw her cloak on the waves and, using it as a raft, Sarah floated towards the Saints and helped them reach land by praying.

Pilgrimage

The day of the pilgrimage honouring Sarah is May 24; her statue is carried down to the sea on this day to re-enact her arrival in France. Some authors have drawn parallels between the ceremonies of the pilgrimage and the worship of the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

goddess

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

(a form of

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...

), subsequently identifying the two.

Ronald Lee Ronald Lee (1934January 25, 2020) was a Romani Canadian writer, linguist, professor, folk musician, and activist. He studied Romani society and culture and worked to foster intercultural dialogue between Roma and Non-Roma. Early life and educa ...

(2001) states:

If we compare the ceremonies with those performed in France at the shrine of Sainte Sara (called ''Sara e Kali'' in Romani), we become aware that the worship of Kali/
Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...
/Sara has been transferred to a Christian figure... in France, to a non-existent "sainte" called Sara, who is actually part of the Kali/Durga/Sara worship among certain groups in India.

The name "Sara" itself is seen in the appellation of Durga as Kali in the famed text Durgasaptashati.

In popular culture

Some authors, taking up themes from the

pseudohistorical Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to pseudohi ...

book ''

Holy Blood, Holy Grail ''The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail'' (published as ''Holy Blood, Holy Grail'' in the United States) is a book by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. The book was first published in 1982 by Jonathan Cape in London as an unoffici ...

'', suggest that Sarah was the daughter of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and Mary Magdalene. These ideas were popularized by

Dan Brown Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), '' The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), ''The Lost Symbol'' (2009), '' Inferno'' (2013), ...

's ''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows symbologist Robert Lang ...

'', Eron Manusov's ''Ahavah's Dream'', and ''The Maeve Chronicles'' by Elizabeth Cunningham. These speculations have been rejected by the local inhabitants and by scholars. * In '' The Rozabal Line'', author

Ashwin Sanghi Ashwin Sanghi (born 25 January 1969) is an Indian writer and author of the novels: '' The Rozabal Line'', '' Chanakya's Chant'', '' The Krishna Key'', Sialkot Saga, Keepers Of The Kalachakra, The Vault of Vishnu and The Magicians of Mazda. ...

puts forward that Sara-la-Kali refers to the three Hindu goddesses –

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

, and Kali – the goddesses of Knowledge, Wealth and Power – symbolizing the trinity of female power. * In

Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho de Souza (, ; born 24 August 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 2002. His novel ''The Alchemist'' became an international best-seller and he has published 28 more book ...

's novel '' The Witch of Portobello'', St. Sarah is mentioned several times. * Alistair MacLean's 1970 thriller, '' Caravan to Vaccarès'' is set during the pilgrimage to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. * Czon the Swedish artist did a portrait of Sara La Kali outside the church in "Saintes Maries de la Mer" 2018. * The statue of Saint Sarah makes an appearance in

Tony Gatlif Tony Gatlif (born as Michel Dahmani on 10 September 1948 in Algiers) is a French film director of Romani ethnicity who also works as a screenwriter, composer, actor, and producer. Personal Gatlif was born in Algeria of Pied noir ancestry. A ...

's 1993 film '' Latcho Drom'' (''Safe Journey'') where it is carried to the sea, and her landing is re-enacted. * In ''

Korkoro ''Korkoro'' ("Alone" in Romani) is a 2009 French drama film written and directed by Tony Gatlif, starring Francophone actors Marc Lavoine, Marie-Josée Croze and James Thiérrée. The film's cast were of many nationalities such as Albanian, K ...

'', also a Tony Gatlif film, the Romani often pray to Saint Sarah with intense fervor.

References

Sources

*de Ville, Franz, ''Traditions of the Roma in Belgium'', Brussels, 1956. *Droit, Michel, ''Carmague.'' Ernest and Adair Heimann (trans.). London: George Allen and Unwin, 1963. *Fonseca, Isabel, ''Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey.'' New York: Knopf, 1996. *Kinsley, David R. ''Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. *Lee, Ronald, "The Rom-Vlach Gypsies and the ''Kris-Romani''", in: Walter Weyrauch (ed.), ''Gypsy Law: Romani Legal Traditions and Culture'', Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. *McDowell, Bart, ''Gypsies: Wanderers of the World, Washington: National Geographic Society, 1970. *Weyrauch, Walter, "Oral Legal Traditions of Gypsies", in: Walter Weyrauch (ed.), ''Gypsy Law: Romani Legal Traditions and Culture'', Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.

External links

*Jarmila Balazova,
Religion among the Roma
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarah, Saint Female saints Folk saints Romani religion People of Camargue Romani in France The Three Marys