Interestingly, the celebrations of this Roma festival draw parallels to the Goddess Durga procession in West Bengal, highlighting the Romani people’s ancestral ties to India
Hyderabad: Even after thousands of years since their migration, every year on May 24 and 25, thousands of Romani people from across the world gather in the small town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Southern France to celebrate the pilgrimage of Saint Kali Sara.
Interestingly, the celebrations of this Roma festival draw parallels to the Goddess Durga procession in West Bengal, highlighting the Romani people’s ancestral ties to India.
The deity, which is kept in the crypt of the Church of the Three Maries, is adorned with glittering new clothes and jewelry and is then carried on a decorated pedestal by four Romani men through the streets amidst Romani music and dance.
The procession ends at the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, where the statue of the Saint is symbolically dipped in the water, similar to the Durga Visarjan (immersion) held in India.
Kali Sara, the patron saint of the Roma, or more popularly known as the Romani people, is the only idol that is not venerated by any other Christian church or denomination.
Interestingly, the Romani people recognise her as a folk saint and a remnant of their Hindu lineage. This ethnic group specifically follows a branch of Hinduism called Shaktism—the practice of worshipping a divine feminine goddess, in this case, Goddess Kali.
When the ethnic group left India and migrated to predominantly Christian countries like Armenia, their religious beliefs intertwined with Christianity. Later, when the group entered Europe, they were forced to adopt Christianity and abandon their native beliefs, which were often perceived as witchcraft.
To safeguard their indigenous culture, the group transformed Goddess Kali into a Christian saint under a new name—Kali Sara or Sara la Kali, associating the goddess’s origin with the story of the Three Maries.
Though many Roma have now adopted Christianity or Islam, some continue the tradition of Shaktism, celebrating the festival each year. Thousands of Roma travel to Southern France annually to join the procession of Saint Kali Sara, carried out as part of the Romani pilgrimage in this small town.
