Hindu Goddess Turned Christian Saint? | Come with me on the Romani pilgrimage of Kali Sara

Every year in the south of France, in the tiny town of Saintes Maries de la Mer, there is a huge and ancient Romani pilgrimage dedicated to our patron saint Sara la Kali or Kali Sara. Despite being a Christian ritual, its origin actually lies in Hinduism, stay tuned to find out the fascinating ways Romani people have preserved and adapted their indigenous beliefs in the face of persecution. I hope y’all enjoy this video and keep supporting for more opportunities to make videos showcasing authentic Romani culture all over the world.

Shoutout to Salamanca Taikon, the family behind Kamotoute, Mihaela Dragan, and Cristina Martin for your invaluable help with making this video possible.

A great source to learn more: https://kopachi.com/articles/the-romani-goddess-kali-sara-ronald-lee/

#romani #culture #hindu #india #hinduism #christianity #travelvlog #anthropology #history #history facts #southasia #france #manouche #gitano #kali #kalimaa

this is Saintes Maries de La Mer and today we 
are here for the pilgrimage of Kali Sara who is the patron saint of Romani people today I’m 
going to take you through all of the festivities and Roma cultural events that occur in this 
beautiful pilgrimage that comes from our Kali sara my name is Florian and come with me on this 
journey every year on May 24th you’ll find tens of thousands of Romani people in this small town 
in southern France the Roma here still preserve their old ways of traveling in the Romani wagons 
called Vardo or Vurdonurya in the Romani language others opt for a more modern approach to their 
traveling culture with mobile homes and RVs the primary Romani groups that you will find here are 
the Manush or the French Sinti people the Spanish Kale from the Iberian Peninsula known for their 
flamenco music you will also find Romani people from all over the world in the center of the town 
you will find a grand Roma market where Romani people from all over the world come to sell their 
creations foods both Romani traditional crafts and modern businesses as well may 23rd is one of the 
most festive days of the pilgrimage it is the day before the procession of Kali Sara in the early 
parts of the days Romani people go to the Roma market and to visit the St Kali Sara in her crypt 
in the Grand Notre Dame de la Mer Cathedral by night Romani people take to the streets with music 
and dance all throughout the town you will see vivid symbols of the Romani culture including our 
flag it’s a very special place for Romani people to see their culture being celebrated and thriving 
now in the center of the town is the grand Notre dame de la church a medieval church from 800 AD** 
is connected to the story of the three Marys Mary Salome, Mary of Clopas and Mary Magdalene known as 
the first three women to witness the resurrection of Jesus inside the church you will find shrines 
to all three of the Marys and town is called de la Mer (of the sea) because the three Marys are 
said to have traveled to this part of France to escape early Christian persecution in Romani 
tradition they are greeted by Sara La Kali or Kali Sara who helped the persecuted travelers get to 
safety her shrine is located below in the crypt of the church which is the oldest part of the church, 
said to be a shrine to the Indo-Iranian god Mitras in the 4th century here you will find the patron 
saint of Romani people that is not canonized by any Christian church Romani people venerate her as 
a Christian saint a guide to the three Marys and to all persecuted travelers around the world many 
come here to ask her to pray to God for them they wrap her with rich cloths as a sign of luck tying 
a cloth around her is a Romani tradition to bring luck now her name Kali Sara in this tradition of 
praying to God through a female counterpart may seem very familiar to you especially if you are 
from India so what is her real origin the origin of Kali Sara or St Sara la Kali as they call her 
here in Saintes Maries de la Mer comes from India which is also the origin of Romani people 
Kali Sara comes from the Hindu goddess Kali in the ancient Hindu texts of Durgashaptashati, 
Sara can be seen as an appellation of Durga as Kali offering a possible explanation for the 
name Kali Sara in India Romani people used to practice Shaktism with a focus on the goddess 
Kali when we came over into Europe because of persecution we had to hide our Hindu roots 
and become Christian however some remnants of our Hindu past still remained alive that is 
Kali Sara on May 24th the procession begins the pilgrimage of Kali Sara which has its roots 
in the ancient Hindu ritual of Durga Puja once the mass of Kali sara is over she’s taken out of 
the crypt and she is carried by Romani people to the nearest body of water the streets of the 
town are lined with people in this pilgrimage bear striking similarities to the rituals of Dura 
Puja in India especially in the use of music in our chants and prayers with Kali Sara during the 
entirety of the pilgrimage Music is an integral part of our Romani ritual the similarities with 
Durga Puja does not stop there the statue of Durga is also taken to be dipped in the water Kali 
Sara is guided by the Romani men on their horses to the sea she’s carried on a platform of flowers 
as you can see in the back the trishul which is the Romani word for cross actually comes from the 
word trishula which was the name of the Hindu god Shiva’s trident praying to god through Kali Sara 
many Roma still preserve an aspect of shaktism once Kali Sara reaches the water the statue is 
dipped but not fully immersed in the water Roma around her throw flowers into the water almost 
identical to the Hindu ritual of Visarjan that is performed during Durga Puja and other major Hindu 
festivals where you see the statue of Durga being taken to the nearest body of water to be immersed 
Visarjan meaning immersion Just like Kali Sara is taken to the nearest body of water video taken in 
Mumbai was very shocking to me because this looks identical to what we saw in the Romani pilgrimage 
for Kali Sara if you remember the connection the name Sara has with Durga this shows how even 
through intense persecution how Romani people are able to adapt our indigenous practices 
and preserve them it’s like the tradition of Visarjan for the Hindu people version of the Kali 
Sara statue also holds similar significance it is repeated every single year in that cycle of life 
for many Roma the immersion of Kali Sara’s statue marks the end of our sacred pilgrimage coming 
back to France Kali Sara then marched back into her crypt until October their smaller ceremony 
in her honor takes place and this is our beloved pilgrimage i hoped everybody enjoyed this video 
and you learned a lot about Romani people our culture our history and our practices please 
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