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Last modified: 2021-04-24 by ivan sache
Keywords: nacioun gardians | camargue |
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Flag of Nacioun Gardians - Image by Ivan Sache, 5 October 2002
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Camargue is an area of 75,000 ha, mostly located on the island
constituted by the delta of river Rhône. Near the town of
Arles, the Rhône divides into two branches, Petit
Rhône (Smaller Rhône, west) and Grand
Rhône (Greater Rhône, aast). Petit
Rhône flows into the Mediterranean Sea west of Les
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, whereas Grand Rhône flows
into the Mediterranean Sea east of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône.
Camargue was exploited in the Middle-Ages by Cistercian and
Benedictine monks. In the 16th-17th centuries, big estates, known
locally as mas, were founded by rich landlords from Arles. At
the end of the 18th century, the Rhône was dyked up. In
1858, the building of the Dyke to the Sea achieved the protection of the delta from erosion.
The north of the Camargue is made of agricultural land. Main crops
are grains, grapevine and rice. Near the seashore, salt extraction
started in the antiquity and was a source of wealth for the "salt
abbeys" of Ulmet and Psalmody in the Middle Ages. Salt industry
started in the 19th centur; the chemicals companies Péchiney and Solvay founded the "mining" town of Salin-de-Giraud. The center and south of Camargue is the "natural"
area, characterized by a very specific brackish ecosystem. The whole
Camargue was declared National Reservation in 1928 and Regional
Natural Parc in 1970.
Ivan Sache, 5 October 2002
Camargue is usually associated with the Gitans and the Gardians, the traditional bull rearers. According to a Provencal tradition, the "three Maries", Mary Jacobé, the Blessed Virgin's sister; Mary Salomé, the mother of Apostles James the Major and John; and Mary-Magdalen, were expelled from Jerusalem c. year 40. They were placed, together with Lazarus, Martha, Maximin and Sidon, on a boat without seals, rows and supply. Sara, the Maries' black servant, was kept on land, but Mary Salomé threw her coat onto the waters and the coat became a raft, allowing Sara to board on. The boat eventually landed near Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Mary Jacobe, Mary Salomé and Sara stayed in Camargue, where their grave became a popular place of pilgrimage.
Sara is the patron saint of the Gitans. The Gitans (from Spanish gitano, short form of egiptano, "Egyptian") are Roms of the kale group and come mostly from Spain, Nothern Africa and the south of France. The Gitan pilgrimage takes place in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer on 24 and 25 May to celebrate Mary Jacobé. A second pilgrimage celebrating Mary Salomé takes place on the Sunday closest to the 22 October. During these pilgrimages, the Gitan traditions mix with the Gardian tradition. On 26 May, another festival celebrates "Lou Marquès", Marquess of Baroncelli.
Marquess Folco of Baroncelli (1869-1943), an aristocrat of
Florentine origin, created in 1893 his own manade, a
traditional Camarguese estate. A manade (related to
main, "the hand") is the name given to the cattle and everything
"in hand" associated with it, that is, the lands, the gardians,
the horses, etc.. A manade is a kind of ranch, including more
than 200 bulls, and ruled by a steward called bayle-gardian.
The gardian shall take care of the cattle. His traditional tools are
a trident and a black hat, and his best companion is the local, white
Camarguese horse. This endemic horse seems to be closely related to
the prehistoric horses whose remains have been found elsewhere in
France.
The Camarguese bulls are reared mostly for the Camarguese races,
during which braves called razeteurs try to pick up a cockade
fixed between the horns of the bull. This kind of race dates back at
least to the 16th century. Brave bulls are not killed after the race
and the bravest of them are even celebrated with statues. The Spanish
corrida was introduced in the Camargue more recently.
Baroncelli was a good friend of the Félibriges, a
group of Provencal poets chaired by Frédéric Mistral and Théodore Aubanel. He tried to codify and preserve the best gardian traditions and founded a
brotherhood called Nacioun Gardians (Gardian Nation).
Ivan Sache, 5 October 2002
The flag of Nacioun Gardians, possibly designed by
Baroncelli himself, is horizontally divided blue-white-green.
Blue most probably stands for the sky and green for the pastures on
which the bulls graze. White could refer to salt or Camarguese
horses, but most probably symbolize the traditional gardian hut,
whose walls are white-washed.
![[Gardian cross]](../misc/fr-13_gn.jpg)
Gardian cross - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 9 November 2021
The finial of the flag is made of the
Gardian Cross, aka Cross of Camargue. This cross is made of a Latin cross, whose three upper points are trident-shaped, an anchor and a heart. The Latin cross
symbolizes Faith; the anchor, Hope; and the heart,
Charity. These three Virtues were highlighted by St. Paul
(Corinthians I, 13). The cross and the anchor also associate
the gardians and the fishers of Camargue. The Gardian cross was
designed in 1924 by the artist Hermann Paul upon Baroncelli's
request. The first real cross was forged by Gédéon
Blatière, again upon Baroncelli's request. Three years later,
Blatière forged the nickel cross used as the finial for the
Nacioun Gardians flag.
A big Gardian cross can be seen west of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer,
close to the Mas of Simbéu, which was Baroncelli's estate.
Baroncelli's collection on Camarguese traditions is now preserved in
the former town hall of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 5 October 2002
