Madonna of the Gypsies - Wearable Sacred Shrine

There is a legend in the South of France

which is still kept alive in the hearts and lives

of the Roma (Gypsies)

This legend is centred on the tiny village
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
in the Camargue
where the white horses run wild,
marshy fields covered with pink flamingoes
and provencal cowboys drive the black bulls.

Once a year this village throbs with the rhythm of the flamenco,
the sound of the banjo and chello,
and a spectacular display of the Bohemian lifestyle
of the Roma.

The legend goes that after the crucifixion of Jesus
 the three Marys,

Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome and Mary of Cleophas,

along with the Saint Sarah, landed
in a small little boat at the shore of
Saintes Maries de la Mer,
(The Saints Marys of the Sea),
in Camargue.
  In this legend the black Sarah is the Egyptian handmaid

of one of them.
She is called Sarah-la-Kali,
a divine sister of Kali of India.

In another legend she is the daughter of Jesus

and Mary Magdalene,

carrying the royal bloodline.

Thousands of Roma people (Gypsies)

travel to Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer

during May every year

to venerate Saint Sarah

and the three Marys.

a porcelain gypsy dancer doll I brought back from my pilgrimage to the
 festival of Sainte Sara

in Maries-de-la-Mer

Shadow box of the spirit of the Sara-la-Kali festival

with  Madonna of the Roses rosary

I made this series of Black Madonna rosaries.

The images are in black and sepia and they remind

me of the black of Saint Sarah and the fiery

passion and celebration of the Roma and her celebrations.

The Black Madonnas are a very mysterious part of the 

Marian symbology and our world

and although these images are not strictly Black Madonna

images, to me they hold some of that mysteriousness

of the blackness of the unconscious made manifest

in this world.

All my handwork are sacred objects and I see the sacred

in everything and everyone.  Every simple act in this world

holds the profound grace of potentially being

an act of compassion and love,

containing the power of bringing deep joy and beauty to our

own lives and to the lives of others.

These rosaries are wearable sacred shrines.

The body is sacred and a temple of the divine.

Adorning the body with a beautiful sacred shrine

is a sacrament of love.

Madonna of the Gypsies

I soldered the centrepiece with silver solder

and the image is held between two pieces of glass.

I added black onyx rosary beads and crucifixes;

held together with red swarovski crystal,

and red roses.

A tiny sterling silver Agnus Dei heart shaped locket

dangle at the top of the centrepiece

and at the end of the rosary is
a handmade glass lampwork red rose
and a

a pure silver cross embossed with images

Madonna of the Roses and Madonna of the Gypsies

wearable shrines adorning the heart,

altar of the Blessed Mother

This beautiful shawl I bought at the market during the festival.

I also bought the red spanish comb which I used on the
shadowbox, as well as the beautiful hat

Madonna of the Gypsies wearable shrine is displayed here on the shadowbox

a shrine of the Sainte Sara-la-Kali feast days.

It contains the gypsy doll that I collected, as well as a small statue

of the black saint, her rosary and a black bull - an important

part of the festival.

If you would like to read more about this festival and my experiences there

http://www.path-of-divine-love.com/2011/08/sara-la-kali-part-three-in-lourdes.html

blessings