TRAVEL NOTES
In 2015, I am going again to Pushkar in Rajasthan, but this time it will be to attend a big event considered as one of the biggest camel fairs in the country.
India's largest camel market is held annually in the city of Pushkar , on the edge of the Thar Desert, a major religious festival, given in honor of the god Brahma the city god.
For twelve days, the Mela (gathering) is held on a sandy plain, where many activities take place:
-
camel races take place with the help of the most beautiful specimens, sumptuously caparisoned;
-
merry-go-rounds, a big wheel, are set up on the plain;
-
competitions of all kinds such as the longest “matka phod” mustache, and that of the most beautiful bride, are launched;
-
sports competitions are organized, as well as an open open cricket match;
-
Gypsies from far away from all over the country.
This fair attracts between four thousand and six thousand people who flock to the shores of Pushkar Lake every day, camel drivers from the Thar Desert and thousands of pilgrims, not to mention the many tourists from all over the world.
It is for me the occasion to go precisely to meet these gypsies whose my expedition will highlight them with my photographic work.
Roma, Gypsies, Gypsies: who are they really and what are their origins?
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
According to many historians referring to the first written evidence, there is an affiliation between the Roma we know and nomadic populations of northwest India. Indeed, whether it is the Roma, Gypsies, Gypsies, Romanichels, Manouches or Bohemians, all would come from the same cradle, Rajasthan.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Rajasthan, cradle of the Roma populations
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Those who were once called "Bohemians" or "Romanichels" are now defined by the generic terms of "Gypsies" or "Roma". In common as well as scientific language, these new names designate all the populations present in Europe and originating from northern India, which they left around the tenth century to slowly migrate to Western Europe. Their presence is attested for the first time in France in 1419. By linguistic, cultural and religious borrowings in the countries of installation, these populations are defined in different groups: Roma, Manouches, Yéniches, Gypsies and Sintis. In 1971, members of these different groups chose the generic term Roma to define themselves as a political movement within the International Union.
The "Roma", originating from Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovakia, Serbia, Hungary: according to the association Rom Europe, they represent 85% of European Gypsies. Their arrival in France took place mainly in several migratory waves: first after the Second World War, then in the 1970s and finally from the 1990s. If they come from the same eastern region from Europe, they do not have the same nationality, nor necessarily the same religious confessions, nor the same administrative status. There are believed to be between 15,000 and 20,000 Roma in France, 85% of whom are European nationals, mainly Bulgarians and Romanians.
The "Sintés" and the "Manouches", settled in Italy, France, Germany, for their part passed through the German-speaking regions. They represent 5% of European Gypsies.
The "Gitans" or "Kalés", living in Spain, Portugal and the South of France. They represent 10% of the European Gypsy people.
It should be noted that some Gypsies and Manouches refuse the designation of Roma. As for the term "travelers", this is an administrative category, created by the law of January 3, 1969. The term designates people living more than 6 months per year in "land mobile residence". Their number is estimated at nearly 400,000 people according to the National Federation of Solidarity Associations for Action with Gypsies. According to this association, almost all of them are of French citizenship.
Finally, the term "bohemian" has also long been used to designate the Roma as a whole. A reference to Bohemia, a region of central Europe that the Roma have long traveled through, but also to "Bohemia", an artistic school (particularly poetic and literary) of the 19th century, designating by extension a simple and disinterested, even carefree way of life. .
Music is the unifying element of Gypsies all over the world, it seems that everyone likes to play, dance and sing. From their musical prowess emanate the biggest torments, the emotions and the adventure of their life. Over the centuries, through the multiple stages of their journey, they have preserved some of the traditions of each host country. Moreover, there is no musical style specific to the Gypsy entity. The most famous genres have developed where Gypsies have settled down. Since their first migrations to the West, the Gypsies from ancient India have not ceased to contribute to our cultural life in a multitude of aspects. In many countries, they have been able to participate in the development, but also in the preservation of traditional local music.
Whether they are the Bohemians or the Gypsies of Eastern Europe, the Gypsies of Andalusia, the Saperas of the Thar Desert or the Kalbeliya of Pushkar, all exert a historical fascination on the sedentary. From the forms of their habitat, which they must transport or recreate as they move, to the incessant search for resources that ensure their subsistence, all these nomads share the same identity, reinforced by the almost symbiotic relationship they maintain with their environment.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
"We are birds of passage, tomorrow we will be far away" Gypsy proverb.
Meeting with the Kalbeliya and Bhopa women, the queens of the Rajasthan desert.
The Pushkar Fair which is held every year in an area where the currency is the camel attracts pilgrims and Indian merchants in search of devotion or business. The festival and the camels grabbed the headlines of magazines and television programs around the world. Fascinated by this unique event, I came to look for something different here. I came to meet one of the most beautiful people on the planet, the Gypsy women, queens of the desert.
The Bhopa and the Kalbeliya are very different and are both called "Gypsy" in the local dialect. Belonging to the lowest level of the Hindu caste, they have no fixed abode and are considered squatters or dishonest.
Constantly moving and sleeping under the stars in the suburbs of cities, the Bhopa and the Kalbeliya share the same bad global reputation as gypsies. Chased by kings and maharajas at one time, they were hired for exotic shows,
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
The Bhopa are talented musicians and singers and the Kalbeliya are dancers and snake charmers.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
With royal audiences becoming scarce, the Bhopa and Kalbeliya have lost most of their means of survival. Today, they survive by giving street performances at fairs and festivals that draw large crowds.
The Kalbelias are famous for their nomadism in the different districts of India. It is a population made up of marginalized people, who live on the outskirts of villages, in makeshift camps called "deras". Men once were snake charmers, they carried their cobras in cane baskets, going door to door. They worshiped the cobra by advocating not to kill it, even if the reptile had inadvertently entered a house. In this case, it was appropriate to call a Kalbelia to catch up with the animal, without killing it. During these shows, the women sang and danced asking for alms.
Today, the performing arts are the main source of their income. Thus, the dance movements and costumes of their community resemble those of snakes. The Kalbelia dance, performed to celebrate any happy moment in the community, is an integral part of the Kalbelia culture. Their dances and songs are a matter of pride and a marker of identity for the Kalbelias. They represent the creative adaptation of this community of snake charmers to changing socio-economic conditions and their own role in rural society.
The dancers are women in black skirts who dance and whirl, mimicking the movements of a snake. The upper body tissue is called Angrakhi, and a piece of tissue worn on the head, called Odhani, is also called Lengha. All of these fabrics are mixed in red and black tones and embroidered in such a way that when these dancers perform their movement, these clothes represent a color combination that is soothing to the eyes as well as to the atmosphere.
Traditional musicians from the Bhopa caste have elected not far from Pushkar, they come every day to sing some musical notes with their rawanata (traditional old) in order to glean, too, a few rupees. The men are easily recognized by their long mustaches.
After a few days spent in Pushkar, I decide to go to the state of Gujarat, a state much less frequented by tourists, more than 800 km from Rajasthan and more precisely in the District of Kutch, also called the "Rann of Kutch" it is one of the largest salt deserts in the world, after that of the Salar d'Uyuni in Bolivia, a peaceful white immensity that only visitors come to disturb, it is a unique place in India.
It is made up of lowlands that are flooded during the rainy season and dry out the rest of the time. Kutch is bordered by the Gulf of Kutch and the Arabian Sea to the south and west, and to the north by the Great Rann, which borders Pakistan, and to the east by the Little Rann.
In the 1990s, violent intercommunal unrest broke out on several occasions between the Hindu and Muslim communities. In 1992 in particular, around 1,500 people, mostly Muslims, perished in these clashes following the destruction of the Ayodhya mosque.
In August 2015, riots ravaged Gujarat following demonstrations initiated by the bourgeois caste of Patels against positive discrimination which would too advantageous the lower castes as well as the Dalits . Much material damage was to be deplored across the state: buses, police stations and burnt cars. To regain control, the Government dispatched the army to the area and a curfew was imposed.
My travels north of the city of Bhuj where I put my luggage in a hotel, are quite limited because the more I advance, the more I find "chekpoint" of military police who hardly encourage me to continue and as I lose too much time in these controls, I decide to shine around Bhuj, where finally I find small villages and camps of several communities such as Mir, Harijans, Meghwal, Garasia, Ahir, Rabari ...
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
- The Meghwals live all over Kutch. They are originally from Marwar in Rajasthan and are famous for weaving wool and cotton, leather embroidery and wood carving.
- The Rabari are nomadic tribes of Gujarat. They are constantly on the move to find lush grass for their herds. Their lifestyle is completely different from other tribes. In Kutch, there are between 2,500 and 3,000 Rabari families. According to an expert, the Rabari would have come from Afghanistan via Balochistan, but according to other specialists, they would come from Sind, in Pakistan.
- The Mirs are a nomadic tribe of Gujarat both Hindu and Muslim. Caught between the pressures of religious extremists, they advocate for a third religion, like a third sex.
- The Garasia is an Indo-Aryan speaking tribe forming a population of 232,000 people who live in the mountains of Gujarat as well as Rajasthan. They have a Hindu approach, they paint the walls and floors of their houses with geometric and graphic patterns for their ritual festivals and especially for decorative reasons. Tattoos are often present on the body of women: the hands, shoulders, neck and face are usually tattooed using an electric instrument.
- There is a belief that the Ahir tribe came from Sindh, province of Pakistan in the south-east of the country, to Gujarat and that they were installed as cultivators in Kutch. There they mingled with other different tribes. In the Ahir tribes, men and women typically wear Kehdiyun (white jacket) and baggy pants, both with a loose white headgear combination. Usually, women of the Ahir tribes wear a heavy silver ring. The children of this tribe dress in very colorful clothes. During Diwali season, the Ahir leave their cattle on the streets to dine with another local community. The traditional trades of the Ahirs are breeding and agriculture.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
- The Harijan community migrated over 500 years ago from Rajasthan, most of them still live in modest houses made of wood and dried mud, but decorated with great care with murals, mirrors and woodcarvings. The women do patchwork, very sophisticated embroidery, inlaid with small mirrors.
These meetings allowed me to discover ethnic groups, people very different from our lifestyles, people who belong to communities that are proud of their history, attracted by these differences, I am always looking for authentic people. , which I hope will continue to live long as they see fit.