I took almost 200 photos of my day at Arles seeing the Fete des Gardians and thought I might as well post some more of them for those who might be interested.

Three sisters on their way to the parade.

Closeup of the ribbon worn on the head of women in Arles costume.

This was a unique hat.

Two women with their skirts spread prettily as they ride.

One of the men barely made it to the barrier before the bull got there.

Van Gogh did alot of his famous works in Arles. One of the best know is the painting of his room in Arles-he had a total of three rooms there. We saw a sign for Van Gogh’s room so paid two euros to go up stairs to see the recreation. It turned out that the original building where he stayed had been destroyed in WWII so they really did recreate his room. It was sort of a ripoff but I guess someone is making a little money. Here is the recreation:

The participants of the parade march into the coliseum. I couldn’t help think about Romans who had sat here centuries ago and what they watched.

After a lunch in a restaurant in the shadow of the coliseum, we entered the coliseum itself for a show put on by the Gardiens and others. It was well done and very interesting. I especially enjoyed the bull “fight” where no bull dies but boys run in and out of the ring trying to grasp a red knot on top of the bull’s head. The bull ran all around, pawed the ground and tried to catch the boys who nimbly jumped over the interior fence. One bull actually jumped over the fence itself until forced back out into the ring.

Everyone who had been in the parade filed into the interior of the ring and a new president of their order was appointed. Then the men did several “games”. One was racing around the ring on their horse and trying to grab an orange held out on a plate by three women. No one managed to get all three. Next a man would take a bouquet of flowers offered by a woman and two other men would try to get it away from him-all on horseback. Only one man managed to lose his bouquet and most bouquets ended up being torn almost to pieces. There was a game with a lance where a gardian on horseback tried to put his lance through a ring-only one man did this.

My favorite part of the performance was six women on horse back all riding side saddle, or amazon as they call it here, and leading their horses in an intricate dance to music. It was truly beautiful. Then some women did a dance to music from the flutes and drums, delicately weaving their way in an age old dance. I was glad to see that it wasn’t all just men and that the women were included.

The performance ended with the gardians showing how they headed cattle. Four bulls were let into the ring and the riders circled them forcing them into the center keeping the horses very close together so the bulls couldn’t get out. It was incredible to watch the teamwork required to do this.

I can’t recommend this festival enough to anyone in the area on May 1st. To get a glimpse of what Provence is really all about, to get a taste of the traditions abounding there and to see what the heart of Provence consists of, is a real treat.

This is everyone who was in the parade.

This man is trying to grab an orange held up on a plate by the girl-he missed.

Two of the six women leading their horses in a little waltz.

The four bulls let into the ring with the gardians starting to move in.

Here are the four bulls in the center of the ring of horses from the back.

Here they are from the front.

Arles, where the horses are white and the cattle are black, set in the region of rice farming, is the heart of Provence both in location and the traditions which are still celebrated. The Fete des Gardians, a tremendous festival held every May 1st is very much worth the trek into ancient Roman holdings where century old stone buildings and monuments can still be seen, such as the arena in Arles with streets around its circumference leading to the base of this mass of handcarved stones the spokes of a tire.

The Gardians have been in existence for centuries and their organization has been in existence since 1512. They are the “cowboys” of the Camaraque riding white horses across the plains and low water areas herding other horses, sheep or the black cattle, using long poles topped with a three pronged device to force cattle into desired areas, usually for branding.

We set out early on the morning of May 1st arriving in time for a great parade full of women and girls dressed in the costumes only worn in Arles. It is amazing to contemplate that they have been wearing costumes like this for centuries, full of tradition and memories. There are intricately designed scarves worn over the shoulders, held in place from possible mistrals with either 3 or 5 straight pins in the back, the hair done up in a type of pompadour circled with a wide ribbon designed to match the long dress its train trailing behind the wearer who sometimes hold the train up out of the street with a length of decorative chain attached to the waist. The jewelry also is steeped in tradition and long chains are seen hanging down waist length with fabulous cameos, or intricate crosses attached. I also saw silver pins of cigales pinned to scarves. Married women dress in colorful outfits but the single women all wear white scarves with little white head dresses tied in front in the shape of a little butterfly. Smaller girls wear simple white caps tied under their chins. The men wore colorful shirts, usually with a tie, a black coat and the easily recognized black hat. There were musicians in the parade playing flutes with one hand and a drum with the other. White horses came down the street ridden by the men, many with women seated them, their skirts colorfully spread over the rump of the horse. It was a magical privilege to observe tradition in the making and to see that children were there, also dressed in costume, sure to follow their parents in keeping the Gardian story alive.

The members of the parade went into the narrow streets of Arles and ended up in front of Notre Dame de la Major for a blessing all done in Provencal, the old language still spoken here in Provence

An older lady in colorful costume. Notice her purse. Many of the women carried these, along with a fan or an umbrella.

The girls with while scarves on their shoulders and the white head scarves are unmarried.

Isn’t she pretty?

I love these two-so cute.

Another group of unmarried girls.

This little one was pushing her buggy down the street at top speed, while never stopping the action of sucking or licking her arm.

Lots of dignity and history here.

Here come the gardians on their white horses.