The ‘Town Crier’
le 17 juin 2021
The first time I heard announcement bells ringing in the small rural village, I thought we were under immediate attack. I honed my ears to the sounds of French coming from a distant microphone and prepared myself to bolt down the long narrow staircase of our petite vigneronne, dog in hand. With 20-inch thick walls, I’d likely be safe from the impending natural disaster. But after the bells, something unexpected happened. I was invited to a weekend cultural event by a modern-day town crier.
The history of the town crier dates back to the sixteenth century, likely earlier, as a way for villages and towns to communicate notifications, events, and even unwelcome announcements such as an increase in taxes. Before widespread print literacy and a print-literate population, oral communication from a town crier, or bellman in England, was common. Town criers not only used bells to get people’s attention, they also used drums, gongs, and horns. And the crier could be man or woman.
This town crier is a woman. Over the past year, I have come to not only understand but greatly value the town crier and have learned the wide variety of messages to expect. (I think) I have also improved my French, because each message is delivered twice, and then repeated in different neighborhoods of the village. For example, every Thursday afternoon, the town crier reminds residents that their car should be moved from the main square parking lot so vendors can set up their stands early Friday mornings for the local marché [market]. Best I can tell, no one’s car has yet been towed!
Sometimes the crier’s message is urgent—une communiquée de la police municipale [police announcement]—imploring someone to move their car right away. At other times, she announces health events such as this one [you can hear], informing locals that a Covid vaccination bus is being set up in the town for people to get shots. During Covid, sadly we heard announcements of the passing of town members and when the church service and burial would be held. My favorites are the communiquées culturelles—announcements inviting everyone to free student performances, festivals in the chateau courtyard, or upcoming music events.
In France, the local mayor’s office, or mairie, plays an especially important role in building community. In addition to being the platform for the crier’s weekly, or sometimes daily, messages, the mayor’s office is the central locale to discover the history of the town, local events, and where to obtain maps of trails that connect the villages. If you have local questions in France about the community, start with the mairie.
These are examples of rural communities’ community cultural wealth, with efficient and functional ways to communicate, strategies that connect people socially, culturally, and economically, and ways to ensure community well-being.