H O M E & A W A Y
Travel & Tourism, Narratives & Practises - Written by Lara Murton
Introduction
This article will look at how pilgrimages can be seen as a liminal space, while considering the growing touristic side of it. In order to develop an argument, it will be necessary to look at different types of pilgrimages and how they could be related to tourist practices. A discussion of pilgrimages will take shape by looking at some of the theories on pilgrimages such as Victor Turner's theory around liminality, while also paying attention to theories on tourism, such as those by MacCannell (1989), Shields (1990) and Urry (1990). In order to explore the idea of pilgrimage as a liminal space and a touristic practice, I will look at Hajj as a case study, giving a cultural account of why Hajj takes place and the symbolism embodied in the practices that comprise the steps of undertaking Hajj. I will use ethnographic data from a radio programme on BBC Radio 4 called It's My Story: A Small Gathering of Three Million (14/05/01) and an interview with Mrs. K[1] who attended the Hajj in 2002, to support the theories used and ground the idea that will be explored throughout the essay.
Pilgrimages
Going on holiday to Spain, Greece, Italy, America, the Caribbean or any other popular tourist destination has become a leisure activity that most of us practice each year, if we can, as part of our everyday life. Most of us take for granted what has been provided for us, both at home and away, in order to make our holidays go smoothly and ensure that we have a good time when we go abroad. Yet, we very rarely, if ever, look back and ask where travel and tourism might have originated from. However, it can be argued that travelling has its roots embedded in the Middle Ages with the rise of pilgrimages (Urry 1990, Morinis 1992: MacCannell 1989). Thus pilgrimages, to a certain extent, can be seen as one of the oldest forms of travelling, where pilgrims would set off on their journeys to go and worship a shrine or visit a sacred place. Doing so, would enter a deeper level of existence (Turner 1989: 8)
However, with the rise of different religions and religious practices, there has been an increase in the various forms of pilgrimages. Therefore, pilgrimages can be spilt into different categories, as described by Morinis (1992). The first pilgrimage that Morinis mentions is the devotional; this is where the pilgrim has a goal and they go in order to honour a shrine or symbol of divine personage. The second is the instrumental, which is undertaken, for example in hope of a cure from an illness, such as Lourdes in France. "The Christian pilgrimage center at Lourdes is only the most famous of pilgrimage places to which pilgrims' journey for a cure" (Morinis 1992: 11). The normative pilgrimage is the third of the categories that Morinis uses, and is classified as such, as it occurs as part of a ritual cycle, one that is related to either the life cycle or annual calendar celebrations, such as the Jewish festival of the Passover. The fourth is the obligatory pilgrimage. This is where one has to complete the pilgrimage in accordance to their religion. The fifth and six are the wandering and the initiatory pilgrimage. The wandering pilgrimage has no structure as such except "that his [the pilgrim's] feet will guide him to a place that will satisfy his inner craving" (Morinis 1992: 13) while the initiatory pilgrimage includes all pilgrimages that have as their purpose the transformation of self.
It must be noted that these sub-categories of pilgrimages are not completely static and more often than not the boundaries are interchangeable. However, for the purpose of this essay, I would like to focus on one of the above. Due to the limitations of the essay, it would not be possible to discuss all six sub-categories in-depth with examples. Therefore, I have chosen to focus on the obligatory pilgrimage, with reference to the Islamic pilgrimage, Hajj, in Saudi Arabia. [2]
It is important to explain what Hajj is and its implications as what pilgrimage means, and then apply this to existing theories.
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