The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

BUDDHIST PILCR!~JAl!ll\TIIEASTEHN TIIAILAND 203
performed at the sacred place to be more meritorious than similar actions
exhibited at the local temple-monastery, even though the degree of
religious value along the continuum of merit-making from devotions at
borne to shrine-going is not as sharp as that between (for .example)
recurrent Friday prayers at the local mosque and a pilgrimage to Mecca
for Muslims.
The Buddhist sacred place is also believed to be a reservoir
of magical power which can be used by the pilgrim for beneficial
ends.
In addition (at least from the point of view of an observer),
journeys to a sacred shrine bring the pilgrims into contact with a potentially
wider "audience" for the conspicuous display of meritorious
behavior than would be available in the village setting.
The present author would agree with both Turner (1973: 229) and
Gross (1971 : 145) that pilgrimage is essentially a conservative phenomenon
in the religious sense, presenting nothing heterodox or potentially
revolutionary in terms of beliefs and styles of symbolic action. The
That Phanom shrine (and qther sacred places), through royal patronage
and government support, is a center of religious devotion which defines a
legitimate social and moral world at a level beyond that of the localized
village or urban community. This definition has been accomplished
through conformity to traditional religious beliefs and the exercise of
legitimate authority. Thus, no radical message is being communicated
to devotees. Instead, the value of the traditional concept of merit-making
is re-conveyed, in the context of ritual oriented toward culturallyrecognized
religious goals.
, Turner has noted that pilgrimage flourishes in "patrimonial-feudal"
societies based on agriculture, ·with a pronounced rural-urban division
and 'a limited development of modern industry (1973: 195-199). Furthermore,
the practice is re-emerging as a present-day social phenomenon
during a period of rapid social change, when cultural forms bearing
the characteristics of ''communitas" renew themselves (ibid.: 196). With
regard to Thailand, a traditional Theravada Buddhist society which
has been undergoing modernization and change, is appears that pilgrimage
is an example of a still-enduring traditional pattern which bas
incorporated some aspects of modernity, i.e., modes of transportation.