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pilgrim
A pilgrim is one who journeys to a sacred place,
such as a shrine or a centre of his or her religion.
While it is often assumed that the pilgrim's
motivation is primarily devotional, many travel
for practical reasons, such as in quest of a cure for
illness or the fulfilment of a wish, or because of a
religious obligation �such as in the Moslem hajj).
Pilgrims mostly travel in groups, which encourages
a state of communitas, devoid of normal social
divisions and restraints, and leads to much
closeness and camaraderie �Turner 1973). This
claim, however, has been contested by some
researchers �Sallnow 1981).
Most pilgrims in the contemporary world come
from the more traditional and conservative social
strata, especially the peasantry. Religious members
of the middle classes tend to practice religious
tourism, a looser and less confining mode of travel
than the pilgrimage. Modern tourists are sometimes
perceived as secular pilgrims in search of
authentic experiences, a secular surrogate of the
sacred, which they hope to encounter in the
course of sightseeing trips. However, while the
`motivation of tourists may resemble that of
pilgrims, the direction of their travel differs: rather
than journeying to their own religious centres, they
often seek authenticity in other, remote, nonmodern
places and cultures, or in the remnants of
other ages. Tourists, like pilgrims, often mix a
serious quest with recreation, play and fun; but
insofar as they tend to focus exclusively on such
activities, the resemblance between tourists and
pilgrims passes away.
References
Sallnow, M.J. �1981) `Communitas reconsidered:
the sociology of Andean pilgrimage', Man 16:
163±82.
Turner, V. �1973) `The center out there: pilgrims
goad', History of Religions 12�3): 191±230.
Further reading
Eade J. and Sallnow, M.J. �eds) �1991) Contesting the
Sacred, London: Routledge.
Morinis, A. �ed.) �1992) Sacred Journeys:The Anthro-
pology of Pilgrimage, Westport, CT: Greenwood
Press.
Smith, V.L. �ed.) �1992) `Pilgrimage and tourism:
the quest in guest', Annals of Tourism Research
19�1).
Wagner, U. �1977) `Out of time and place ± mass
tourism and charter trips', Ethnos 42�1/2): 38±52.
pilgrimage
ERIK COHEN, ISRAEL
Pilgrimage is travel inspired by religious reasons
towards holy places �elements of the geographic
environment, holy mountains, sites of revelations
or the activities of the religious founders,
shrines containing relics of saints or worshipped
likenesses, and so on). Such a trip can last several
years. Special forms of this journey include the
pilgrimages of the sick and dying.
See also: piety; pilgrim; shrine
pilgrimage route
ANTONI JACKOWSKI, POLAND
The pilgrimage route is the road leading the
pilgrim towards the holy place, to the meeting
with the sacrum. As a rule the routes are fixed;
some are almost 20,000 kilometres long. In the
Middle Ages, an entire system of paths was formed
starting in Europe and leading to Santiago de
Compostella �magnum iter sancti Jacobi), Rome, the
Holy Land and other sacred places. Sea routes
were also used for pilgrimage, as well as river
routes such as the Nile and Ganges. There was also
a system of caravan trails leading to Mecca.
pilgrimage site
ANTONI JACKOWSKI, POLAND
The pilgrimage site can be defined as the site of
holy objects, a place that serves as the goal of
religiously motivated journeys. Some places are
credited with miraculous healing powers. The
usual structure of pilgrimage sites of religious