Spiritual and religious tourism : motivations and management 9781786394163, 1786394162, 9781786394187, 1786394189

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Spiritual and Religious Tourism

Motivations and Management

Spiritual and Religious Tourism Motivations and Management

Edited by

Ruth Dowson, M. Jabar Yaqub and Razaq Raj

CABI is a trading name of CAB International CABI Nosworthy Way Wallingford Oxfordshire OX10 8DE UK Tel: +44 (0)1491 832111 Fax: +44 (0)1491 833508 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.cabi.org

CABI 745 Atlantic Avenue 8th Floor Boston, MA 02111 USA Tel: +1 (617)682-9015 E-mail: [email protected]

© CAB International 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, London, UK. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Dowson, Ruth author. Title: Spiritual and religious tourism : motivations and management / Ruth Dowson, Jabar Yaqub and Razaq Raj. Description: Boston, Massachusetts : CAB International, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019016397 | ISBN 9781786394163 (Hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781786394187 (ePub) | ISBN 9781786394170 (ePDF) Subjects: LCSH: Tourism--Religious aspects--Case studies. | Travel--Religious aspects. | Pilgrims and pilgrimages--Psychology. | Sacred space--Management. Classification: LCC G156.5.R44 D68 2019 | DDC 203/.51--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019016397 ISBN-13: 9781786394163 (hardback) 9781786394170 (ePDF) 9781786394187 (ePub) Commissioning Editors: Alex Lainsbury & Claire Parfitt Editorial Assistant: Tabitha Jay Production Editor: Ali Thompson Typeset by SPi, Pondicherry, India Printed and bound in the UK by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

Contents

Contributors

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PART 1 INTRODUCTION TO SPIRITUAL AND SACRED JOURNEYS   1  Introduction to Spiritual and Religious Journeys Ruth Dowson, Razaq Raj and M. Jabar Yaqub

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  2  The Role of Ritual in Sacred Journeys Ruth Dowson

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  3  Motivations of the Pilgrim to Attend the Annual Pilgrimage of Hajj M. Jabar Yaqub

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  4 Islamic Motivation for Tourism and Contradictions of the American Tradition Maximiliano E. Korstanje

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  5 From Spiritualism to a New Paradigm in Tourism: Spiritual Tourism and Motivations Özlem Güzel and Ayça Sariyildiz

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PART 2 MANAGING MOTIVATIONAL ELEMENTS OF SPIRITUAL JOURNEYS   6 The Selfie in Islamic Pilgrimages as a Communication Tool in Hajj and Umrah Shin Yasuda

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  7 Spiritual Motivation for Religious Tourism Destinations Jaffer Idris

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  8 Pilgrim Tourist Motivations in Religious Heritage, Culture and Art Anne Lidén

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  9 Diminishing Religious Cultural Heritage of Holy Makkah and Medina due to Commercialization of the Sacred Event Jahanzeeb Qurashi

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10  Managing the Physical Environment of the Sacred Tourist Destination ̇ Özlem Güzel, Ilker Şahin and Seda Yetimoğlu

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PART 3 INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDIES OF SPIRITUAL JOURNEYS 11 Motivations to Visit Sacred Historical Objects: the Lindisfarne Gospels’ Visit to Durham 2013 – a Sacred Journey? Ruth Dowson

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12 Visiting with a Mission(ary) – Engaging with Stakeholders at New Zealand Heritage Sites Jane Legget and Suzanne Histen

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13 The Pilgrim Goes to the Festival: Changes in Daily Life Caused by the Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Abadia in Romaria, Brazil Luana Moreira Marques, Vicente de Paulo da Silva and Jean Carlos Vieira Santos 14 Managing Catholic Churches and Sacred Sites for Protestant Visitors to Malta Dane Munro 15 The Ancient Wisdom and Motivation of Shams-i Tabrezi or Analogy of Contemporary Systems Science and Shams-i Tabrezi Ancient Wisdom Tadeja Jere Jakulin 16  Inbound and Outbound Religious Tourism in Turkey Onur Akbulut and Yakin Ekin

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17 Walking the Way of St James: Spiritual Journeys to the Cathedrals of Sport Richard Keith Wright

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Discussion Questions

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Index

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Contributors

Onur Akbulut Onur Akbulut is Assistant Professor in the Department of Tourism Management, Fethiye Faculty of Business at Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Turkey. He has been a faculty member here since 2015. He completed his master’s degree and PhD in Akdeniz University Graduate School of Social Sciences in 2004 and 2011, respectively. His research interests lie in the area of tourism management, tourist guiding, dark tourism and battlefield tourism. He has publications in tourism-related academic journals and he has presented a number of papers at international academic conferences. [email protected]

Vicente de Paulo da Silva Professor Vicente de Paulo da Silva graduated with a full degree in geography from the Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil (1988), a master’s degree in human geography from the University of São Paulo, Brazil (1995) and a PhD in geography from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2004). He is currently an adjunct professor at the Institute of Geography of the Federal University of Uberlândia-UFU, Brazil, where he works in the area of geography teaching and in the Postgraduate Programme in Geography of UFU, researching the planning and management of rural and urban spaces, and the risks and social and spatial effects of large enterprises. He was previously Professor in the Department of Geography of the State University of the Southwest of Bahia – UESB, Brazil, 1990–2005. [email protected]; [email protected]

Ruth Dowson Rev. Ruth Dowson has been a senior lecturer at the UK Centre for Events Management at Leeds Beckett University, UK since 2007, and was previously an events professional with 25 years’ experience in the events industry. She holds an MBA from Bradford University School of Management, UK (1985), and an MA in theology and ministry from the University of Sheffield, UK (2013). Ordained in the Church of England in 2012, her research combines her passion for church and events. Ruth’s published research interests focus on events and church, the eventization of faith, venuefication and vii

viii Contributors

the use of religious buildings for events. She is co-author with David Bassett, of Event Planning and Management (Kogan Page, London), now in its second edition, and is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. [email protected]

Yakin Ekin Yakin Ekin is Assistant Professor in the Department of Tourism Management, Fethiye Faculty of Business at Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Turkey, where he has been a faculty member since 2015. Previously he worked with the same academic title in the Department of Tourism Management, in the Faculty of Tourism at Izmir Katip Celebi University. He completed his master’s degree and PhD in Akdeniz University Graduate School of Social Sciences in the years of 2004 and 2011, respectively. His research interests lie in the area of tourism management, destination competiveness and event management. He has publications in tourism-related academic journals such as the Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management and Tourism Analysis. He regularly presents his research at international academic conferences. [email protected]; [email protected]

Özlem Güzel Dr Özlem Güzel is Associate Professor at the Akdeniz University Tourism Faculty in Antalya, Turkey. After her bachelor’s degree in tourism, she worked as a tour guide, being a travel and history lover. Meanwhile, she received a master’s degree in tourism and hotel business management in 2007. Güzel completed her PhD in business management at the Süleyman Demirel University in Turkey with her thesis on experience marketing in 2012. Her research interests include tourism marketing, tourist experience, religious tourism, tour guiding and sustainable tourism. ozlemmguzel@hotmail. com; [email protected]

Suzanne Histen Suzanne Histen is a Research Officer at the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI), A ­ uckland University of Technology, New Zealand. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Lincoln U ­ niversity and Masters of Management (Hons) from Massey University, New Zealand. Her NZTRI research projects involve a variety of stakeholder groups, from central and local government through to small community groups. Projects include developing visitor strategies for key stakeholders by the evaluation of the tourism potential in urban and peri-urban contexts. Her work in the heritage sector ­focuses on concept assessment and feasibility studies. Her research interests include cultural heritage, community development and events tourism. [email protected]

Jaffer Idris Jaffer Idris is a lecturer in events management at Sheffield Hallam University. Jaffer maintains a strong academic profile, having taught several different business modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels as well as developing an excellent portfolio of international teaching ­experience. Jaffer has 15+ years of professional industrial experience, having held several senior management positions in private, public and voluntary sector organizations. Jaffer holds professional accreditations that include being a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) as well as a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Jaffer’s research

Contributors ix

interests include providing innovative teaching experience, understanding cultural and religious differences and social/community integration. [email protected]

Tadeja Jere Jakulin Tadeja Jere Jakulin is Professor at the Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia. Professor Jere Jakulin obtained her PhD for research on the systems, modelling and simulation in tourism, from the University of Maribor, Slovenia. She researches and teaches (at home and abroad) in the field of soft systems (organizational networks, social and tourism systems) and consciousness as the evolutionary system. This research work has gained her international and national prizes. She is a member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Panel of Tourism Experts, and a member of Chairs of Cultural Tourism within the UNESCO/UNITWIN (university twinning and networking) Chair of Culture, Tourism and Development programme. Her research interests include: (i) systems theory, networks and systems dynamics in tourism; (ii) systems methodology, modelling, simulations and systems thinking; (iii) systems approach in the interpretation of events, festivals, cultural, religious, pilgrimage and heritage tourism; (iv) evolution of consciousness and quality of life; and (v) colour systems and colour psychology. [email protected]

Maximiliano E. Korstanje Maximiliano E. Korstanje is a senior lecturer at the University of Palermo, Argentina. He was appointed as Fellow at the Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies (CERS) University of Leeds (2015) and the University of La Habana, Cuba (2016). He serves as Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Cyber-warfare and Terrorism (IGI Global), and Regional Editor for Latin America in the International Journal for Human Rights (Inderscience), Editor for South America in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (Emerald) and advisory board member of Tourism Review International (Cognizant Communication) among many others. His recent books include The Rise of Thana Capitalism and Tourism (Routledge, UK) and Terrorism in a Global Village (Nova Science, USA). Mailing address: Korstanje Maximiliano, Department of Economics, University of Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. [email protected]

Jane Legget Jane Legget is Associate Director, Cultural Heritage, at the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI), Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. Her doctoral thesis, undertaken at Massey University, investigated stakeholder perspectives on museums and public accountability. She has extensive professional experience in museums and heritage management, including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, and Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. She has academic qualifications in archaeology, ethnology, arts management and public policy. Her research interests are in museums and cultural heritage management and policy, and she is now relating these to tourism issues. [email protected]

Anne Lidén Anne Lidén has a PhD in art history and is a senior lecturer and researcher in art, cultural heritage and museum education in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Education at Stockholm

x Contributors

University. Her research deals with medieval art and pilgrimage in religion and history education. After her PhD thesis in 1999 on Saint Olav iconography she continued her studies by focusing on Saint Bridget. In teacher education she has been coordinating postgraduate masters courses since 2001. She is a member of the Critical Heritage Studies Network at Stockholm University, and of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Committee for Education and Cultural Action (ICOM-CECA). [email protected]

Luana Moreira Marques Luana Moreira Marques has a doctorate in geography from the Universidade Federal Uberlândia, and she developed an internship at Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris, France). She has a bachelor’s degree in tourism and hospitality from the Centro Universitário do Triângulo and she was a university professor in geography at the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Universidade Estadual de Minas Gerais and Universidade de Uberaba, Brazil. She currently studies gastronomy. luanageotur@ yahoo.com.br

Dane Munro Dr Dane Munro is a resident academic at the Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture at the University of Malta. As a tourism researcher, lecturer and editor he is interested in both the management and the esoteric side of tourism and is particularly interested in researching faith-based tourism, a topic on which he has published widely. As a Latinist and historian, Dane Munro has a keen interest in the sepulchral art and history of the Order of St John. [email protected]

Jahanzeeb Qurashi Dr Jahanzeeb Qurashi achieved his PhD in tourism at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. He obtained his first BA (Hons) degree from the University of Birmingham in tourism and business administration and his first master’s degree in international hospitality from the University of Birmingham. He obtained a second master’s degree (MBA) from the University of Chester in business and marketing and a postgraduate certificate in research methodology from the University of Central Lancashire, UK. His interests include commodification of religious tourism, varying experiences of pilgrim/tourist in tourism, destination management, contemporary hospitality, event management, the role of SMART media technologies in the tourism and hospitality sector, digital marketing of tourism, and heritage tourism. He is a member of the Scientific Committee and Editorial Board for the International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage and a member of the Institute for Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, UK. [email protected]

Razaq Raj Dr Razaq Raj is an internationally renowned academic with over 17 years’ higher education experience of teaching and research in the UK, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, China and South Korea. He is Principal Lecturer for Research and Enterprise and is a visiting professor at the Kedge Business School, France and University of Vitez, Bosnia. He has substantial external examining and curriculum development experience of both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in business

Contributors xi

management, events and tourism. He is founding co-editor of the International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage and Series Editor, CABI Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Book Series (with Dr Kevin Griffin). [email protected]

̇ Ilker Şahin ̇ Ilker Şahin is a research assistant in the Department of Tourism Guidance, Tourism Faculty, at Akdeniz University, Turkey. He received his master’s degree in tourism and hotel management from Akdeniz University in 2016. As well as being a young academic, he is a professional and licensed ­English-speaking tourist guide. He continues his PhD studies at Akdeniz University. His research interests include destination marketing, tourist experience, experiential marketing, tourist guiding, religious tourism, sustainable tourism, memorability in tourist experiences and hospitality management. ilkersahin@ akdeniz.edu.tr

Jean Carlos Vieira Santos Jean Carlos Vieira Santos has a PhD in tourism from the Faculdade de Economia da Universidade do Algarve (Portugal). He has bachelor and master’s degrees in geography from the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (IGUFU/Brazil). He is currently a postgraduate professor at Universidade Estadual de Goiás (UEG), Brazil. [email protected]

Ayça Sariyildiz Ayça Sariyildiz is a master’s student in the Department of Marketing at Akdeniz University. She has a bachelor’s degree in French language and literature from Ankara University, and afterwards she started to do a master’s degree at Akdeniz University. In the meantime, she continues her career as a certified French and English translator, subtitle editor and translator and simultaneous interpreter in many projects. Marketing research, consumer behaviour and services marketing are among her research interests and she is currently writing her dissertation on sensory marketing. aycasariyildiz@ gmail.com

Richard Keith Wright Richard Keith Wright is a member of Auckland University of Technology’s Sports Leadership and Management (SLAM) teaching and research group, in the Sports Performance Research Institute of New Zealand. He specializes in the advancement of sustainable sport and recreation event legacies, social entrepreneurship and innovative planning. His research interests focus on serious leisure within sport and recreation, particularly among students and the active ageing community. Dr Wright is a member of the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute and the Auckland University of Technology Centre for Active Ageing. He is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, has presented at over a dozen international conferences and has published in sport, event and tourism management journals and textbooks. [email protected]

xii Contributors

Mohammed Jabar Yaqub M. Jabar Yaqub is a senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK. His MSc thesis, undertaken at Sheffield Hallam University, investigated motivations of pilgrims that attended the annual pilgrimage of Hajj. He has extensive personal experience in travelling to sacred sites, including Makkah and Medina to conduct the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, and also several other sites in the Middle East. His academic qualifications are in international events management. His research interests are in mega and major events, religious tourism and religious events. [email protected]

Shin Yasuda Shin Yasuda is an associate professor in the Department of Tourism Policy, Faculty of Regional Policy at Takasaki City University of Economics, Japan. His research interests include Islamic tourism, religious tourism in Islamic countries, the history of tourism in Middle Eastern countries, and theoretical studies in religious tourism, anthropology of tourism and the sociology of tourism. In 2018 he, Razaq Raj and Kevin Griffin coauthored a book entitled Religious Tourism in Asia (CAB International, Wallingford, UK). [email protected]; [email protected]

Seda Yetímoğlu Seda Yetímoğlu is a research assistant at Necmettin Erbakan University Tourism Faculty in Konya, Turkey. She received her bachelor’s degree in 2008 from the Department of Tourism Guidance, Tourism and Hotel Management School at Erciyes University, Nevşehir, Turkey. After her bachelor’s degree she worked as a freelance tour guide in the tourism sector. She has been working as a scholar since 2013 and received her MA degree in the field of tourism management in 2017. She is currently a PhD candidate at Konya Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkey. Her research interests include tourism marketing, marketing strategies, experiental marketing, tourism and hotel management, and gastronomy tourism. [email protected]

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Introduction to Spiritual and Religious Journeys

Ruth Dowson,1* Razaq Raj2 and M. Jabar Yaqub3 UK Centre for Events Management, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK; 2 Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK; 3Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

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The aim of this book is to provide insight into the development and management of sacred journeys, and the varying motivations for undertaking such journeys. The range of topics will include traditional aspects of sacred journeys and pilgrimage, as well as introducing less orthodox ­applications of theory to the world of sport and beyond, exploring the roles of people, objects and place in sacred journeys. As cultural experience changes and develops, and people search for fulfilment, spiritual meaning can be found in many different activities, in a quest for authenticity, identity and meaning. Tourism facilitates the growth in globalization through enabling encounters between individuals and groups from different cultures and traditions, and religion makes an important contribution to that expansion, through religious and spiritual tourists, as well as the destinations and artefacts they visit, and the activities in which they participate. Whether travellers adhere to a specific faith or spiritual worldview, or not, there is a manifestly significant increase in tourism by spiritual seekers of transcendent experiences, in addition to the worshipful journeyings of religious believers of many faiths. It is apparent that travelling for the purposes of religious and/or spiritual enlightenment and connection, along with higher numbers of faith adherents, will also contribute to the increase and

make a wider contribution to swell the coffers of global tourism providers in markets around the world. Such growth mirrors the burgeoning events sector, and alongside these developments comes a need for professionalization and management of destinations (e.g. the holy city of Makkah), and of associated events. This book aims to add to the body of knowledge on forms of and motivations for religious tourism. In contrast to earlier research that focused on the management of sacred sites and their visitors (Shackley, 2000, 2001; Raj and Morpeth, 2007), this book encompasses the wider aspects of both spiritual and religious tourism, with the focus on the traveller and the tourist experience, rather than the destination. The growing popularity of spiritual and religious tourism is evidenced by the Brussels-based secular organization, Future for Religious Heritage (no date), that works collaboratively with the European Commission on matters of religious heritage (European Commission, 2014). In 2016, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recognized religious tourism as being one of the fastest growing segments within the travel industry, with an estimated 300 million tourists visiting major religious destinations annually, with some 600 million national and international religious journeys being undertaken. The expansion into

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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Ruth Dowson et al.

spiritual as well as religious tourism indicates that, as with sacred sites, increasing numbers require management and operational processes, trained staff (who are increasingly professionalized), and reducing reliance on volunteers to undertake core tasks and activities. We have learned from respected research such as that by Raj and Griffin (2015) and Shackley (2001) that strategic planning has become a necessary element in enabling this growth, as financial elements move towards commercialization, as distinguished from the traditional not-for-profit characteristics that typified the oversight and control of such sacred sites in the past. It is still possible for small groups of pilgrims to travel together on their own planned itinerary – whether as local church groups visiting the Holy Land led by their vicar, or a posse of Christian motorcycling enthusiasts rallying their way round sacred locations in the UK. The evolving definitions of ‘religious’ and ‘spiritual’ are considered, as many people no longer identify themselves as ‘religious’. In the last UK Census of 2011, the Office of National Statistics research analysis focused on changes in the religious beliefs of Christians, Muslims and those with no religion (ONS, 2013). Some 59% of the UK population at that time (some 33.2 million people) reported that they were Christian. Meanwhile, numbers regularly attending traditional churches continued to fall, and the number of people who identified as having ‘no religion’ continued to rise, reaching a quarter of the population (some 14.1 million people), and growing across all age groups. So, while traditional Christianity appears to be declining in the UK, a trend mirrored across Western Europe and North America, elsewhere, numbers of religious adherents – both Christians and Muslims – are developing rapidly. This expansion is reflected in diverse localities and communities in the developed nations, and is largely situated in evangelistic religious communities, as they successfully gain new believers. Despite falling numbers of people who attend places of worship on a regular basis, there is significant development of interest in spirituality, in spiritual events and practices, underpinning the proliferation of opportunities for spiritual tourism. Those who are spiritually inclined can take a path towards enlightenment by choosing from the plethora of books published

over the past 50 years, from authors such as Paul Coelho (The Alchemist, 1993), to Rhonda Byrnes’ The Secret (2004) that was popularized by the 2006 film of the same name, greatly influencing this cultural context. Dismissed by some as ‘New Age’, the choices open to those of that persuasion have broadened to include spiritual journeys, not only as tourists, but even as pilgrims. Meanwhile, the passions of some sports fans, in an age that spurns ‘religious’ labels, quickly embraces the deep and spiritual experiences often found at sports events. And sacred spaces might equally be found by journeying to music festivals such as Glastonbury (Robinson, 2016), or even at an illegal rave (Dowson et al., 2015). As the editors of this book our spiritual and religious journey experiences have influenced not only the development of the book, but connected to our daily lives and bonded us together through our mutual scholarly and pedagogical perspectives of the study of events management and practitioners of our faiths. The book’s origins began in the traditional home and burial place of Rumi, the great 13th-century Sufi poet, in Konya, Turkey. This ancient city, situated in the Anatolian flatlands of central Turkey, played host in 2015 to a conference of academics from around the world, whose primary interest lay in religious tourism and pilgrimage. As we gathered together within this close-knit nurturing academic community to present papers and discuss our subject, we were immersed in a cultural environment that engaged us in new and different perspectives. Together, we visited Rumi’s shrine and the Mevlâna Museum, and wandered in the heat through the Neolithic settlement of Catal Huyuk, one of the most ancient human communities, dating from 7500 bce. We experienced the fascinating ceremony of the whirling dervishes with enchanting music and sparkling dramatic movement, and reflected in the quiet stillness of the Greek Orthodox Church of Aya Elenia, in nearby Sille, a place of worship commissioned by the Empress Helena (St Helen) in the 4th century, which is now a museum. In all these experiences, along with the rest of our group, we became tourists and pilgrims – transformed from religious tourists to pilgrims, from secular cultural visitors to undertaking a sacred journey. And so, in this apt environment, the idea of this book was born.



Introduction to Spiritual and Religious Journeys

The International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conference has met since 2003, and in 2017 we convened again in Italy, near Lake Orta, the location of our cover photograph, kindly taken by one of our hosts, Ms Daniella Sbarro. So the book’s own journey of formation epitomizes its content. We have travelled together, on spiritual and religious journeys, just as we have engaged with the authors of our varied chapters contained within this volume. The general discourse about whether a pilgrim is a tourist, and vice versa, is generally constructed as a continuum where people are not one or the other, but some combination. When the religious tourism and pilgrimage research group met in Konya, the touristic elements included watching a performance of the whirling dervishes. It was a highly immersive experience for the whole group, but a different experience for each of us. As we walked back into Konya for an evening meal, some of us shared our experiences of the event and began to reflect together. We became aware that we had found ourselves at different points on the ‘tourist–worshipper’ continuum, at different times, as shown in Fig. 1.1. As we observed those around us, we interpreted their responses, as well as our own, as being, at different points, worshippers and observers – whether interested and engaged, or not. The dancers started in a slow movement, like a procession, which resembled processions into church at the start of a service,

Worshipper

3

with choir followed by clergy. There was singing; and music; and dancing. Sometimes together, sometimes not. As we watched, the movements resembled the liturgical motions of priest and worshippers, as arms were crossed, uncrossed, folded and raised in the air. Did the arm movements have a symbolic meaning, a metaphor, as we searched for detail in the actions? For some, music and singing are how they connect with God, how they engage in the transcendent, they lose themselves, enfolded in God, lost in wonder and awe. As we observed others in the audience, our own usual practice in worship was influencing our interpretation of what we saw and heard. Our own meaning in a worship context became the meaning we ascribed to those around us, as we perhaps assumed they were experiencing the same feelings, both dancers and others watching from the audience. The diagram in Fig. 1.1 indicates that as an academic, the event is experienced through an additional lens, which is that of being an academic, in addition to the tourist–pilgrim (worshipper) dynamic. The academic element of being an observer was searching for explanations for the observed response behaviours. Our experience through the event was not static, however; the positioning varied throughout the event, as indicated in Fig. 1.2 – resembling a journey between the constructs of worshipper and tourist. This concept of journey provides a powerful metaphor for motivations; the inner

Continuum

Worshipper

Tourist

Tourist

Academic Fig. 1.1.  The ‘tourist–worshipper’ continuum; the academic views events through an additional lens.

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Worshipper

Tourist

Fig. 1.2.  The ‘tourist–worshipper’ continuum is not static, the position varying throughout an event.

journey often mirrors the physical journey as self-discovery reflects the geographical discovery of new sacred places. Spiritual tourism might include a range of different aspects, some of which are covered in this volume, while others remain to be researched in the future, such as the spiritual aspects of well-being that might emerge in the tourism sector. Recent literature on pilgrimages and religious tourism has emphasized the importance of the management of religious events, from the perspective of a marketing strategy approach, to promote religious spectacles in different places. The book is divided into three distinct parts. Part 1 aims to contribute towards the development of theoretical perspectives in the field. Part 2 undertakes studies of the processes and impacts of managing motivational elements of spiritual journeys, and Part 3 contains international case studies. Our chapter authors range from as far afield as Aotearoa New Zealand, Japan and Brazil, along with contributions from Malta, Sweden, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the UK.

Overview of Chapters The following is an overview of each of the chapters in the book. In Chapter 2, Ruth Dowson offers a comprehensive understanding of the ritual in religious

or spiritual activities, applying the concept to the context of sacred journeys. The chapter also considers pilgrimages to be a ‘typical’ form of journey undertaken for religious or spiritual purposes; other contributors to this book demonstrate a much broader interpretation. Sacred journeys are interpreted by some as including the whole of life, as individuals and groups journey separately or together, from birth through to death. This chapter also discusses the definition of what is ‘sacred’, developing new nuances of meaning, acknowledging the depth of experience and engagement with the transcendent in acts and activities that traditionally bear no resemblance or connection to religion or the practice of faith. In Chapter 3, M. Jabar Yaqub demonstrates and explores the motivations of individuals attending the annual pilgrimage of Hajj, which is one of the main pillars of faith in Islam and an obligation on every Muslim to complete at least once in their lifetime. Hajj originated over 4000 years ago in the valley of Makkah in Saudi Arabia which was an uninhabited land. Today, up to 2 million Muslims travel to the holy cities of Makkah and Medina in Saudi Arabia to complete the Hajj. The chapter further highlights the development of the country from a commercial aspect as well as the use of modern technology to communicate and educate the pilgrim. Further developments are planned for the holy cities and the scope of the project is to



Introduction to Spiritual and Religious Journeys

highlight whether the motivations of the attendees are changing from pilgrim to tourist. Chapter 3 also discusses that alongside visiting Makkah, pilgrims visit the holy city of Medina Munawwara in which the shrine of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him (PBUH)) of the Islamic tradition resides. In Chapter 4, Maximiliano E. Korstanje examines the concept of the increasing growth of Islamic tourism in recent years. Some voices have interrogated the impact of the secular nature of tourism in a religious society. Middle East nations are traditional and religion-based cultures, which gradually introduced tourism and other Western lifestyles into their cultural background. This chapter proposes two significant assumptions. The first is that it is time to reconsider tourism as a recently born industry as well as its influence of rational industrialism. This is in sharp contrast to MacCannell’s view, who envisaged a model to understand tourism that was opposed to tribal life. Tourism appealed to secularized societies in the same way that the figure of Totem appealed to Aboriginal tribal societies. The second viewpoint is that some scholars are claiming that the countries of the Middle East are losing their traditional values by embracing tourism as the icon of a new (more rational) perspective. The chapter discusses contributions and limitations of Islamic tourism to date, while thinking of tourism as something other than a simple Westerner’s industry, which was the view of the economic-centre paradigm. In Chapter 5, Özlem Güzel and Ayça Sariyildiz offer an analysis of spiritual tourism and its motivations. It argues that as a result of today’s stressful city life, materialism and overexposure to constantly evolving technological developments, the vast majority of today’s individuals have begun to drown in negative feelings such as alienation, loneliness, stress and spiritual emptiness. This has led them to be more interested in the concept of spiritualism than ever before and as a spiritual tourist, who is different from normal tourists, to search for self-fulfilment, personal healing and enlightenment. The notion of spiritual tourism is very different from the old tourism concept that leads tourists to hedonic activities or escape, and instead focuses on the exploration of the individuals themselves and the arrival of their internal transformations. The chapter explores spiritual tourism, spiritual tourists and their

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motivations and considers the antecedents of tourists towards spiritual journeys in the conceptual framework. In Chapter 6, Shin Yasuda critically examines how modern technology has changed Islamic pilgrimages, with the development of digital and mobile devices; Islamic religious practices and religious events have also been influenced by these technologies. Consequently, the harmonization of these technological transformations with the traditional and religious atmosphere of such religious events has emerged as a topic of discussion. The author further analyses how Hajj pilgrims recorded their religious experiences by taking selfies and instantly uploading them on to social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other related SNS (social networking services). This new phenomenon has drawn the derision of religious scholars and other pilgrims and has triggered an anti-selfie movement. Religious scholars emphasized the importance of preserving the purity of the pilgrimage and its accompanying religious experiences. In these discussions, people should focus on the proper way to show their religious authenticity in the digital era in order to retain the authentic pilgrimage experience in holy places – an experience that, some claim, is undermined by the selfie. In Chapter 7, Jaffer Idris presents his research on spiritual motivation for religious tourism destinations. He begins the chapter with a discussion of the concept of sacred sites and pilgrimages. Sacred spaces are deemed worthy of visit and reverence by their affiliation with a certain religion and practice. It is worth noting that we as humans will often have a different interpretation of how and what we class as sacred. A space may have become sacred for several reasons and contexts. There are huge numbers of different religious sites associated with different religions dotted across the globe. It is these physical spaces that often ignite or reignite the affiliation with the religion and helps to bind the devotees to their belief by strengthening their faith and connection. The author continues with a further discussion about the management and expectations of pilgrimages and religious tourism, including examination of topics such as transport infrastructure, accommodation and security, and considers why travellers make such difficult journeys to religious destinations.

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In Chapter 8, Anne Lidén focuses on the motivations of tourists to visit pilgrim destinations, thereby connecting medieval heritage, art and personal narratives. The question is what pilgrim and heritage tourists find important for their journey – the places of historic and cultural heritage, the physical exertion of walking or the personal experience of the landscape? In this chapter Anne Lidén further illustrates the role of medieval pilgrim heritage, art and narrative, in modern management of pilgrim tourism in Scandinavia. In the Scandinavian countries two cities constitute the most important pilgrim destinations in medieval history as well as in modern time, namely Trondheim in Norway, the city of Saint Olav of Norway, and Vadstena in Sweden, the city of Saint Bridget of Sweden. The pilgrim and tourist routes to these sites, officially inaugurated in 1997, follow medieval historical trails and are connected to the cultural and historical heritage, art and narrative of the lives of the saints as well as their religious cults. In Chapter 9, Jahanzeeb Qurashi examines the diminishing religious cultural heritage of holy Makkah and Medina in Saudi Arabia due to commercialization of the sacred event. The main focus of his chapter is how mosques and vital historical sites witnessed from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have been demolished, as have Ottoman-era manors and forts, prehistoric wells and stone bridges, including the houses of Sahba (the companions of Prophet Muhammad, PBUH). The chapter further provides an insight into Hajj and Umrah Ziyara places (religious cultural heritage sites of holy cities), as the majority of Muslim pilgrims during the journey of Hajj and Umrah go for ‘Ziyara’ to see the religious cultural heritage sites of Makkah and Medina, though Ziyara is not part of the Hajj rites. However, due to the emotional value of spiritual attraction and the spiritual attachment with the prophets and their companions (Sahba), pilgrims want to see the ancient and historical houses, old mosques, water wells, mountains, forts, battlefields and special places that give the pilgrims religious cultural spiritual affection. ̇ In Chapter 10, Özlem Güzel, Ilker Şahin and Seda Yetimoğlu highlight the management of the physical environment of a religious site. Religious sites have the potential to recall tourists to come back to the destination, because the

ambience of the sites makes a spiritual impression on the tourists by stimulating them emotionally. Current studies in tourism literature centre on analysing the influences of physical environmental cues in religious sites and in this context, the main goal of the chapter is to reveal cues as to the physical environmental dimensions of a religious site. The authors indicate that the physical environment cues of the Mevlâna religious site in Konya, Turkey consist of four main concepts, which are: (i) decoration; (ii) ambience; (iii) design; and (iv) layout. Of these, decoration of the museum received the highest score followed by the design dimension. However, foreign visitors have negative perceptions on issues related to cleanliness, accessibility and equipment quality in the Mevlâna Museum. In Chapter 11, Ruth Dowson explores the application of the concept of ‘eventization’ to tourist journeys made to visit sacred objects. Religious objects and associated heritage sites are increasingly promoted through a process of building a framework of events through and around them, to encourage and facilitate tourism, whether such tourism is prompted by a spiritual or religious focus, or not. As a case study she provides insights into the impacts of eventization on the 3-month release of the Lindisfarne Gospels from the British Library to Durham Cathedral for an exhibition in the summer of 2013, compared to those of a promotion of the Lindisfarne Gospels in 2003 and of the Magna Carta in 2015. The chapter further examines and reflects on the experiences and motivations for visiting sacred objects of historical importance, from the perspectives of those who make such visits possible, as well as their visitors. In Chapter 12, Jane Legget and Suzanne Histen discuss the significance of the identity issues related to managing existing missionary heritage buildings in order to serve visitors journeying with a sacred purpose. The case study looks at it from a stakeholder perspective at a critical time in relationships between the indigenous Māori and Pākehā (non-Māori), as New Zealand transitions into a ‘Post-Treaty Settlement era’. A case-study approach has been used to analyse missionary sites in Northland/Bay of Islands. Church hierarchies have acknowledged historic complicity and church-owned land and



Introduction to Spiritual and Religious Journeys

property feature in contemporary negotiations for redress. Representatives of iwi (Māori tribal groups) are increasingly involved in heritage management, sometimes in leadership roles, through museums, national parks and Heritage New Zealand, as well as heading their own cultural centres and tourism operations. Tangata whenua (literally people of the land) insist on recognition of their cultural links to their ancestral lands. The chapter further explores how New Zealand heritage tourism has the potential to offer different dimensions of Christian content or experience. Some provide opportunities for prayer, reflection and spiritual refreshment, although these aspects are not widely promoted. In Chapter 13, Luana Moreira Marques, Vicente de Paulo da Silva and Jean Carlos Vieira Santos examine and explore the changes motivated and mediated by pilgrimage to religious festivals, having as background the festival in honour of Our Lady of the Abadia, held annually in the city of Romaria, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The authors discuss sacred is sacred only from the perspective of the ‘other’. It does not become divine by itself. Indeed, becoming sacred comes from the recognition of the profane. Understood as different, the element made sacred is separated from the ordinary and starts to exercise its power on the groups that recognize it as such. A rock can be sacred to certain communities, as well as a kind of animal to another. The idea of the sacred is therefore universal, but its practical recognition is given by specifics and locations. The interrelationship while transcending also includes humans, who understand the sacred as a highly powerful element distinct and separated from themselves. However, it is to the sacred that humans direct themselves and what endows their lives with meaning, ordering it according to their needs. In Chapter 14, Dane Munro examines a case study of holy places in Malta. The first signs of a Christian culture in Malta perhaps needs some more explanation. Christianity’s advent in Malta is thought to be connected to the providential shipwreck of the later apostolic Saint Paul in the year 60 on the island of Melite, as later narrated in the Acts of the Apostles 27 and 28 of the New Testament. The missionary zeal of St Paul introduced Christianity far beyond its Judaic birthplace and boundaries. Obviously, at that time Christianity was still spread by word of

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mouth, as the New Testament had not been compiled and edited yet. The shipwreck of St Paul is seen by many Maltese as the birth of their Latin European identity as Maltese, and accordingly, Malta as a sacred island. Where does this leave the Protestant who is following the footsteps of St Paul in Malta? Wherever it is known where St Paul travelled, pilgrim routes have been set up, which justifies that in Malta a national St Paul’s pilgrims’ route should be designed. In Chapter 15, Tadeja Jere Jakulin analyses and examines the ancient wisdom and motivation of Shams-i Tabrezi, whose mosque and tomb is in Konya, Turkey. The case study illustrates 20th-century discoveries and that ideas of systems theory and a systems approach to life were present in ancient Shams-i Tabrezi’s wisdom and were known centuries ago. This is evidence that wisdom from the past does not have time limits. Further, it repeats itself in the present and if ignored or not recognized it badly affects the future. To understand this statement, one must start to understand the difference between systems and linear or dual approaches and how they affect society. When one starts to see the world from a view of a whole, nothing becomes impossible. One sees connections, interconnections, interdependencies, synergy among elements of a system as a harmonic structure of a system, which evolves only if it goes along with its change. Sufi wisdom presents the importance of systems thinking as modern approach and wisdom in the words of Rumi’s teacher Shams-i Tabrezi. It is the writings of such masters that reveal the inner beauty, the diamond of Shams. In Chapter 16, Onur Akbulut and Yakin Ekin discuss and examine religious tourism development in Turkey. Religious tourism is the pioneer form of tourism which has begun almost with the dawn of humanity. From ancient times religious destinations were not only a part of the cultural landscape but also they became a vital factor in local marketing and primary parts of the economy of hosted destinations. Some of the religious places such as Makkah in Saudi Arabia, Fatima in Portugal and Lourdes in France attract millions of religious tourists, charity workers, missionaries and humanitarians creating a huge financial transaction in the destination. Religious tourism has become increasingly popular worldwide, including in Turkey where there are

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sites and places that fall within the standards of religious tourism both in terms of quality and quantity. Throughout Turkey, 43 provinces out of 81 possess such kind of attractions. However, the issue of accommodation and some infrastructure problems have yet to be overcome which is why investment in hotels along the routes of religious tourism should be encouraged by the government and there should be some incentives for such an investment. The final chapter (Chapter 17) by Richard Keith Wright is a case study exploring the emergence of the modern-day pilgrim, looking for spiritual guidance or gratification by making ‘spiritual journeys to the cathedrals of sport’.

This is an area deemed worthy of further exploration, both within and outside the realms of pilgrimage tourism. The chapter examines the emergence of secular pilgrimages by the serious leisure-inspired English football pilgrim to follow the performance of their team and compares it to ‘Rites of way: behind the pilgrimage revival’. He acknowledges an increasing desire to ‘reconnect’ and ‘make sense’ of our natural surroundings, driven by the consequences of dematerialization and the disembodiment of virtualized existence. At the end of the book there is a list of questions (four for each chapter) to provide a focus for discussion of the topics described in each chapter.

References Byrnes, R. (2004) The Secret. Atria Books/Beyond Words, New York. Coelho, P. (1993) The Alchemist: a Fable About Following Your Dream. Harper Collins, London. Dowson, R., Lomax, D. and Theodore-Saltibus, B. (2015) Rave culture – free party or protest? In: Spracklen, K. and Lamond, I. (eds) Protests as Events: Politics, Activism and Leisure. Rowman & Littlefield International, London, pp. 191–210. European Commission (2014) Towards an Integrated Approach to Cultural Heritage for Europe. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/assets/eac/culture/library/publications/2014-heritage-communication_en.pdf (accessed 7 December 2018). Future for Religious Heritage (no date) Available at: https://www.frh-europe.org/ (accessed 7 December 2018). Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2013) Full Story: What Does the Census Tell Us About Religion in 2011? Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/articles/ fullstorywhatdoesthecensustellusaboutreligionin2011/2013-05-16 (accessed 4 December 2018). Raj, R. and Griffin, K. (2015) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management: an International Perspective, 2nd edn. CAB International, Wallingford, UK. Raj, R. and Morpeth, N.D. (2007) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management: an International Perspective. CAB International, Wallingford, UK. Robinson, R. (2016) Music Festivals and the Politics of Participation. Ashgate Publishing, Abingdon, UK. Shackley, M. (ed.) (2000) Visitor Management: Case Studies from World Heritage Sites. Butterworth Heinemann, London. Shackley, M. (2001) Managing Sacred Sites: Service Provision and Visitor Experience. Continuum, London. United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2016) Network of Religious Tourism Project Brief. Available at: http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/nrt_proposal_flyer-14july2016-lowres.pdf (accessed 7 December 2018).

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The Role of Ritual in Sacred Journeys

Ruth Dowson* UK Centre for Events Management, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK

Introduction This chapter sets out to define and analyse the role and purpose of ritual in religious or spiritual activities, applying the concept to the context of sacred journeys. The British anthropologist, Victor Turner (1969), identified ritual as a central element within the celebrations and commemorations that bring communities together, noting that no human society has been or is exempt from such practices, although the expressions of those actions vary considerably. While we might consider pilgrimages to be a ‘typical’ form of journey undertaken for religious or spiritual purposes, other contributors to this book demonstrate a much broader interpretation. Sacred journeys are interpreted by some as including the whole of life, as individuals and groups journey separately or together, from birth through to death. Others consider specific actions or activities as contributing towards a sacred journey – and for some, such acts are immutable, unchanging, eternal – while, increasingly, an emerging trend is to develop new rituals, or adopt (and even appropriate) the existing rituals of other communities, with or without the accompanying meaning. Indeed the very definition of what is ‘sacred’ is developing new nuances of meaning,

acknowledging the depth of experience and engagement with the transcendent in acts and activities that traditionally bear no resemblance or connection to religion or the practice of faith.

Defining Ritual Turner’s definition of ritual viewed life as a form of movement or performance (1969); in short, a journey through life itself, embedded within ritual acts, both individually and corporately. And while sacred journeys are undertaken on an individual, personal level, they are rarely taken alone; the action of travelling is frequently undertaken in the company of others. Whether meeting and journeying together intentionally or circumstantially, travellers develop bonds, uniting through shared experiences, acquiring and replaying rituals throughout their time together. In a faith context, rituals are found in life stage events – what van Gennep called ‘rites of passage’ (1960), such as funerals, weddings, celebrations of birth, baptisms or other initiations, as well as in regular liturgical services, each suffused with ritual elements. As a structuralist, Turner’s definition of ritual stemmed from a recognition of life as, ‘performance, as literature, as theatre, as storytelling, as game, as a

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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movie script or scenario, or as a symphonic composition’ (Abrahams, 1969, p. vii). In this vein, religious or spiritual journeys, and the events that might be integrated within or attached to such gatherings, clearly fall within the scope of Turner’s interpretation of activities that describe ways in which people celebrate with each other, doing life together as a group. As an example of contemporary gatherings that gain meaning, promoted through the medium of Instagram, a group of young people in their 20s met together after their Sunday evening church service each week, in the home of a couple from a very large independent inner-city church. Because the church was so big, often with 1000–2000 people at a service, the opportunity to get to know people well and build relationships proved a challenge. So, over a period of 12 years, each week they posted photos of the gathering at their home, filled with individuals who became friends – some passed through the group after a year or two, others stayed longer. They played games together, laughed, ate and sang together, creating memories that were permanently captured on social media, that itself became the ritual of #SundayNightFamily – another ritual, another spiritual journey. Turner’s anthropological roots lay in van Gennep’s analytic framework that identified function and structure in ritual (van Gennep, 1960). The concept of separation from everyday life, which is common to religious and spiritual journeys, transforms into a ritual world removed from time and space (Abrahams, 1969, p. ix), a liminal space (Turner, 1969). Cultural ethnographers such as Turner focused on these performative elements of community, identifying the emergence of shared ‘understandings and experiences’ (Abrahams, 1969, p. viii), expressed through the rituals of celebrations. In this context, it is argued that sacred journeys provide such an expression, making it possible to interpret these peregrinations as performative texts that communicate meaning within the community of participants, as well as communicating a wider meaning beyond that community. In contemporary society, the prevalence of social media connects people and their journeys, and captures the evidence of the performance, engaging with those who were present, as well as those who observe online.

Rites of Passage van Gennep’s (1960) approach explored a separation between the activities of everyday life and the liminality of ritual time and space. Through the rites of passage in individual life stages, or the corporate experience of seasonality and time, van Gennep identified three major phases in this process (with examples to provide clarity of understanding):

• • •

separation – prominent in funeral ceremonies and memorial services, which may take place immediately after death, or after a period of time; transition – marking changes, in pregnancy, engagements and initiation; and incorporation – found in wedding ceremonies.

According to van Gennep, the rites of passage incorporated rituals and ritual behaviour, the function of which was to enable individuals, groups and communities to mark and survive the trauma of these major changes, arguing that, ‘there is no evidence that a secularized urban world has lessened the need for ritualized expression of an individual’s transition from one status to another’ (1960, p. xvii). In short, today’s weddings may differ in terms of the rituals and sacred elements involved in comparison to the past, but nevertheless weddings still include significant rituals that mark change. Today, for example, some wedding ceremonies may appear ‘perfunctory’ (van Gennep, 1960, p. xvii), outshone by the glitz and glamour of the after-party, but they risk a loss of meaning in their expression of the transition of two individuals becoming a couple, the joining of two families. The almost hurried nature of a destination wedding is demonstrated daily at many sunny locations, in which the bride is walked up the ‘aisle’ (past the swimming pool) by a fellow guest she has only recently met (and who departs before the ceremony takes place, having completed his task), while 5 minutes later there are whoops and hollers when the bride and groom conclude the marriage service as they sign the legal documentation. The ‘wedding’ is over and the party begins. Until the next day, when it is repeated, like clockwork, throughout the summer season, at every hotel on the beachfront. van Gennep also noted that specific ceremonies



The Role of Ritual in Sacred Journeys

incorporated rituals of significance within the whole. In the religious context this might include distinct (but sometimes slight, almost unnoticeable) physical movements. An example of this can be found within the Christian communion service (or Eucharist), where the officiating priest sacralizes the bread and wine through words (liturgy), as well as using hand gestures and changing body postures. In broad denominations such as the Anglican Church, the range of such practices may vary widely, with some celebrants bowing, elevating the communion bread (or wafer) and wine, and genuflecting (bending the knee) at certain points, while others would not consider such actions. These differences are common to many religious ceremonies and journeys, full of symbolic and theological meaning.

Changing Rituals It is within what Falassi described as ‘time out of time’ (1987, p. 7) of communal celebratory settings, that Turner (1969) identified the characteristics of ritual in embodying both shared values and individual meanings. In earlier studies, Durkheim (1912; Morrison, 2006) proposed that it was within and through shared religious celebrations and commemorations that society emerged, forming community. Such sacred experiences may take the form of pilgrimages or some other spiritual journey, as individuals seek for meaning (Collins, 2005, p. 330) and a sense of belonging (Davie, 1994). In the context of spiritual journeys, rituals may pre-exist (Collins, 2005, p. 326); equally, new rituals may emerge before, during and after the spiritual journey (Collins, 2005, p. 325). Some rituals hark back to ancient times and practices, and may have remained static over centuries, and even millennia, while others are shaped and transformed over time. A culture of embedded, unchanging ritual may not be understood by those outside of that context, due to unfamiliar language or practices, or a loss of linguistic or cultural meaning in translation. Yet rituals that flex and are reshaped by cultures may also result in a loss of meaning and authenticity, as historical sacred elements become obscured, transforming into ‘mere baggage’ (Hopewell, 1987, p. 15).

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In the 21st century, religion and religious practices can seem, to much of the population, to belong to an ‘alien culture’ (Turner, 1969, p. 2), to which those not acquainted with them, may view as ‘seemingly bizarre components and interrelations’ (Turner, 1969, p. 2). The academy is challenged to recognize the difficulty of viewing from within, an ‘emic’ perspective (Collins, 2005, p. 323), as compared to the view from without (Collins, 2005, p. 323), but as authors and editors, we value both perspectives here. Durkheim viewed religion as fundamental to the creation of society (Morrison, 2006, p. 271), and Turner argued that ‘rituals reveal values at their deepest level’ (Turner, 1969, p. 6), within group settings, including those formed through religious and spiritual journeys. Turner noted the difference between observing another’s ritual performance, and ‘reaching an adequate understanding of what the movements and words mean’ (Turner, 1969, p. 8), to the participants in that performance. As people of faith, the editors have close connections, embedded within their own faith communities. But it should be recognized that belief alone does not automatically convey clarity of what might be deeper and more diverse understandings of those who participate together in religious and spiritual journeys. The rituals and symbols in such activities embody and express the values of the community of pilgrims. Turner’s note rings true here, that in the ‘ritual context, almost every article used, every gesture employed, every song or prayer, every unity of space or time, by convention stands for something other than itself ’ (Turner, 1969, p. 15).

Falassi’s Typological Model of Ritual Falassi’s (1987) iconic study of festivals drew together a series of essays that analysed presentations of social patterns and structural features of festivals as well as considering theoretical perspectives that encompassed a classification of rites and rituals in that context. It is this typology that is applied to Christian religious activities, many of which are also expressed within sacred journeying and pilgrimage later in this section. Falassi noted the existence and importance of the ‘building blocks’ (Falassi, 1987, p. 3) that

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rituals contribute to the whole, whether that be a festival, pilgrimage or liturgical service. The ritual that commences the journey, that sacralizes the journey or event is known as ‘valorization’ (Falassi, 1987, p. 4). It is this act that changes time and space from the ordinary and normal, to the sacred. The sacred journey becomes a ‘time out of time’ (Falassi, 1987, p. 4), as participants or pilgrims devote themselves to this special activity. Some journeys begin with a rite of purification or cleansing, that may involve washing, or (as in the case of the Hajj) putting on specific clothing (Raj, 2015, p. 129). Others may include purification rituals within the journey, such as processing with a sacred object, for example carrying a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary around their village, as shown in the photograph in Fig. 2.1. Rites of passage (Falassi, 1987, p. 4) notify the point of change from one stage of life to another. In the context of sacred journeys, this might include acts of initiation into the journey; the Hajj pilgrimage provides a clear rite of passage for Muslims (Raj, 2015). For Christians, the sacred journey through life itself is marked by baptism and confirmation. Falassi’s model continues with ‘rites of reversal’ (1987, p. 4), in which opposites from the norm are applied. At first glance this may seem to lack applicability to sacred journeys, but pilgrims (especially historically) have often come from wealthy backgrounds, which enables them to undertake the pilgrimage in the first place, yet while on pilgrimage they withdraw from and eschew the trappings of luxury and wealth, temporarily taking on the life (and sometimes habit) of a mendicant, and embracing hardship as a core element of their journey. Rites of conspicuous display (Falassi, 1987, p. 4) allow significant community symbols to come into contact with the worshipping group; such items may normally be hidden away from view, but on these ritual occasions form the focus of attention. Sacred shrines, such as those at Lourdes (Lourdes Sanctuary, no date) or Walsingham (Walsingham Shrine, no date) would form a typical display. The 7-yearly release of the Lindisfarne Gospels (see Chapter 11, this volume) from the British Library to their historical home in Durham also falls into this category of sacred journey. Falassi’s model identifies ritual food, drink and gifts within rites of conspicuous consumption (1987, p. 4), from

Holy Communion to feast meals and hospitality; and including the varied types of souvenirs purchased by pilgrims and visitors to shrines, that range from the sacred to the bizarre. Pilgrimage and other sacred journeys often encompass ritual dramas (Falassi, 1987, p. 5), whether they take place at stages along the journey, through the journey itself, or at the destination. For some, the journey tells the story or explicitly enacts the drama, such as the Hajj (Raj, 2015). Rites of exchange (Falassi, 1987, p. 5) on spiritual journeys may include economic or symbolic transfers, from the trading of money or goods between travellers and their hosts, to gifts, visits and acts of mediation and peacemaking. Rites of competition (Falassi, 1987, p. 5) may be expressed on pilgrimage journeys through opportunities for individuals to undertake specific acts, such as being honoured to carry objects of spiritual value in processions. In balance to the opening rituals, the end of the spiritual journey is marked by devalorization (Falassi, 1987, p. 6), such as the return to wearing their own clothing, or for male pilgrims, having their heads shaved, as in the Hajj (Raj, 2015). Falassi’s ground-breaking study of festivals contributed a valuable classification framework of different ritual types that can be applied to spiritual and religious journeys, and Table 2.1 considers these aspects and provides detailed relevant examples.

Symbolism of Rituals In order to explore the breadth and depth of the range of rituals it might be useful to have an example that demonstrates the interconnectedness and symbolism of rituals, according to Falassi’s typological model (1987), as described above. In his framework, Falassi identifies rites of purification that involve cleansing, and chasing away evil by fire, holy water, or the use of sacred relics or symbols (1987, p. 4). The following illustration of this aspect draws on rituals from the most sacred time in the Christian year, known as ‘Holy Week’, when many church congregations focus on the journeying aspects through the week that begins with Jesus being feted as Messiah, entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, riding on a donkey, to be met by cheering crowds. By Good Friday, Jesus dies a horrible



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Fig. 2.1.  Procession of the statue at the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 2017, Roccalberti, Tuscany, Italy. (Author’s own photograph.)

death on a Roman instrument of torture, a cross, and rises from the dead on Easter Sunday. For many traditional Christian denominations, the retelling and re-enacting of this story itself

is a sacred journey in which they participate, year after year, entering into the experience through many rituals. On Palm Sunday, there are processions through which the drama

Christian rituals

Rites of purification, cleansing, chasing away evil by fire/holy water/sacred relics/symbols

• Rites of initiation using water to cleanse and oil to exorcise in baby baptism (sprinkling); adult (full immersion or sprinkling) baptism; confirmation and admission to church membership; sprinkling with sacralized water by the presiding bishop of the whole congregation at confirmation services • Healing and ‘ministry’ services using prayer for healing, anointing with holy oil, laying on of hands, and prayer for filling with the Holy Spirit • Rituals for confession of sins and absolution range from complete adherence to approved liturgy, to lack of formal or written liturgy within services. Liturgy in the Anglican Book of Common Worship (Church of England, no date) includes words and prayers encouraging corporate repentance and the priest proclaiming forgiveness. At the end of more modern services, informal liturgy might include an ‘altar call’, usually with an extempore prayer of repentance and new beginnings offered. Liturgy of the Anglican Baptism Service include parents and godparents publicly confessing to the congregation, ‘I repent of my sins, I renounce evil’ • Symbols: priestly dress including embroidered stoles, cassocks. Independent churches could interpret dress trends as a code symbolic of ‘abundant life’. The move from ‘Sunday best’ to casual dress •  Carrying the Cross to mark the start and end of the service •  Baby thanksgivings and baptisms, adult full-immersion baptisms •  Confirmations by bishop •  Marriages; post-divorce service • Funerals •  Prison ministry – using profane places for sacred activity •  Costumes – robed choir, robed clergy/readers • In Communion, bread might be shared by all, including children and babies (not only reserved for confirmed church members), with grapes and fruit juice alongside wine •  Conversational or dialogic ‘sermon’ rather than preached from a pulpit, high above the congregation •  Circle of chairs, or beanbags on the floor •  PA (public address) system and music equipment (e.g. guitars costing over £2000 each) •  Starbucks in church • In a traditional Anglican church the vicar would be seated in a prominent position. In independent churches the front row might be ‘reserved’ for church leaders and their families •  Altar used for communion, candles •  Some people genuflect or bow on entering or leaving church •  Processions into and out of church services with choir and clergy •  Formal civic occasions (e.g. Remembrance Day service followed by parade to war memorial in centre of village) •  Tea tray on legs with communion elements placed in the centre of the circle •  Political engagement (e.g. in demonstrations around the country) •  Antithetical – the opposite of conspicuous display, using public transport, walking, setting up food cooperatives

Rites of passage, marking transition from one stage of life to another (e.g. initiations) Rites of reversal – symbolic inversion (e.g. (masks and) costumes); gender misidentification; role confusion; using sacred places for profane activities

Rites of conspicuous display – objects of high symbolic value put on display, touched or worshipped; used in processions; guardians and social/ political/religious elite display their powers

Ruth Dowson

Rites

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Table 2.1.  Falassi’s (1987) typology of ritual applied to Christian rituals within religious practice.



Rites of conspicuous consumption – feasts, food and drink; gifts showered on guests; sacred (Holy) communion

Ritual dramas, retelling of myths and legends or historical re-enactment

Rites of competition – games, sports, contests of all kinds either highly unpredictable and merit-based or ritualized and predictable Devalorization rites – take place at the end of the event; restoring normal time and space, closing ceremonies; formal/informal farewells

The Role of Ritual in Sacred Journeys

Rites of exchange, from commerce (buying and selling) to gift exchanges and charitable donations

•  Holy Communion (Eucharist) services using contemporary or traditional language •  Shared meals at celebrations and special dates such as Harvest Festival •  Fashion shows and other events include free gifts and treats •  Donated food and clothes distributed to those in need •  Sharing of resources •  Guerrilla gardening in the local area •  Dance, drama • Testimonies •  Bible readings, retelling or re-enacting Bible stories, dramatic storytelling •  Offertory as part of service liturgy •  Receives and gives away food and other goods to those in need • Annual giving day; fundraising for building and other projects; ad hoc ideas (e.g. bring unwanted gold, small change day) •  Resources shop or stall selling clothing, music, DVDs and books, CDs of talks, publications, Fair Trade goods •  In-service – altar calls can feel competitive ‘just one more opportunity, one chance’ •  At conferences (e.g. Cherish – ‘warm-up’ routines such as ‘It’s a knockout’ or ‘Get me out of here!’ games) •  Family or all-age services, ‘messy church’ with games and food •  Socials, family fun day •  ‘Altar call’ (no actual altar) •  Coffee lounge, resources shop, Starbucks •  Host team and Car park team say goodbye •  Ice cream van, games, football •  Notices, hymn, blessing •  Ministry team available for prayer •  Clergy stand at door and shake hands with congregation as people leave

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unfolds in public demonstrations today, with live donkeys ridden and palm branches waved, in towns and cities across the globe. Small crosses made from palm fronds are distributed on the streets as well as during church services, symbolizing the joyful hosannas cried by Jesus’ followers, but today, with the certain knowledge of what is to come. On Maundy Thursday (the day before Good Friday), bishops, priests and deacons (ordained clergy in Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran denominations), meet together to renew their ordination vows in a Chrism Service, in which newly ordained deacons bring forward jars of oil to be blessed by the bishop, for use across their diocese in the coming year. The Chrism Mass is one of the most important and solemn services, which all clergy in the diocese are expected to attend. There are three separate jars of olive oil, which are consecrated for three separate uses:

•

•

•

The oil of chrism is used in confirmation services to anoint those joining the church and making a public declaration of their faith. Chrism oil is also used to anoint deacons and priests on their ordination to holy orders, and in some denominations may be used to consecrate new altars and dedicate new churches. The oil of catechumens, or baptism, is used in baptism services, in which the priest anoints the child or adult being baptised, making the sign of the cross on their forehead, while proclaiming, ‘Christ claims you for His own. Receive the sign of His cross.’ This action, at once symbolic and deeply spiritual, marks the beginning of the baptised person’s faith journey within the church. This ritual of purification ends with the powerful protective declaration, ‘May almighty God deliver you from the powers of darkness and lead you in the light and obedience of Christ’ (Church of England, 2006). The oil of the sick is used to anoint those who are sick or dying, and may be used in the home, in church services, or in hospitals and hospices.

And so, the three types of oils that are blessed by bishops on Maundy Thursday continue their sacred journeys, spreading out across each diocese in ritual acts that take place throughout the liturgical year, from their origins

in Holy Week. These consecrated oils would normally only be administered by ordained clergy, but less traditional churches might have a more open and flexible approach to the ritual use of oil, and in less formal contexts. Such differences are a matter of theology rather than anything else, and may be found between and occasionally within, denominations. Usually Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches would ascribe to the method described above, but certainly within the Anglican Church some theological differences are acceptable, whereas independent and less traditional churches may or may not use oil in rituals, and with or without approved liturgical accompaniment. This detailed example sheds some light on the variations in practice and theology of rituals which add complexity to any discussion of the concept, as well as the reality in implementation. It also attempts to express some of the interconnectedness between rituals within the Christian journey of faith, alluded to by Collins (2005), that is no doubt replicated in other religions. Grimes introduced a concept of ‘ritual partitions’ within sacred spaces and times, which not only appear as ‘abstract ideas or mental images’ (Grimes, 2006, p. 94), but also as physical barriers. For example, members of a church group participating in protest demonstrations (seen as a form of spiritual journey), in which police and demonstrators are separated perhaps by polycarbonate plastic shields surrounding a kettled group, embodies ‘partitioning and enclosing’ (Grimes, 2006, p. 94) as clearly as an icon screen. Critiquing Jonathan Z. Smith, Grimes argues that in ritualized ceremonies there may be order and control, but also that ‘there are spontaneous, uncontrolled elements in divination rites, and performance of failure appears in rites of confession’ (Grimes, 2006, p. 105). Grimes proposed a multidimensional nature of ritual that might equally be seen in religious journeys, whether ‘dancing, walking, kneeling’ (Grimes, 2006, p. 105), and in protesting faithful journeys.

Influence of Culture The development of theory about ritual is influenced by culture, yet it is clear that culture is an



The Role of Ritual in Sacred Journeys

ever-changing reality. How, then, does this reality manifest itself in religious communities on their corporate and individual spiritual journeys? Traditional church cultures, for example, may not easily relate to the outside world, sometimes preferring 17th-century language, practices and rituals that defy understanding by those outside the walls of the church building – and even by many within. The creation of new ways of ‘being’ church, new rituals, is relevant for millions embarking on Christian journeys in Latin America or Africa, enabling authenticity in each context, without losing the centrality of shared faith. The impact of cultural change – or contextualization – enables the creation of a new ‘group identity’ (Shorter, 1994, p.  30), visible outside the church, recognized within the church, and responded to by the church. The diversity of life in the 21st-century demands a review of the wisdom of continuing the classical ‘perfection’ of a traditional religion that does not recognize the ethnic and sociological plurality that now exists. And whether rituals enable faith communities to provide ‘just a religious version of the surrounding culture’ (Tomlin, 2008, p. 77), or whether they contribute to the creation of their own counterculture, such activities draw people together into community, cultivating a shared life journey together, with or without the mediation of religious leaders. Rituals in sacred journeys often involve wearing specific forms of dress that symbolize meaning. For example, male Hajj travellers put on a white garment comprising two pieces of unsewn cloth, the Ihram (Raj, 2015, p. 129) that indicates their pilgrim status. The Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Reverend James Jones has spoken of ‘the outer robe’ worn by clergy, that symbolizes the office of deacon, priest or bishop, warning that this external garment ‘must never be confused with the inner person’ (Jones, 2018). This highlights the complexity of what is worn outwardly, to signal beliefs and values, identifying the plural identity not only of Anglican clergy but also of other religious adherents following a ritual journey. Unlike the Hajj pilgrims, such ritual garments may encompass a wide range of outerwear, and may not be part of a formal or required mode of dress. For example, many large independent churches host a range of events, in which for some, participation is a

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form of religious journey. One such international event is Cherish, held in Leeds, Yorkshire (Dowson, 2016). Every year, the conference organizers produce a series of themed T-shirts and other branded items of clothing and jewellery, which are purchased by many of the participants. Some years ago, one of the guest speakers featured at the conference spoke on the theme of ‘Daughters of the King’ (‘the King’ refers to Jesus). The accompanying T-shirts proclaimed the message: ‘Daughter of the King’. By wearing this T-shirt, wearers embodied the messages and images it bore. It identified them as daughters, and connected them to other daughters. By simply wearing a T-shirt, this concept of being a daughter thus linked wearers to a network of specifically Christian women, as daughters; this action forms part of the multiple narratives that connect not only to the T-shirt and how the women dress, but also to the whole of their lives, beyond the event. Another narrative of this T-shirt is that of belonging to the community that is the Cherish women’s conference. Being a ‘Daughter of the King’ identifies the wearer as a Christian, and within that faith, as a specific type of Christian; these are some of the assumptions that could be made about wearers, based on the T-shirt alone. Another dimension of ritual theory is explored by Bell, who concludes that ‘ritual practices can serve both social control and social change’ (2009, p. 169). Such a divergence means that rituals might be utilized by the ‘conservative politics of “reaction” as well as the potentially transformative politics of “revolution”’ (Bell, 2009, p. 169). Bell’s concept of revolutionary ritual links to ‘the ecstatic rituals of non-Western cultures’ identified by Ehrenreich (2007, p. 10), which were viewed with disdain by many anthropologists in the 20th century. Ehrenreich argued that Western anthropologists, influenced by their own cultural contexts, failed to acknowledge the importance of religious and spiritual ritual elements that included ‘music, dancing, eating, drinking, or indulging in other mind-altering drugs, costuming and/or various forms of self-decoration’ (2007, p. 18). Williams (2018) applies Ehrenreich’s theory to the international Critical Mass protest bike rides, comparing them to the ecstatic rituals of religious ceremonies,

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Ruth Dowson

Structured

Traditional

Formal

Embedded

Dimensions of variance in ritual in religious or spiritual journeys

Unstructured

New/invented

Informal

Independent

Fig. 2.2.  Dimensions of variance in ritual in religious or spiritual journeys.

carnivals and music events. So the purpose of ritual, whether religious, spiritual or neither, might be initiated by a desire to conform to a social or religious context; alternatively, ritual might be a means of liberation from the social environment. Using theoretical analysis from a range of historical, sociological and anthropological perspectives, it is possible to analyse the current trends and developments in religious and spiritual journeys. In this context, the model shown in Fig. 2.2 is advanced that indicates key identified dimensions of possible variance in rituals that take place within and around these spiritual or religious journeys. These dimensions include rituals that are:

• • • •

structured or unstructured; traditional or new and invented; formal or informal; and embedded or independent.

The influences on these rituals emerge from wider society and culture, impacting in different ways and increasing the complexity of the rituals. Factors such as whether the journey is religious or spiritual add another dimension to the meaning and purpose of the dimensions that influence such rituals. In developing an understanding of the influences that shape rituals and their meanings in religious or sacred journeys, a range of factors

have been identified that influence these trends. These influencing factors include:

• • • • • • • •

whether the rituals form part of a religious or a spiritual journey, or a combination of the two; the space in which the rituals are performed or take place, and the extent to which this transforms the place into a sacred space; the construction and performance of ritual acts; the elements of time in which the rituals are undertaken, and the extent to which this ritual performance transforms profane time into sacred time; the duration or length of time a ritual takes, which may vary from a micro-ritual act to a lengthy undertaking; the difference between journeying to a sacred place or to complete a sacred journey, as compared with the return journey from making the visit; the physical and geographic context and elements; and the cultural context in which the ritual and the sacred journey are constructed.

Figure 2.3 indicates a visual construction of the interplay between the dimensions of variance and the factors that influence those dynamic dimensions.



The Role of Ritual in Sacred Journeys

Structured

Formal

Traditional

19

Embedded

Dimensions of variance in ritual in religious or spiritual journeys

Influences: religious/spiritual; place/space; ritual acts; sacred/profane time; duration; journeys to/from; physical/geographic; cultural context

Unstructured

New/invented

Informal

Independent

Fig. 2.3.  Influencing factors on ritual in religious or spiritual journeys.

Summary In summary, this chapter has considered a range of theoretical perspectives on ritual theory, and attempts to relate that theory to religious and sacred journeys. In defining what ritual is, the aspects of movement and performance are consistent with the journeying element common to pilgrimage and other types of spiritual progression. Rites of passage have been explored, recognizing the phases in the process, of separation, transition and incorporation, while noting the increasing propensity for rituals to change and develop

through time, sometimes retaining the original meaning, but at other times losing that significance. Symbolic meanings add depth to ritual performances, connecting different actions to build on substantial origins. Cultural environments and contexts add to the intricacy and generate diverse meanings for common actions. There is a distinct complexity between rituals, and within their contexts. For those undertaking a religious or spiritual journey, whether or not they are traditional pilgrims, the influences that continue to emerge from changing cultural flows will persist in transforming existing rituals and their meanings.

References Abrahams, R.D. (1969) Foreword. In: Turner, V. (ed.) The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Aldine Transaction, New Brunswick, New Jersey, pp. i–xii. Bell, C. (2009) Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Church of England (2006) Baptism and Confirmation Liturgy. Church House Publishing, London. Available at: https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/commonworship/christian-initiation/baptism-and-confirmation (accessed 11 September 2018). Church of England (no date) Anglican Common Worship Resources. Church House Publishing, London. Available at: https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/commonworship (accessed 15 March 2019). Collins, P. (2005) Thirteen ways of looking at a ‘ritual’. Journal of Contemporary Religion 20(3), 323–342. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13537900500249855 (accessed 10 September 2018). Davie, G. (1994) Religion in Britain Since 1945: Believing Without Belonging. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, UK.

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Dowson, R. (2016) Event as spiritual pilgrimage: a case study of the ‘Cherish’ Christian Women’s Conference. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage 4(ii), 12–28. Available at: https:// arrow.dit.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1123&context=ijrtp (accessed 11 September 2018). Durkheim, E. (1912) The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. (Cladis, M.S. (Tr.) (2008) Cosman, C. (ed.)) Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Ehrenreich, B. (2007) Dancing in the Streets: a History of Collective Joy. Granta Books, London. Falassi, A. (1987) Festival: definition and morphology. In: Falassi, A. (ed.) Time Out of Time: Essays on the Festival. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, pp. 1–10. Grimes, R.L. (2006) Rite Out of Place: Ritual, Media, and the Arts. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Hopewell, J.F. (1987) Congregation: Stories and Structures. Fortress Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jones, J. (2018) The Outer Robe. Liverpool: Liverpool Diocese. Available at: http://liverpool.anglican.org/ admin/The-Outer-Robe (accessed 11 September 2018). Lourdes Sanctuary (no date) Available at: https://www.lourdes-france.org/en/ (accessed 25 November 2018). Morrison, K.L. (2006) Marx, Durkheim, Weber: Formations of Modern Social Thought, 2nd edn. SAGE Publishing, London. Raj, R. (2015) Pilgrimage experience and consumption of travel to the city of Makkah for the Hajj ritual. In: Raj, R. and Griffin, K. (eds) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management: an International Perspective, 2nd edn. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 173–190. Shorter, A. (1994) Evangelization and Culture. Geoffrey Chapman, London. Tomlin, G. (2008) Can we develop churches that can transform the culture? In: Croft, S. (ed.) Missionshaped Questions: Defining Issues for Today’s Church. Church House Publishing, London, pp. 66–77. Turner, V. (1969) The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Aldine Transaction, New Brunswick, New Jersey. van Gennep, A. (1960) The Rites of Passage. Translated by Vizedom, M.B. and Caffee, G.L. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. Walsingham Shrine (no date) Available at: http://www.walsingham.org.uk/ (accessed 25 November 2018). Williams, D.M. (2018) Happiness and freedom in direct action: critical mass bike rides as ecstatic ritual, play and temporary autonomous zones. Leisure Studies 37(5), 589–602. https://doi.org/10.1080/026 14367.2018.1480650

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Motivations of the Pilgrim to Attend the Annual Pilgrimage of Hajj

M. Jabar Yaqub* Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

Introduction The word Hajj has been given several meanings. Ahmed (2011) explains, ‘The root “hjj” means to “intend to do something”’. The root also implies ‘intending to do something big’. Ahmed (2011) states that, ‘The root meaning of the word Hajj is “to set out” or “to make pilgrimage”’. Sacredsites.com (2011) states, ‘the word Hajj probably derives from an old Semitic root meaning “to go around, to go in a circle”’. The latter statement refers to the act of the worshipper circling the the Kaaba (Ahmed, 2011) (this will be explained later under the heading ‘Sacred Sites’). From all the various definitions given, the main components that are highlighted are of action and ‘to do’ something, giving the word Hajj an active dimension. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the motivations of individuals attending the annual pilgrimage of Hajj, which is one of the main pillars of faith in Islam and there is an obligation on every Muslim to complete it at least once in their lifetime. Today up to 2 million Muslims travel to the holy cities of Makkah and Medina in Saudi Arabia to complete the Hajj. Recent trends have highlighted the commercial development of the country as well as the use of modern technology to communicate and educate the pilgrim. Further developments are planned for the holy

cities and the scope of this chapter is to highlight whether the motivations of the attendees are changing from pilgrim to tourist. The chapter also aims to define a pilgrim and a tourist and discuss in detail the differences and similarities between the two.

The Religious Concept of Hajj Timothy and Olsen (2006) explain that Hajj is one of the most important pillars of Islam for Muslims, which they are required to do at least once in their lifetime. Raj and Bozonelos (2015, p. 38) stated that: ‘The Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam: At least once in a lifetime, any Muslim who is able financially and physically to complete this journey must do so’. In order for a Muslim to fulfil the religion Islam they must comply with the five pillars which are:

• • • • •

Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith; Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day; Zakat: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy; Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan; and Hajj: pilgrimage to Makkah. (Masood, 2003)

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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The pillar of Salat (ritual prayers) is performed by Muslims five times every day. This 1400-year-old ritual is conducted in the direction of the Kaaba, which is the main sacred site in Islam and is the cubed building in the centre of the largest and most important mosque in Islam. The Kaaba, the ‘house of God’, is also a critical element in the Hajj rituals. Raj and Bozonelos (2015, p. 40) also stated that: The Hajj is considered to be the culmination of each Muslim’s religious duties and aspirations. It is stated in the Holy Quran, that every physically and financially able Muslim should make the Hajj to the Holy City of Makkah once in his or her lifetime.

Timothy and Olsen (2006) also state that in predominately Muslim countries, national governments and some international organizations have incentives in providing citizens with support, grants and loans as travel costs including flights, accommodation and food are expensive. The cost of attending the Hajj is discussed later under the heading ‘Hajj Today’. Occasionally TV and radio alongside other media offer Hajj trips as prizes. It is also noted that in Africa Muslims finance their Hajj by taking goods to barter or trade (Aziz, 2001 cited in Timothy and Olsen, 2006). Hajj is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and as already stated, it attracts over 2 million people from all around the globe (Ministry of Hajj, 2011). Hajj only takes place once a year on the seventh day of the last month of the Islamic calendar which is known as Dhu’lHijjah (Hijjah in reference to Hajj) (Timothy and Olsen, 2006). Timothy and Olsen (2006) recognize the debate on the origins of Hajj but mention that Muslims believe that ‘God revealed its associated rituals to Abraham’ (Timothy and Olsen, 2006, p. 192). Subsequent generations corrupted the practice of Hajj by creating a theme of idolatry. These practices were purified by the last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him (PBUH)) in the Islamic tradition as the rituals were revealed by God in their purest form as they had been in times of the Prophet Abraham (Timothy and Olsen, 2006).

The Hajj is also mentioned in the Muslim holy book, the Quran. In the Quran (verse 22: 27–30) it is stated that God told the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to publicize the Hajj to the people: Announce to the people the pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and every lean camel, coming from every deep and distant highway that they may witness the benefits and recollect the name of God in the well-known days (ayyam ma’lumat) over the sacrificial animals. He has provided for them. Eat thereof and feed the poor in want. Then let them complete their rituals and perform their vows and circumambulate the Ancient House . . . Whoever honours the sacred rites of God, for him it is good in the sight of his Lord. (Quran 22: 27–30)

Alongside this verse another verse is found in the Quran which has proven popular: The first house of worship founded for mankind was in Bakka (Makkah). Blessed and guidance to mankind. In it are evident signs, even the Standing Place of Abraham. . . and whoever enters it safe. And the pilgrimage to the temple [Hajj] is an obligation due to God from those who are able to journey there. (Quran 3: 90–91)

These verses from the Quran allow one to understand the significance of the Hajj to a Muslim alongside the responsibilities and virtue in the here and hereafter; by conducting the rituals the pilgrim will become favourable in the sight of his lord.

The History of Hajj The Hajj originated over 4000 years ago in the valley of Makkah in Saudi Arabia, which was an uninhabited land. According to Islamic text and history the Prophet Abraham and his family were instructed by God to go the land; after a few days the family had no food or drink. The wife of Abraham, ‘Hajira’ ran from Mount Safa and Marwa to seek help or see anyone in the distance. In the end Hajira collapsed and their son Ishmael prayed for divine intervention. On doing this he struck his foot on the ground, and water from the earth appeared. This water is now known as Zamzam. The word Zamzam means



Motivations of the Pilgrim to Attend the Hajj

‘stop flowing’ as Hajira commanded the continuous spring flow of water to stop flowing (Ministry of Hajj, 2011). After the water was discovered, Allah (God) told Abraham to build a site dedicated to him which was constructed as a small cube, known as the ‘Kaaba’. The years passed and Abraham was blessed with prophethood and started to spread the message of salvation. As communities and people became aware of water they started to reside in Makkah but also began to practice polytheistic ideas and store idols in the Kaaba, which is prohibited in the Islamic tradition (Ministry of Hajj, 2011). After many years passed the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was told by Allah to restore the Kaaba and worship was only to be to Allah. In the Islamic calendar 628 the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) set out on a journey with his 1400 followers. This was the first pilgrimage that would reinforce the traditions of the Prophet Abraham. Now people travel to Makkah on the holy pilgrimage and conduct rites and rituals that the prophets and their families did thousands of years ago (Ministry of Hajj, 2011). Alongside visiting Makkah, pilgrims visit the holy city of Medina Munawwara in which the shrine of the last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) of the Islamic tradition resides (Ministry of Hajj, 2011).

Sacred Spaces As we have learnt from the previous sections, the Hajj takes place in Saudi Arabia within the cities of Makkah and Medina. Rowley (1997) mentions that the area surrounding Makkah is known as the sacred area in Arabic called the ‘Haram’. This area includes Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifah and these are key areas for the pilgrim in Hajj. This sacred area is marked by the Saudi authorities and only Muslims are allowed to cross these boundaries. In Makkah the city is dominated by a large mosque known as the ‘Al-Masjid Al-Harām’. This is where the Kaaba is found and it is the main centre point for the pilgrims and one of the holiest places of the pilgrimage. The Kaaba is 15 m tall, 12 m long and 10.5 m wide and is

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constructed with granite blocks and is covered in a luxurious handmade black drape. Sacred areas around the Kaaba Timothy and Olsen (2006, p. 193) identify the following sacred places within and around the Kaaba:

• •

•

the East Corner – The black stone is here, which is believed to be part of the original building built by the Prophet Adam and plays an integral part in the Hajj. the North-west – Here is a semi-circular wall that is known as the ‘Hatim’. This is believed to be the burial place of the Prophet Ishmael, the son of the Prophet Abraham and his mother Hajira. the North-east – This is where the wellknown well of Zamzam is alongside a stone with the footprints of the Prophet Abraham. This location is known as ‘Maqam Abraham’ and this is a place where Prophet Abraham stood to invite people to participate in the Hajj and as a result God caused his footprints to remain there.

The mosque also encompasses Mount Safa and Marwa which also play a critical part in the pilgrimage as explained earlier.

The Preparation Process for an Individual in Hajj According to Long (1979) an individual must prepare for Hajj in the following manner: put earthly and material matters in order and become spiritually prepared. This would include paying off debts before leaving and ensuring that family members are fully cared for. According to Khan (1986) during the pilgrimage the individual must perform certain rites and rituals which represent those of the Prophet Abraham and his wife Hajira. Khan (1986, p. 78) states, ‘The process is about making covenants to devote oneself to God and pledge loyalty and servitude’. There are several stages in the pilgrimage and on completing these successfully the individual is given the title of ‘Hajji’. The stages in the Hajj are highlighted in Fig. 3.1.

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Stage 1 – Ritual purification is undertaken by wearing the prescribed clothing (known as Ihram) which takes place on the seventh day of the Dhu’l-Hijjah month. In detail this is the point where street clothes are changed into the Ihram.

Stage 2 – Pilgrims visit the Al-Masjid Al-Har¯am and listen to prayers which contain instructions in regards to the rites and rituals they will be performing.

Stage 3 – On the eighth day now and the pilgrims carry out the Tawaf which is the circumambulation around the Kaaba seven times while paying respect to the black stone situated in the Kaaba. An interesting outlook by Spiegelman (2006, p. 137) explains that: modern psychology may help us understand this Muslim repairing of the breach between mankind and the divine, caused by the former’s lack of limit or restraint. We begin to heal the ‘breakage’ of the image and union with the divine through the religious rite or circumambulation.

Stage 4 – After the circumambulation the pilgrims offer prayers at the station of the Prophet Abraham and then proceed to drink water from the Zamzam well.

Stage 5 – Pilgrims then complete the Sai which involves running from Safa and Marwa seven times; after completing this, pilgrims make their way to Mina. Spiegelman (2006, p. 138) states that the word Mina means ‘desire’ and explains: theological understanding has it when we follow the road that leads back to God, or Allah, the first thing to manifest itself – ardent desire – lies in the heart, which is also the home of Bayt Allahi’l Aikbar, God’s greatest temple.

Stage 6 – After the ninth day, pilgrims travel to Arafat. In Arafat the pilgrims pray and ask for forgiveness and this is a key day in the pilgrimage. Spiegelman (2006) translates the term Arafat as ‘escape’ and explains that the pilgrim is in the state of reconnecting with God.

Stage 7 – The following day pilgrims travel to Muzdalifah where they stay for a night in the open air and collect pebbles to stone Satan. The next morning they travel back to Mina from where the pilgrims will travel to stone Satan for 3 consecutive days. Spiegelman (2006) states the term Muzdalifah means, ‘approach’ and explains how the Quran states the way to recollect this is by meditating and connecting to God. Stage 8 – Once the 3 days are complete, pilgrims shave their hair and sacrifice a sheep, goat or camel and return to normal street clothes. Then return to Makkah and complete their Tawaf and Sai.

Stage 9 – Finally the Hajj is complete and the pilgrims return to their routines and are titled Hajji.

Fig. 3.1.  The stages in Hajj.



Motivations of the Pilgrim to Attend the Hajj

Hajj Today The legacy of Hajj still continues with the Prophet Abraham’s traditions that were revived by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Ahmad (2011) in an article titled ‘The Hajj: the Marvellous Legacy of Prophet Abraham’, states, ‘It denotes the journey of faith through history and journey of history through faith.’ Timothy and Olsen (2006) suggest that Islam and the Saudi Arabian government reject the idea that Hajj is in any way or form a tourist attraction; however, Aziz (2001) remarks that Hajj is one of the largest gatherings in the world with components that meet general tourism traits. These general traits are:

• •

Businesses and individuals earn a living from the pilgrims. Guides are allocated for the pilgrims who arrange accommodation, food and transportation.

Timothy and Olsen (2006) state, ‘Much of the Hajj experience has been modernized to meet the needs of an ever-sophisticated and growing demand’. This point is demonstrated by the following:

• • •

•

• 

The modern air-conditioned transportation between Makkah and the sacred sites and the air-conditioned mosques. Tents being replaced with three-, four- or five-star hotels. The speed and method of transportation allows pilgrims to reach Makkah quickly as well as the benefit of air travel which has made the trip shorter than the old means of travel (foot or ship). Various airlines and travel agencies provide the travellers with airline and hotel package options. Also there is a dedicated Hajj terminal at Jeddah to process the arrival of the pilgrims. Sightseeing and shopping have become a prominent part of the pilgrimage. (Aziz, 2001)

Taylor (2011) reported in an article titled ‘Makkah for the rich: Islam’s holiest site “turning into Vegas”’ in The Independent newspaper that over the last 10 years the holiest place in the Muslim world has undergone a huge transformation.

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Taylor (2011) explains this by suggesting, ‘Once a dusty desert town struggling to cope with the ever-increasing number of pilgrims arriving for the annual Hajj, the city now soars above its surroundings with a glittering array of skyscrapers, shopping malls and luxury hotels.’ Several years on and today visiting Makkah it is clear that the infrastructure is being modernized and more skyscrapers are being built, but having said that, personally, the epicentre of the whole experience is the Kaaba. This transformation is due to the al-Saud monarchy that envisages the holiest sites as showcases of their national pride. Timothy and Olsen (2006) also support Taylor’s findings and discuss that the commercial aspects of the pilgrimage have received criticism from the Muslim world, suggesting the dilution of the Hajj, losing its intended nature. From experience and observation the intended nature of the Hajj is still in existence and very strong but equally considerable modernization has taken place. However, one could argue that to host so many pilgrims at any one time, facilities are required to accommodate today’s modern traveller, with a variety of offerings in accommodation, food and transport. Taylor (2011) also mentions that a £690 million planned expansion of the mosque that contains the Kaaba is underway and is to be completed in the next few years. This will be a 400,000 m2 development that will hold an extra 1.2 million pilgrims, turning the mosque into the largest structure in the world. This project could be due to the increase in pilgrims that Saudi Arabia has been receiving in the last 25 years; Mintel (2018) reports that in 2018, 2.56 million pilgrims attended the Hajj. Forhad (2011) observed that, ‘Makkah is witnessing a drastic transformation of the city’s skyline with luxury hotels, high-rise residential blocks and cranes now overlooking the Grand Mosque’ while pilgrims find themselves, ‘surrounded by a forest of emerging high-rise buildings and skyscrapers that cost more than $5.5 billion. Among those construction projects are 26 new hotels to add 13,000 more rooms to the accommodation capacity of the city’. Another reason for modernizing the infrastructure could be to do with the safety of the pilgrims. A report in The Guardian highlights several incidences in which pilgrims have been killed since 1987. The tragedies have included

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stampedes, fires, trampling and bombings (The Guardian, 2011) and more recently a stampede created great political tension between neighbouring countries to Saudi Arabia especially with Iran. In total it was reported that over 2000 pilgrims were killed (The Independent, 2015). Today individuals that intend to go to Hajj can travel with registered tour operators that are available from the Ministry of Hajj website and packages range in price from £3250 to £6000 depending on airlines, accommodation, catering and the duration of stay (Ministry of Hajj, 2011).

Religious Views on Touristic Travel Poria et al. (2003) suggest that links between ­religion and behaviour can be observed in an ­individual’s lifestyle and rituals that are unique. Evidence of religious influence can be found in clothing and eating choices, buying behaviour, social and political views. Gorlow and Schroeder (1968 cited in Poria et al., 2003, p. 340) state that, ‘Clearly the motives for participating in ­religious experiences are linked to religion.’ McDaniel and Burnett (1990) and Wilkes et al. (1986, both cited in Poria et al., 2003) suggest that the origin of religious belief on behaviour stems from two areas, the first being taboos and obligations that are followed and practised by individuals who belong to a certain religion. On the other hand McClain (1979 cited in Poria et al., 2003) suggests that religious contributions affect the individual’s structure of values, attitudes and culture in society. Overall looking at the different stems of research allows one to acknowledge that religion does have an effect on the consumer’s behaviour as Poria et al. (2003) acknowledge that religion is linked to tourism in aspects that may include the consumer as a tourist and of the supplier as a host. MCB.org.uk (2018) approximate that there are 1.5 billion followers of Islam worldwide, making it one of the world’s leading religions. Zamani-Farahani and Henderson (2010) recognize the Muslim’s life is directed by the holy book the Quran and the ‘Sunnah’ (teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, PBUH). Within the Quran there are several verses and chapters that approve travelling with the purpose of achieving

spiritual, physical and social goals. Within these verses and chapters the morals and lessons are that a Muslim can make a complete submission to God by viewing with his own eyes and experiencing the beauty and bounty of God. In keeping with this, is the thought that travel can ­enhance health, mentality and reduce stress that would enable the Muslim to serve God better. Zamani-Farahani and Henderson (2010, p. 80) state the following information while keeping in mind the Islamic law of ‘Shariah’, ‘Islam thus endows travel with important attributes and this has been evident throughout history’ (Kessler, 1992 and Bhardwaj, 1998, both cited in ZamaniFarahani and Henderson, 2010; Aziz, 2001). Hijra incorporates migration and the Hajj to Makkah, one of the five pillars of Islam, which requires Muslims to make the journey at least once in their lifetime unless prevented by physical incapacity (Rowley, 1997). Zamani-Farahani and Henderson (2010) identify other forms of travel apart from ‘Hijra’ and these include ‘Ziyara’ (visits to shrines) and ‘Rihla’ (travelling for education) and similar endeavours. Purposeful movement is the spiritual emphasis in that every journey is in the service of God. Henderson (2011, p. 543) concludes that ‘Travel has a religious significance historically among Muslims as a means through which they can come closer to God, and it is endorsed for trade and learning’ but in contrast identifies statistics published by Euromonitor in 2008 which found that modern-day Muslims agreed that they were enthusiastic leisure travellers (Henderson, 2011). From the information reviewed by ZamaniFarahani and Henderson (2010) it can be determined that many forms of tourism are compatible with Islam but at the same time the individual must keep in mind Shariah law. To support this view Henderson (2011) acknowledges that religion is a powerful motivating factor. Henderson (2011, p. 543) observes, ‘Such travel has been eased by wider trends of improving transport and communications that increase accessibility.’ Henderson (2011) explains that the more privileged circumstances of individuals have created a greater demand for travel agencies to sell and promote packages. This is supported by a Mintel (2018) report that suggests over the past 25 years, pilgrims to Hajj



Motivations of the Pilgrim to Attend the Hajj

have increased from 30,000 in 1930 to 2.56 million in 2018. The report suggests the increase could be related to two factors: (i) individual’s religious beliefs remaining strong; and (ii) the initiation of affordable air travel in the 1970s allowing pilgrims overseas to travel via air to Saudi Arabia (Mintel, 2018).

Motivations to Travel to Hajj Dann (1981) offers a definition for tourism motivations as ‘a meaningful state of mind which adequately disposes an actor or a group of actors to travel’ and ‘a meaningful state of mind is subsequently interpretable by others as a valid explanation for such a decision’ (Dann, 1981 cited in Gray, 1982, p. 252). Murray (1964 cited in Gray, 1982, p. 252) on the other hand explains that psychologists define ‘a motive is an internal factor that arouses, directs and integrates a person’s behaviour’ and then goes on to explain that the internal factor can be stiffened by a potential factor of satisfaction. These definitions suggest that tourism motivation is linked to the state of mind with the destination in the psyche. Gray (1982) explains that there are two motivational forces that an individual aims to gain from a leisure activity: (i) approach in the aspect of seeking; and (ii) avoidance in the aspect of escape. For two reasons leisure activities can also be seen as satisfaction producers: (i) the link to an intrinsic factor that arouses and directs a person’s behaviour; and (ii) the individual feeling a sense of reward or leaving the realms of daily routine and environment behind. Gray (1982) suggests that the latter two elements are important for any leisure activity. On the other hand, Lankford and Dieser (2005) suggest that Matsomoto and Juangs’ theory on self-construal can add another perspective to motivation as this theory helps one understand the way individuals understand their sense of self or being. Lankford and Dieser state the following in regards to their self-construal theory: People with an independent construal of self view themselves as bounded entities, clearly separated from relevant others, whereas people with an interdependent construal of self view themselves as unbounded, flexible, and connected or related to other people. (Lankford and Dieser, 2005, p. 802)

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This is an interesting view, which could add immense value to tourism motivation but Lankford and Dieser (2005, p. 802) suggest that, ‘Leisure and tourism theorists often state that the key factor affecting intrinsic motivation is personal choice’. Lankford and Dieser (2005) acknowledge this is an interesting view and question it against Matsomoto and Juangs’ theory. MacCannell (1973 cited in Lankford and Dieser, 2005) explains that for a pilgrim, interpersonal relatedness has meaning which links to the self-construal independent theory. The meaning of this is a pilgrim seeking authentic sites with a purpose and with a religious quest in mind. With the pilgrim in mind, Battour et al. (2011) suggests that many studies on motivational theory are based on the pull–push motivations. This involves individuals being pushed by desires that are internal and emotional factors that are pulled by the external environment of the individual in context to the attributes of the destination. Battour et al. (2011) explains that if the Muslim tourist takes religion as a pivotal factor in the decision-making process then it is important for the host to have the Islamic religious attributes at those destinations. In return this would lead to satisfaction and return visits. According to the 2007 World Travel Market report, catering for Muslim tourists in the appropriate manner suggests this is a growing market, with indicators at that time suggesting tourism in the Middle East could grow by 108%. Bringing all the above into the context of the ‘Hajj’ and the possible motivations to travel to the Hajj will be discussed in further detail. Assadi (2011) in the The Herald argues that: ‘In this materialistic world, man’s spiritual assets are being plundered. The sublime spiritual virtues, being the only source of man’s dignity and criterion for humanity, have lost their values and are gradually being removed from man’s life’ (Assadi, 2011). Assadi (2011) explains that the Muslims in the world are always looking for peace and lightness in their hearts and explains that the event of Hajj could be one of the major events in a Muslims’ life that creates that unity with God, allowing them to gain the internal spiritual satisfaction. Long (1979, p. 120) supports this by stating, ‘the motivation to make the Hajj is enhanced by the desire to prepare for the hereafter.

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Many Muslims even believe that to die on the Hajj guarantees passage into heaven’ (Long, 1979, p. 120). AlJumuah (2011) explains that the motivations for a Muslim go beyond the rituals and have a much deeper meaning, and that such motivations are deep rooted within each individual. These will be discussed individually and summarized. The first motivation ‘Emigrating to Allah (God)’ is when a Muslim shows commitment to his God and intends to have a fresh new existence that to the core has the love of and obedience to Allah. AlJumuah (2011) states ‘a long journey, but of returning, not going. The pilgrim is not going to Makkah. He is returning to his source, Allah, the Source of Everything’. Having returned to the source, the pilgrim is expected to feel light hearted on returning home. How the pilgrim after Hajj maintains his relationship with Allah is emphasized by scholars as the pilgrim is renewed afresh. The second motivation can be the ‘Selfstruggle’. This can be seen as a motivation as the Hajj motivates the pilgrim to struggle in the path of Allah. While completing the Hajj the pilgrim is expected to endure the hardships of the sacred places in order to please his lord. This requires immense patience and is described by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a trialling act for the old, weak and fragile. The reward for the pilgrim is guaranteed by Allah and this is confirmed in a saying by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The reward that the pilgrim will gain by conducting the Hajj is a major motivation in enhancing their spiritual relationship with Allah. Also for a Muslim to stand together with fellow Muslims (Ummah in Arabic) regardless of race, financial standard or status is a favoured characteristic as it promotes brotherhood and unity. This is a common denominator in Hajj as all the pilgrims need to fulfil the rites and rituals together (AlJumuah, 2011). Other key motivations that AlJumuah (2011) states are: ‘Purifying the Soul and Perfecting or completing the Religion’. The Muslim pilgrims always should aim to purify their soul of unwanted bad characteristics such as selfishness, anger or greed. One of the pillars of Islam promotes giving of charity, and this is emphasized by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a saying regarding pilgrims at Hajj, ‘The reward of sadaqa (charity) given in Hajj excels seven

hundred times the reward for a sadaqa given in a different setting’ (Ahmad and Tabarani cited in Jum, 2011). Charitable giving is a key element of purifying the soul as the concept stems from giving up or parting from material items one may possess (AlJumuah, 2011). The perfection or completion of the religion relates to the day of the Hajj when the pilgrim confirms or reinstates their belief in God. This is confirmed by a Quranic verse that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), ‘This day one have perfected for you your religion and completed my favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion’ (AlJumuah, 2011). AlJumuah (2011) writes that the ultimate goal for the pilgrim and motivation is to be forgiven for their sins, ‘For a pilgrim, what could be more fulfilling or dignifying than to successfully offer Hajj properly and return from it infused with Allah’s pleasure and blessings, and with sins zeroed out!’. Gorsuch and McPheason (1989 cited in Khan and Watson, 2011, p. 539) mention that religious motivations can be measured with three statements and emphasize that these can be the best single indicators of religious orientation. The first statement is intrinsic and states ‘my whole life approach is based on my religion’. The second statement is extrinsic and is expressed in the claim ‘What religion offers me most is comfort in time of trouble and sorrow’ and the third assertion is an extrinsic social claim and states, ‘I go to activities associated with my religion mainly because I enjoy meeting new people there’. Collins-Kreiner (2010, p. 451) states, ‘I posit that the difference between tourism and traditional pilgrimage is fading while numerous aspects of similarity are emerging: both require spatial movement and involve emotional desire on the part of individuals to visit sites that are meaningful to them’. Collins-Kreiner (2010) argues that instead of putting the pilgrim and tourist on a continuum, three levels of change should be considered instead. These can be: (i)  external characteristics; (ii) attitudes; and (iii) perceptions. Bringing this into context, it can be said that there are many internal and external motivating factors for the pilgrim, some of which are deep rooted to religious beliefs and statements and other motivations can be the individual’s desires



Motivations of the Pilgrim to Attend the Hajj

and environment. The advancements and infrastructure of the event can also be motivating factors and some of these trends are explained below. Another emerging trend within Hajj, as reported by the Ministry of Hajj website, is the use of modern technology used to facilitate Hajj. The article on the website states, ‘A sophisticated broadcasting network has been installed to cope with the requirements of the Hajj. The safety and comfort of the Hajjis has become a major concern for the authorities, necessitated by their sheer volume in recent years’ (Ministry of Hajj, 2011). Other technological advancements include heat-resistant floor tiles, the structure of the mosques is cooled by the world’s largest air conditioning unit and escalators have been installed to aid the movement of pilgrims to new areas of construction. Also to avoid overcrowding more tunnels for vehicles are under construction. Smartphone technology and apps have been seen as an emerging trend to aid the pilgrims with logistics, prayers and important announcements (Ministry of Hajj, 2011). To support the technological change further, an online Nokia Siemens Networks article states that this project is one of the largest the company has undertaken and has the highest mobile traffic densities ever recorded. Nokia Siemens Networks state: Pilgrims from 100+ countries around the world want to share their joy with loved ones at home, especially on the holy days of Dhu’l-Hijjah. Coping with such high-density traffic in such a confined space requires robust equipment and reliable performance under critical conditions, particularly in the radio network. (Nokia Siemens Networks, 2018)

This is an evident element of the emerging and growing technological aspects. The question arises in relation to religious views: Are these changes diverting the pilgrim from submission to God or are they creating a more leisurely environment for the pilgrim? Another technological trend that is dominating the pilgrims at Hajj is the use of social media and networking. Mintel (2011) highlights in a report that Facebook is the top social networking site in the UK and quotes, ‘73% of internet users have used Facebook, and 57% are regular users who visit Facebook at least once a week’.

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Dr Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Khudairi, deputy governor of Makkah Province, quotes the following information news report on the ‘EyeofRiyadh’ website, ‘Pilgrims are using social networking sites in large numbers to help them perform Hajj with ease’. He also states, ‘We decide to use the new media to promote our campaign this year. Those seeking to perform Hajj used our social networking pages to learn about Hajj, conduct and rituals’. He continues, ‘Through the social networking sites we could reach a large number of users and were able to send cautionary messages plus providing them with the latest reports about Hajj this year’ (EyeofRiyadh, 2011). Dr Almakhlafi (2011) reports in an article titled, ‘Hajj Pilgrimage Enters Digital Age’ that pilgrims use Twitter as a tool to ask for forgiveness from family and friends before embarking on Hajj. Twitter is also used by some Muslim scholars to remind people of their rites and rituals during Hajj. Almakhlafi (2011) explains that some pilgrims use smartphones while going around the Kaaba to pass on their real-time feelings and emotions of Hajj to their family and friends via social media sites. However, he also states, ‘Some of them use their smartphones for practical purposes, too: they look up Hajj rituals, connect with people they’ve met or they communicate with their friends and families at home’ (Almakhlafi, 2011). To bring this information into the current context, when the boxer Amir Khan attended Hajj with his family he used Facebook and Twitter to keep family and friends updated of his progress in Hajj and tweeted on completing some rituals, stating his feelings and emotions (Islam, 2011). It is clear therefore that the use of digital technology and social media sites is a major emerging trend. However, one can question the use or over use of these resources and whether they should be limited in the sacred event or if they are a resourceful tool for the pilgrim.

Summary With the support of the literature review, some key themes and theories have been highlighted in relation to the annual pilgrimage of Hajj and

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the individual’s motivations to attend. From this chapter the motivations of individuals can be determined to be primarily deep-rooted religious beliefs, faith and the search for spirituality and reconnection with God. The modern pilgrim for Hajj still remains a pious pilgrim with some traits of a tourist but is far from being secular. Some interesting ideas have emerged as to the reasons for the increasing numbers of pilgrims attending the Hajj. These have included the modernization of transport in current times that makes the pilgrimage more accessible when the

individual goes in search of the truth and inner peace. Both ideas confirm that motivations stem from the inner being and external factors relating to the push and pull theory. Overall by attending the pilgrimage the Muslim pilgrim completes the fifth pillar of Islam and the impact on the individual of achieving this obligation is beyond physical realms: changes in lifestyle are made and attitudes are changed, the pilgrim is unable to explain the experience in words and at some point is likely to mention the term ‘magnetic pull’ of the pilgrimage.

References Ahmad, S.B. (2011) The Hajj: the Marvellous Legacy of Prophet Abraham. Available at: http://www.greater kashmir.com/news/2011/Nov/4/hajj-the-marvelous-legacy-of-hazrat-ibrahim-a-s--12.asp (accessed 2 December 2017). Ahmed, K. (2011) Words from Hajj. Available at: http://tribune.com.pk/story/286096/words-from-Hajj/ (accessed 2 December 2017). AlJumuah (2011) Hajj: Going Beyond the Rituals. Available at: https://aljumuah.com/ (accessed 4 December 2018). Almakhlafi, A. (2011) Hajj Pilgrimage Enters Digital Age. Available at: http://en.qantara.de/Hajj-PilgrimageEnters-Digital-Age/17650c18254i0p83/index.html (accessed 2 December 2017). Assadi, M. (2011) Virtues of Hajj. The Herald (Harare) 7 November, p. 1. Aziz, H. (2001) The journey: an overview of tourism and travel in the Arab Islamic world context. Tourism and the Less Developed World: Issues and Case Studies 4(2), 11–16. Battour M., Ismail, M. and Battor, M. (2011) The impact of destination attributes on Muslim tourist’s choice. International Journal of Tourism Research 13(1), 527–540. Collins-Kreiner, N. (2010) Geographers and pilgrimages: changing concepts in pilgrimage tourism research. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie 101(4), 437–448. EyeofRiyadh (2011) Making Use of Social Media in Hajj! Available at: http://www.eyeofriyadh.com/en/3/ portal/4970/ (accessed 4 December 2018). Forhad, C.J. (2011) Builders Vie for Makkah Hajj Boom. Available at: http://www.glocal24.com/builders-viefor-makkah-Hajj-boom.html (accessed 25 November 2017). Gray, P.H. (1982) U.S. tourism demand in Mexico: comment. Annals of Tourism Research 9(2), 262–264. Henderson, J.C. (2011) Religious tourism and its management: the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Tourism Research 13, 541–552. Islam, M. (2011) Amir Khan goes Bald for Pilgrimage to Makkah. Available at: http://sal.am/tag/Hajj/ (accessed 1 December 2011). Khan, W. (1986) Hajj in Focus. Open Press, London. Khan, Z. and Watson, P.J. (2011) Religious orientation and the experience of Eid-ul-Azha among Pakistani Muslims. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 43(4), 537–545. Lankford, S.V. and Dieser, R.B. (2005) Self-construal and pilgrimage travel. Annals of Tourism Research 32(3), 802–804. Long, D.E. (1979) The Hajj Today: a Survey of the Contemporary Makkah Pilgrimage. State University of New York Press, Albany, New York. Masood, W. (2003) Islam. Teach Yourself, London. MCB.org.uk (2017) MCB Homepage. Available at: http://www.mcb.org.uk/library/statistics.php (accessed 25 November 2017). Ministry of Hajj (2011) History. Available at: http://www.hajinformation.com (accessed 7 March 2018). Mintel (2011) Social Media and Networking. Mintel Group. Available at: http://academic.mintel.com/ sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=545141 (accessed 1 December 2018).



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Mintel (2018) Festival Tourism – International. Mintel Group. Available at: http://academic.mintel.com/ sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=161523/display/id=175101/display/ id=175065#atom1 (accessed 7 March 2018). Nokia Siemens Networks (2018) Pilgrims Stay Connected During the Hajj. Available at: http://www. nokiasiemensnetworks.com/news-events/press-room/press-releases/pilgrims-stay-connectedduring-the-hajj-0 (accessed 2 December 2018). Poria, Y., Butler, R. and Airey, D. (2003) Tourism, religion and religiosity: a holy mess. Current Issues in Tourism 6(4), 340–363. Quran (2017) The Noble Quran. Available at: https://quran.com/?local=en (accessed 2 December 2017). Raj, R. and Bozonelos, D. (2015) Pilgrimage experience and consumption of travel to the city of Makkah for Hajj ritual. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage 3(1), Article 6. Available at: https://arrow.dit.ie/ijrtp/vol3/iss1/6 (accessed 4 December 2018). Rowley, G. (1997) The Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Centrality of Islam. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sacredsites.com (2011) Saudi Arabia Middle East. Available at: http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/ saudi_arabia/mecca.html (accessed 2 December 2017). Spiegelman, M.J. (2006) Divine among in Islam: the Hajj or pilgrimage today. Psychological Perspectives 48(1), 136–142. Taylor, J. (2011) Mecca for the rich: Islam’s holiest site ‘turning into Vegas’. The Independent. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mecca-for-the-rich-Islams-holiest-site-turninginto-vegas-2360114.htm (accessed 25 November 2017). The Guardian (2011) Hajj Stampedes. Available at: www.theguardian.com (accessed 7 March 2018). The Independent (2015) Hajj Stampede Death Toll Rises. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ world/middle-east/hajj-stampede-death-toll-rises-to-2177-a6700971.html (accessed 7 March 2018). Timothy, D. and Olsen, D. (eds) (2006) Tourism, Religion and Spiritual Journeys. Routledge, London. Zamani-Farahani, H. and Henderson, J.C. (2010) Islamic tourism and managing tourism development in Islamic societies: the cases of Iran and Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Tourism Research 12(1), 79–89.

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Islamic Motivation for Tourism and Contradictions of the American Tradition Maximiliano E. Korstanje* University of Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Introduction With almost more than 2 billion followers, Islam is considered one of the largest faiths of the world. Anthropologically speaking, Islam is embedded in the Abrahamic religions, jointly with Christianity and Judaism. Far from what popular parlance precludes, Islam and Christianity have coexisted in peace for centuries (Fuller, 2010). It is unfortunate that the Western media have depicted a pejorative image of Islam as a religion of intransigence and intolerance, which are often rechannelled against Western civilization. This chapter is not aimed at discussing the stereotypes, ignorance or prejudices of ‘fear mongers’, nor is it an erudite study of the history of Islam; rather, its aim is to debate the nature of Islamic tourism and the limitations and contradictions of the American tradition, a new emerging academic school that dates back tourism as a direct result of the Industrial Revolution. One of the authoritative voices of the American tradition is the anthropologist, Dean MacCannell, who developed a conceptual model that – following Emile Durkheim – resonated into the core of tourism research to date. Tourism is depicted as an unethical activity tended to package and sell natives as embellished merchandise.

As Korstanje and Seraphin (2017) put it, one of the main conceptual limitations of the American tradition consisted of borrowing studies of French philosophy, which from its inception developed a negative view of tourism as an alienatory  force that controls the workforce. While academics (in tourism fields) embraced the industrial paradigm, which locates tourism as the consequence of the technological breakthrough of the 19th and 20th centuries, interesting evidence suggests there was ‘an ancient tourism’, widely practised by empires such as the Assyrians, the Babylonians and the Romans. In fact, this happened because historians of tourism never turned their attention to ancient history, rather they delved into the Middle Ages, which was a facet of mankind of low mobility (Korstanje and Seraphin, 2017). It is important to add, in the sociology of tourism, two contrasting waves collide: the Swiss and the American tradition. While the former – conducted by Jost Krippendorf – defined tourism ‘as a rite of passage’, or a mechanism of escape which looks to revitalize the social frustrations of people, acting as a catalyst for society to keep united (Krippendorf, 1982, 1986, 1987; Korstanje, 2018), the latter signals that tourism is a service industry, born from the core of the Industrial Revolution and not known in society before the rise of capitalism

*[email protected] 32

© CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)



Islamic Motivation for Tourism

(MacCannell, 1973, 1976; Cohen, 1984; Urry, 1992, 2007; Lash and Urry, 1993; Meethan, 2001). Islamic tourism seems to prove that Krippendorf was on the correct side because tourism not necessarily associates with industrialism and the instrumentality of modern thinking. Some non-Western cultures, as well as theocentric nations, may very well adopt tourism as a regenerative and social force. Substantial evidence suggests that Islamic tourism not only is far from disappearing but also is one of the most growing economic activities in the Middle East. Scott and Jafari (2010) discuss critically the nature and future of tourism in the years to come. According to their viewpoint, tourism was framed into the Muslim background and its mainstream cultural values. Although tourism sometimes generates conflict when the First World tourists’ values offend the hosts, no less true is that Muslim tourism is evolving into a mature stage which needs further discussion in Western universities. To set an example, the Maldivian tourism industry as well as many southern Asian economies not only succeeded in introducing tourism to revitalize local economies but also allowed local government to intervene to achieve a clear-cut balance between politics, economic interests, foreign investment and ­religion.

Motivation for Tourism and Western Views European ethnocentrism, from its inception, was aimed at legitimizing European colonization and convincing native minds of reasons to be ­civilized – domesticated. Invested as superior entities, Europeans convinced themselves they were under obligation to expand Western civilization to other overseas nations. This opened the doors towards the proliferation of travel writing, chronicles where the non-Western  Other  was symbolically undermined as irrational, lazy and morally frustrated. The cruelty of army forces was accompanied by an uncanny sentiment of paternalism where natives’ customs, artefacts and arts should be protected before they disappeared (George, 1958; Hallam, 2013; Korstanje, 2017). This cosmology moulded a double-standardized

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discourse created to domesticate the world. Bandyopadhyay and Morais (2005) claimed that Third World destinations and the obsession for cultural consumption hide part of the ethnocentric discourses forged in colonial times. The international destinations are certainly drawn by ideological representations which are d ­ esigned in Europe and the Global North. The non-­ Western world was conceived as a dangerous place to the European presence. The military ­establishment of colonial powers resented the peripheral economies, leading them into a state of ongoing poverty and reclusion. Today, tourists visit these landscapes as ambassadors of civilization, cultivating the European taste. The rivalries, conflicts and violence tourism engenders is ideologically explained in view of the indifference of non-Westerners by embracing rationality, democracy and free trade (Comaroff and ­Comaroff, 2009; Korstanje, 2017). The failures of the West to understand the East was historically linked to deficiencies of the East instead of the academic works of the West which imagines the world through its lens. In this vein, the academic circles proclaim that tourism derived from the inception of the Industrial Revolution and the changes that technologized modes of transport. The custom of travelling was reserved for the European aristocracy who traversed Europe in the Grand Tour (Brodsky-­ Porges, 1981; Towner, 1985). These scholars never studied ancient history and their view of tourism was partly inspired by medieval times. In the same way, tourism was not only their pride but also a unique invention of European genius (Britton, 1982; Pastoriza, 2011). The narratives of the Global North demarcate the borders of normalcy and deviation. While classic tourism was considered the symbolic touchstone of rational travellers, the peripheral natives were marked as the uncivilized Otherness. Likewise, Aboriginal cultural, Asian, Latin American or Afro tourism evoke travels to these continents but the term Anglo-Saxon tourism has no meaning. At the time we introduce the term Muslim tourism we are ideologically forced to guess tourism which was uniquely cultivated in the erudition of Europe was borrowed and introduced into the Muslim world. Needless to say, this is an ethnocentric conception of an activity which transcended Europe and the irruption of modernity.

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Maximiliano E. Korstanje

After further review of the literature, this chapter holds the opinion that tourism should be understood as a rite of passage, a ritual which needs the individual to be physically removed from ordinary daily life so that the individual can be reintroduced in a new (revitalized) state. These rites of passages were originally developed by Van Gennep (2011) and Victor Turner (1969). In cultural anthropology rites of passage are deemed as ceremonials where candidates are hosted and isolated from the daily contact of members of its reference group. Once there, he or she is subject to countless proofs to gain a new status and finally to be reintroduced in the society. As Van Gennep explained, the rites not only need a form of separation as the key factor towards a successful reintroduction but share three clear stages. The first stage corresponds with the preparation to move the candidate from one status to an other and is manifested by detachment with respect to the older group. Later, a transitional phase places the candidate in a liminoid sphere which is marked by different rites and performed rituals. The last stage refers to a successful reintroduction where the candidate ostensibly shows new skills and status which distinguishes them from other members (Van Gennep, 2011). Krippendorf (2010) asserts that holidaymakers are characterized by the need to move forward or backward, but far from their humdrum routine. All frustrations occurring in their working life seem to be sanitized, balanced into a new stage, where holidaymakers are revitalized. Similar concerns have been discussed by Korstanje and Busby, or Cantallops and Cardona in different approaches. The archetypes of islands as well as the lost Eden represent something other than the traditional beliefs of the sacred text; they are the basis of the founding myths made from tourism to understand the dichotomy between work and leisure, sin and forgiveness, good and evil. Far from being a mere secular rite, tourism exhibits a great religious element, the need for revitalization. This hints that religiosity and tourism are inextricably intertwined (Korstanje and Busby, 2010; Korstanje, 2014; Cantallops and Cardona, 2015). For some reason, neither the ideas of Turner nor Van Gennep nor the theorists of cultural anthropology who evinced tourism as a rite of passage were enthusiastically received by the

various fields of tourism. Rather, the American tradition predominated for several years. This paved the way for a paradoxical situation in tourism research because the ‘popes’ and authoritative voices in the sociology of tourism had, at best, a negative image of tourism as a mechanism of alienation (Korstanje, 2018). In the next section, we shall review in depth the strongest support for and the limitations against the argument of Dean MacCannell and the American tradition.

The Theoretical Understanding of Tourism Doubtless, one of the seminal books by MacCannell (1976) was The Tourist: a New Theory of the Leisure Class.  This fascinating book was published by the prestigious publisher Berkeley University Press in 1976. In this book, he departs from the idea that structuralism and particularly Levi Strauss has much to say on this hypermobile world. MacCannell (1976) showed a particular interest for leisure studies and rural sociology. This means that the modern urban world should be conceptually opposed to the rural one. The idea is even implicit in his book title: a New Theory of the Leisure Class.  The American economist T. Veblen and his radical diagnosis of the modern economy remains a source of influence in MacCannell. Given this backdrop, we are in a position to fully review his work and theory. Basically, he unearths structuralism into the radical criticism it faced during the decade of the 1980s. Originally moved by the worries of Emile Durkheim and French sociology, which postulated the end of tribal organizations in view of the advance of industrialism, MacCannell implements an interesting conceptual model. The sacred space, he adds, should be comprehended as the opposite of profane space. The Aboriginals, who are enrooted in a tribal culture, often worship and honour the  Totem,  which is a sacred image, most likely copied from an animal that works as the source of authority of the tribe. This totem not only acts as the centrepiece of political authority but pivots in the construction of Aboriginals’ cosmologies and myths. Following Levi Strauss, MacCannell adheres that from



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the Totem emanates the legitimacy of officialdom as well as primitive social cohesion. Here an important question arises: Why does he think that the primitive mind will be under threat of disappearing? Dean MacCannell is notably influenced by Marxist theory and the materialist conception of history where the big fish eats the small one. The hoarder is only motivated by the fetish which leads him to exchanging goods making an important profit without further hard work. Less radical than Marx, MacCannell conceives tourists to be former workers who have been e­ xploited by the capitalist owners in order to make their profits. The exchange of goods leaves the capitalist owner a marginal portion of capital, which is fixed by the combination of prices and costs. Following this, poverty and oppression of the workers are a natural consequence of production. This pervasive system situates capitalist owners as a privileged group that monopolizes not only the means of production but the current legal jurisprudence at their discretion. Still further, he is familiar with the Goffmanian dramaturgy which imagined the social world as a theatre dotted with front and backstage behaviours. While the former exhibits part of our personality, interest and hopes, the latter represents our real nature. The front stage follows what others expect from us, whereas the backstage ushers the person to connect to a more genuine self. This serves MacCannell to think of the term  staged-authenticity,  which certainly connotes the set of signs, ideas, stereotypes, beliefs and perspectives that lead towards ‘a touristic consciousness’. The staged-authenticity mediates between citizens and their institutions in a world where the process of secularization has undermined our faith in the afterlife. To wit, the secularized societies were historically cultivated with science and other modern inventions but at the same time, they faced serious problems (pathologies) that laid the foundations for the anomie and decline in trust. In order for (modern) society not to be fragmented, the emptied space should be filled with a strong institution: tourism. Here MacCannell narrows his position with Krippendorf when he asserts that tourism is vital for modern society to survive since it plays the same role as Totem in tribal life. To put this bluntly, tourism is the totem by other means (MacCannell, 1973, 1976).

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Given the previous argument, he continues a philosophical debate concerned by the role of ethics in tourist consumption. A last more radical insight situates tourism from ‘the fields of ethics’: whether tourism has proved to be something that is the lack of interests for the ‘Other’ that is toured–gazed. Originally opposed to Urry’s view, MacCannell does not use the term ‘gaze’ because it is a Foucaultian term that denotes control. This is not the nature of tourism. Everything that can be seen suggests another reality which remains covered. Further, the goals of tourism are not only the taking leave from ordinary life as Urry precludes but the formation of a meta-discourse towards a new consciousness. It is unfortunate that digital technologies and mass consumption are undermining the attachment of people to their cultures and traditions. This leads to MacCannell to contend that tourism is reproducing ‘empty meeting grounds’ (MacCannell, 1992, 2001, 2011, 2012). Without ethics, tourism would go for the channel of artificiality, transforming communities into commodities. He goes on to write that: Social and cultural norms are the basis for a tourist’s experience of difference and otherness. They also shape what is locally thought to be civilized or socialized (i.e. proper) behavior. They demand deference to other feelings, appropriate choices of objects of satisfaction, and moderation in the expression of needs and desires. Civilized human beings famously sublimate their repressions via cultural expression – music, dance, cuisine, adornment, etc. There is no place on earth, no cultural region, no geographical feature that figures as a tourist attraction, which is not defined in moral terms. (MacCannell, 2011, p. 185)

It is important not to lose sight of the fact that modernity poses a serious threat to human relations, in MacCannell’s theory. By the expanse of consumption not only the alterity is commoditized to the hedonist interests of sightseers (tourists) but the exchange of goods which traditionally gave the ‘primary ground’ of society passed towards new fabricated and alienated landscapes, dubbed as ‘empty meeting grounds’. The host-and-guest encounters are based on a climate of mistrust which is unfolded to domesticate the ‘non-Western other’ (MacCannell, 2011).

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As stated, MacCannell originally understands tourism within a neo-romantic tradition where the ‘noble savage’ should be ethically protected from the advance of modernity. This tradition received a considerable influence from French philosophy and it can be easily traced in the works of modern philosophers such as Paul Virilio (2006) and Marc Augé (1995). Due to time and space, we are limited here to MacCannell who is the most authoritative voice today of the American tradition. The American tradition shows two significant caveats. On the one hand, placing tourism as a post-industrial invention assumes implicitly that only modern (secularized) societies adopt rational forms of leisure as tourism while on the other hand, other more traditionally oriented cultures should be reluctant to accept tourism as a primary industry. This seems to be exactly the position of some scholars (Vukonić, 2010) who alert us to the risks of the cultural shock tourism implies.

Development of Tourism in the Middle East In the Middle East, tourism may accelerate longdormant conflicts or strengthen the mutual understanding between hosts and guests. However, as MacCannell asserts, ‘some conservative’ religions are under oath to accept the secularized values tourism promotes. He explores the importance of tourism in the economies of some underdeveloped nations in the Middle East. To some extent, the Muslim world experienced interesting changes, which were promoted by the arrival of modernity. Although not all Arabic nations share the same hostility against the West, no less true is that they have developed a pejorative connotation around tourism because of its secular origin. Of course, tourism moves the cultural encounter to the foreground, taking different shapes which range from a feeling of abhorrence to the habits of First World tourists to a wide and friendly adoption of Western customs. In this respect, as Vukonić (2002, 2010) says, when the religious norms are defied or threatened by tourists, locals develop a sentiment of indifference or hostility against foreigners. Contrariwise, if tourism generates positive effects for local economies without altering the

local habits, tourism and Islam may cooperate. This position, like others, seems to be trapped into a conceptual gridlock, which suggests that tourism is a Western invention which was adopted by the Muslim world at a later time. The introduction of tourism in the Middle East was a consequence of improvement in means of transport and other technological advances encouraged by Europe and the USA. Most likely they glossed over the fact that the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca (which dates back to the 8th  century) does not have the rational elements of modern tourism, but indeed this event concentrates a great number of Muslims. The term means ‘the attempt of a journey’ and it is not limited to Islam or other ancient cultures. As Korstanje and Seraphin (2017) observed, closer scrutiny of the Latin term feriae alludes to a temporal leave endorsed by Roman citizens to visit their families and relatives for a period of 3 months duration. After a year of hard work, Romans left the Italian Peninsula heading towards different provinces of the Roman Empire. That way, the empire not only revalidated the loyalties of non-native Romans but Rome kept solidarity with the rest of its colonies. This word (feriae) was the etymological root for the German and Portuguese words for holiday, resulting in die ferien (German) and das férias (Portuguese). Examples like this suggest that theorists of tourism should pay attention beyond the border of the Middle Ages, looking for ‘ancient forms of tourism’. On the other hand, MacCannell and Vukonić overlooked that tourism appears to be ‘the maiden of empires’ (paraphrasing Korstanje, 2017). Contemporary tourist behaviours emulate the modern values of English-speaking nations in the same way that travels in Rome endorsed the Roman character. David Riesman in his book  The Lonely Crowd  provides an interesting example of what has been already said. Riesman (2001) contemplated history in three different but cyclical stages: (i) tradition-directed; (ii) inner-directed; and (iii) other-directed. The passage from one to the other stage is far from being unilineal but it is circular. Often empires adopt an other-directed character in order to subordinate the overseas economies into a concentrated exemplary centre, while hunters and gatherers accepted a tradition-directed one. By the same token, a tradition-directed subtype emerged in societies characterized by laws that



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were established from time immemorial (e.g. the Middle Ages). Rather, the inner-directed form surfaced just after the Protestant Reform where the subject was enthralled as the epicentre of ethical virtue and self-defiance. The rise of modernity accelerated the transformation of this self-punitive character into a novel form,  the Other-directed where the ‘distant Other’ occupied a central role.  The cosmology on the other-­ oriented character attempted to gain the Other’s acceptance (approval) decentering from inner to outer life. Certainly, the ‘inner-directed’ ethos that marked the religious life of Puritans was gradually changed to new forms. The curiosity for ‘Others’ stems from the imposition of other-­ directed relational forms. The passage from ‘inner-directed’, that characterized the Protestant Reform, sets the pace to ‘Other-directed’ cosmology once the novels, travels and the interest for exotic cultures surfaced. The curiosity for the ‘Other’ (MacCannell would agree) is inextricably linked to the capitalist ethos. However, as Riesman puts it, the alternation of tradition-oriented, inner-oriented and other-oriented traits are not marked by a unilineal evolution of history but in cycles which are based on the economic conditions of society. Other-oriented types can be found in the major empires of humankind. In this context, travel and tourism accompany the demographic transformation of empire as well as the index of their peripheral areas of exploitation.

The Motivation for Islamic Tourism Today and Tomorrow The Islamic world contains a rich heritage which is the result of a vast far-flung empire that encompasses Southern Europe and North Africa and extends from the Middle East to the margins of Southern Asia. After Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him (PBUH)) death in 632 ce the four Rashidun Caliphs directly succeeded Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as leaders of the Muslim community. The Rashidun caliphate started a large empire (632–661 ce), which reached its zenith during Umayyad’s dynasty (661–750 ce). These reigns were followed by the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 ce) and the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1269) which marked the beginning of the end. Needless to say, the Islamic

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world developed its own forms of displacement, pilgrimages and discovery travel earlier than the theorists of tourism precluded. In this section, we shall analyse the main outcomes of the specialized literature in the fields of pilgrimage tourism and Islamic tourism. As Raj and Griffin (2015) noted, the current literature is limited to understanding tourism in a religious context simply because this is based on the previous assumption of the association between tourism and the maximization of pleasure, and between religion and faith. This echoes the need to reconsider the sacred–profane continuum, the role of visitors and the contextual framework of religious sites. Within the ever-changing global political landscapes, religion has retained a significant place as a social movement with complexity of structures and functions that pervades cultures and traditions. It is clear that while there is no single or simple definition of the complex concept of religion, it is a system of recognizable beliefs and practices that acknowledges the existence of a super-human power and enables people to both address and transcend the problem of life. (Raj and Griffin, 2015, p. 2)

In addition, frustrated First World citizens look for new experiences, more associated with authenticity that ushers the industry into a climate of fictionalization or fabrication of cultural spectacles. This escalates in a cultural competition which distorts the real message of religion and is at best commoditizing cultures (Raj and Griffin, 2015). To what extent is it valid to speak of Muslim tourism? As Korstanje (2012) recalls, the ruling elite has the possibility to mark ‘the so-called inferior Other’ while at the same time it avoids being marked itself. Citing the study case of Aborigines and cultural tourism, there  is  no valid reason that explains why a visit to an Indian reservation is catalogued as ‘cultural tourism’, while the same term does not apply to visiting Chicago or Los Angeles in the USA. The same can be found in Muslim tourism, which is ideologically fitted against ‘tourism’ as synonymous with normalcy. Edward Said in his book  Orientalism (1979) gave a clear answer to this question. Far from the erudition of oriental studies, for the West the East was always not only a major threat that interrogates its would-be supremacy over

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the world, but also an ideological construction fabricated, packaged and disseminated through the prejudices and lens of European ethnocentrism (Said, 1979, 1985). Following this, Jafari and Scott (2014) brilliantly validate the thesis that religious life and secularity (as it was coined in the Christian faith) is not divorced in Islam. Many Muslim believers have no problem in making tourism work or in adopting the main holiday-making patterns of the tourism industry. The political nature of the community rests on the Ummah (a world community)  which aims at uniting all Muslims. There are no substantial differences between the belief in Islam and other Abrahamic religions such as Judaism and Christianity except the lack of a pope who centralizes or codifies the sacred texts. As these authors emphasize, there are many branches of Islam which combine unity with diversity. The division of secular power, the state and religion monopolized by the Church is not replicated in other cultures. The general view is that widely developed tourism in Muslim n ­ ations is not incompatible with religious belief in these countries. Joan Henderson (2003) scrutinizes the effects of modern tourism in Peninsular ­Malaysia, a point of conflict where some radicalized cells targeted international tourist destinations. One of the discourses of terrorism – against tourism – corresponds with the secular values tourism transmits as well as the change of customs and habits in the local population, but as Henderson puts it, tourism has been historically connected to religion. Some moderate Islamic nations accept tourism while other more radicalized nations do not, Henderson believes. In the case of Malaysia, the state and the induced ­Islamization played leading roles in configuring attitudes before tourism. Henderson comments as follows: Selected critical aspects of the often troubled relationship between Islam and tourism have been discussed in this paper, using recent developments in Malaysia as illustrations. Religion allied to race is a defining feature of Malaysian society where Islam is central to public and private life, but not the only religion worshipped, with potential for conflict between Muslim residents and non-Muslim international tourists. The central and state authorities have addressed this issue in different ways linked to religious, political and economic imperatives

with strains between centre and state orientations which are part of a wider political struggle. The accommodation practiced by the federal government compares with the more confrontational stance of the state while international cooperative ventures are being undertaken to stimulate the larger Muslim market. (Henderson, 2003, p. 453)

The question whether Islam is confronting the secular values encouraged by tourism divides scholars and academics. An interesting ­alternative point of entry in this discussion was given by Haq and Yin Wong (2010) who examine the issue beyond the Middle East. They found that spiritual tourism is being accepted widely as a branded segment and as a new ­dimension of the marketing of Islam. Methodologically, the sample is based on 34 face-to-face interviews that link individual tourists with ­Islamic organizations in Australia. They found that Islamic organizations allude to spiritual travels as a form of promoting religion and Islam, creating an interesting bridge in the discussion about the contrasting values of tourism and the Muslim faith. Zamani-Farahani and Henderson (2010) conclude that tourism and Islam should be considered as compatible, though the increase of new religious demands may conflict with the liberality of tourism. When travelling abroad or to other nations, Muslims brought their own customs, in which case no cultural incongruences exist, but equally important, some governments such as those of Iran and Saudi Arabia developed tourism as a form of economic diversification. When instability arises as a result of disagreements between tourism and Islam, the political background may converge into radicalized positions – which themselves are highly politicized – and this places the tourism industry in jeopardy. These researchers find that the main obstacles to tourism maturation are civil disobedience or resistance to local government, which means tourism is seen by local elites as a disturbing activity, and they want the negative impacts of tourism on the local community to be regulated through the orchestration of a planned programme. An interesting growing corpus revolving around tourism and Islam has penetrated discussions in books, conferences and academic courses over recent years (Henderson, 2003;



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Crouch et al., 2009; Zamani-Farahani and Henderson, 2010); however, this attention sounds ethnocentrically tainted by our own beliefs and conceptual frames. It was unfortunate that just days after 9/11 the climate of hostility and rivalry grew in the Occident regarding Islam, as well as the culture of securitization that tightens the borderlands to Muslims (Korstanje, 2017). Nevertheless, Islam – as a mirror of the ­Occident – reminds us of two important aspects of tourism. First and foremost, tourism – likely not with this name – was never a result of the Industrial Revolution but a rite of passage, which boosted the economies and mobilities of ancient empires. Secondly, we have outlined the legacy of the American tradition which focused on tourism as an alienatory activity created for surveillance and control of the rank-and-file worker. Given the original definitions in these terms, scholars of tourism (and preferably historians) never turned their focus on ancient history, leaving only their remarks on the Middle Ages. For them, the Grand Tour and the arrival of modern industrialism were the two factors that led towards tourism. Henceforth a clear-cut division between the secularized tourists and the traditional pilgrims created a gap, which to date has not been filled. Muslim tourism demonstrates that not only are MacCannell and the American

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tradition wrong but the division between religiosity and tourism obscures more than it clarifies.

Summary Although this chapter put the American tradition and its development of secularization versus religion under scrutiny, a further debate remained open with respect to the future of Muslim tourism in the not-so-distant future. We are alerted to the risks of thinking of tourism as a modern activity which was never known by other ancient civilizations or empires. This contradicts the robust evidence and chronicles that Latinists and archeologists have systematically gathered. We need to coin the term ancient tourism to be distinguished from modern tourism. The discussion around the evolution of tourism in the Middle East is consistent with the concept of ancient tourism because it validates the notion that theocratic cultures, as well as religion-based customs, are compatible with tourism. Some structuralists and positivists believe tourism is a continuation of religious life and involuntarily MacCannell agrees. However, some alerts are posed on terrorism and political intransigence as two major dangers to tourism in Muslim nations. This is a much deeper issue which deserves to be investigated in further research.

References Augé, M. (1995) Non-lieux. Verso, London. Bandyopadhyay, R. and Morais, D. (2005) Representative dissonance: India’s self and Western image. Annals of Tourism Research 32(4), 1006–1021. Britton, S.G. (1982) The political economy of tourism in the Third World. Annals of Tourism Research 9(3), 331–358. Brodsky-Porges, E. (1981) The grand tour travel as an educational device 1600–1800. Annals of Tourism Research 8(2), 171–186. Cantallops, A.S. and Cardona, J.R. (2015) Holiday destinations: the myth of the lost paradise? Annals of Tourism Research 55, 171–173. Cohen, E. (1984) The sociology of tourism: approaches, issues, and findings. Annual Review of Sociology 10(1), 373–392. Comaroff, J.L. and Comaroff, J. (2009) Ethnicity, Inc. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. Crouch, G.I., Devinney, T.M., Louviere, J.J. and Islam, T. (2009) Modelling consumer choice behaviour in space tourism. Tourism Management 30(3), 441–454. Fuller, G.E. (2010) A World Without Islam. Little Brown, New York. George, K. (1958) The civilized West looks at primitive Africa: 1400–1800; a study in ethnocentrism. Isis 49(1), 62–72. Hallam, E. (2013) Cultural Encounters: Representing Otherness. Routledge, London. Haq, F. and Yin Wong, H. (2010) Is spiritual tourism a new strategy for marketing Islam? Journal of Islamic Marketing 1(2), 136–148.

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Henderson, J.C. (2003) Managing tourism and Islam in Peninsular Malaysia. Tourism Management 24(4), 447–456. Jafari, J. and Scott, N. (2014) Muslim world and its tourisms. Annals of Tourism Research 44, 1–19. Korstanje, M. (2012) Reconsidering cultural tourism: an anthropologist’s perspective. Journal of Heritage Tourism 7(2), 179–184. Korstanje, M.E. (2014) Exegesis and myths as methodologies of research in tourism. Anatolia 25(2), 299–301. Korstanje M.E. (2017) Terrorism, Tourism, and the End of Hospitality in the West. Springer Nature, New York. Korstanje M.E. (2018) The Mobilities Paradox: a Critical Analysis. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK. Korstanje, M. and Busby, G. (2010) Understanding the Bible as the roots of physical displacement: the origin of tourism. E-Review of Tourism Research 8(3), 95–111. Korstanje, M. and Seraphin, H. (2017) Revisiting the sociology of consumption in tourism. In: Dixit, S.K. (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Consumer Behaviour in Hospitality and Tourism. Routledge, London, pp. 16–25. Krippendorf, J. (1982) Towards new tourism policies: the importance of environmental and sociocultural factors. Tourism Management 3, 135–148. Krippendorf, J. (1986) The new tourist – turning point for leisure and travel. Tourism Management 7, 131–135. Krippendorf, J. (1987) The Holiday-Makers: Understanding the Impact of Travel and Tourism. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK. Krippendorf, J. (2010) Holiday Makers. Routledge, London. Lash, S. and Urry, J. (1993) Economies of Signs and Space (Vol. 26). SAGE Publishing, London. MacCannell, D. (1973) Staged authenticity: arrangements of social space in tourist settings. American Journal of Sociology 79(3), 589–603. MacCannell, D. (1976)  The Tourist: a New Theory of the Leisure Class. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. MacCannell, D. (1992) Empty Meeting Grounds: the Tourist Papers. Routledge, London. MacCannell, D. (2001) Tourist agency. Tourist Studies 1, 23–37. MacCannell, D. (2011) The Ethics of Sightseeing. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. MacCannell, D. (2012) On the ethical stake in tourism research. Tourism Geographies 14, 183–194. Meethan, K. (2001) Tourism in Global Society: Place, Culture, Consumption. Palgrave, New York. Pastoriza, E. (2011) La Conquista de Las Vacaciones: Breve Historia del Turismo en la Argentina. Edhasa, Buenos Aires. Raj, R. and Griffin, K.A. (2015) Introduction to sacred or secular journeys. In: Raj, R. and Griffin, K.A. (eds) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management: an International Perspective. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 1–15. Riesman, D. (2001) The Lonely Crowd: a Study of the Changing American Character. Yale University Press, Ithaca, New York. Said, E. (1979) Orientalism. Vintage, New York. Said, E.W. (1985) Orientalism reconsidered. Race & Class 27(2), 1–15. Scott, N. and Jafari, J. (eds) (2010) Tourism in the Muslim World. Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley, UK. Towner, J. (1985) The grand tour: a key phase in the history of tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 12(3), 297–333. Turner, V. (1969) The Ritual Process. Penguin, New York. Urry, J. (1992) The tourist gaze ‘revisited’. American Behavioral Scientist 36(2), 172–186. Urry, J. (2007) Mobilities. Polity Press, Cambridge. Van Gennep, A. (2011) The Rites of Passage. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. Virilio, P. (2006) Velocidad y política: ensayo sobre dromología [Speed and politics: an essay on dromology]. Polizzotti, Mark (trad.). Semiotext (e), Los Angeles, California. Vukonić, B. (2002) Religion, tourism and economics: a convenient symbiosis. Tourism Recreation Research 27(2), 59–64. Vukonić, B. (2010) Do we always understand each other? In: Scott, N. and Jafari, J. (eds) Tourism in the Muslim World. Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley, UK, pp. 31–45. Zamani-Farahani, H. and Henderson, J.C. (2010) Islamic tourism and managing tourism development in Islamic societies: the cases of Iran and Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Tourism Research 12(1), 79–89.

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From Spiritualism to a New Paradigm in Tourism: Spiritual Tourism and Motivations Özlem Güzel* and Ayça Sariyildiz Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey

Introduction Since ancient times, many philosophers have discussed spiritualism in philosophical and experimental contexts while studying spiritual concepts. The concept of spiritualism was used for psychological aspects of human beings in the 12th century, to refer to religious people in the 15th and 16th centuries, and in the modern context in the 17th century; and while interest in spiritualism has increased since the Second World War, there is still no consensus on its definition because the nature of the concept is largely abstract and individual (Yılmaz, 2011). Schulz (2005) describes spiritualism as a meaningful connection of our basic self which is expressed through our thoughts, our narratives and our actions to other people, the world or with a greater power. While Kale (2004) argues that spirituality and globalization influence one another, and they determine the cultural environment which we live in, together with other environmental forces (politics, technology, economy, etc.). He defines spirituality as the devotion to discovery, the deep and meaningful commitment to the inner self of the individual, the commitment to the known world and beyond. This concept, which expresses a metaphysical view, has created a new type of motivation by influencing the nature of tourism while creating interest

in fields such as esoterism, parapsychology, mysticism and theosophy in various fields such as literature and health in today’s world. As a result of today’s stressful city life, materialism and overexposure to constantly evolving technological developments, the vast majority of today’s individuals have begun to drown in negative feelings such as alienation, loneliness, stress and spiritual emptiness. This has led them to be more interested in the concept of spiritualism than ever before and as a spiritual tourist, who is different from normal tourists, to search for self-fulfilment, personal healing and enlightenment. The notion of spiritual tourism is very different from the old tourism concept that leads tourists to hedonic activities or escape, and instead focuses on the exploration of the individuals themselves and the arrival of their internal transformations. This chapter explores spiritual tourism, spiritual tourists and their motivations and considers the antecedents of tourists towards spiritual journeys in the conceptual framework.

Spiritual Tourism Growth Tourism is one of the sectors that has grown rapidly in the world and contributes to many countries in many ways. In this context, the

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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marketing of tourism products and services is a strategic issue for the tourism sector (Trauer, 2006). Bowen and Clarke (2002) indicate that each market segment is comprised of customers with different needs and specific interests. There are increasing numbers of tourists taking journeys with spiritual motives in search of personal healing (Ambrož and Ovsenik, 2011). What links tourists to such journeys is the innate curiosity for internal development, self-discovery and the acquisition of a meaning or purpose (Cheer et al., 2017). Today’s tourists, many of whom tend not to be members of a particular religion, are seeking their own spiritual enlightenment in secular or multifaith societies. If they cannot find it in their home environment they are travelling to search for it in other places (Smith, 2003). Since the beginning of time, it is believed that man has defined some elements of the natural and artificial environment as spiritual spaces in terms of having sacred and supernatural qualities. Even though the spiritual meaning of some has disappeared over time, there is still a great deal of interest in many of these ancient sites and there are examples worldwide1 (Raj and Morpeth, 2007). Nowadays, the development of spiritual travel has taken place in a world where neo-liberalism and materialism have become widespread in modern life (Cheer et  al., 2017). Numerous researchers acknowledge that tourism experiences are not just physical travel, and the experience can also be related to spiritual things, psychological and physical benefits, personal development, and changes in the individual’s life (Wilson and Harris, 2006). In this regard, Haq and Jackson (2006) state that spiritual tourism forms a new subfield as a type of special interest tourism. Hawks (1994) points out that spirituality refers to a state in which there is a high level of commitment, hope and acceptance, a well-defined worldview, a strong belief system, principles, ethics and values, love, joy, peace and self-realization. In this context, this type of tourism is becoming an increasingly popular type of tourism in the post-modern era’s vacation experiences as regards its content and motivations, while also promoting sustainable development and a peaceful future. According to Belk et al. (1989), the spiritual needs of consumers turn into demand for goods and services worth billions of

dollars and it is very important that marketeers understand these demand patterns both in time and in customer segments. In today’s conditions, the understanding of supply and demand for the spiritual needs of consumers is quite basic (Kale, 2004). In this chapter, the conceptual description of spiritual tourism will be made, and also the motivations that drive tourists to spiritual journeys will be evaluated in the theoretical framework.

From Spiritualism to Spiritual Tourism The word ‘spiritus’ which means breathing and which derives from the word ‘spirit’ in Latin is defined as the force necessary for the survival of the living (Anderson, 2000). People are aware of the phenomenon of death, and for this reason they are trying to build a sense of purpose and meaning for the lives that they are leading. In this regard, people have a willingness to live a productive life while questioning the purpose of existence and value to the world (Piedmont, 2001). According to Grayling (2003), there are two basic views that explain the concept of spiritualism. The first is a secular view that describes human nature and the human condition, while the second points out the source of moral value is beyond the human world. From this angle, it can be said that these two views have been a subject that has kept the mind and heart busy since the day that human beings first existed in the world. Spiritualism in this context is a deep relationship with searches for meaning, understandings and religious and non-religious feelings of one’s beliefs about the tranquility, purpose and connection to other individuals and the meaning of life (Aggarwal et al., 2008). Spiritualism is the only word that places man on the highest pedestal of life, and the purpose is to attain salvation (also known as moksha in Hinduism) (Aggarwal et al., 2008). Spiritualism is linked to how people think, feel, behave and relate in their efforts to find, protect and, if necessary, transform the sacred in their lives (Pargament, 1999). Similarly, Wong and Yau (2009) argue that while spiritualism is questioning the meaning and purpose of life, it is becoming evident and innate in relation to the environment, others



Spiritual Tourism and Motivations

and divine power. Chandler et al. (1992) describe spiritualism as seeking and reaching beyond the inner world of the individual to attain the supremacy of increased knowledge and love. According to Jenkins and Pargament (1995), spiritualism is an attempt to explain the features of life beyond metaphysics or consciousness in relation to one’s supernatural or otherwise power relations. Emphasizing that spirituality is multidimensional, Patneaude (2006) defines spiritualism as a universal experience, which is the relational nature of one’s own, others, and the greater, including meaning, purpose, values and beliefs. The great concept in this definition can be thought of as the divine order, the creator. According to Murray and Zentner (1989), who state that spirituality can be found in those who do not believe in any god, it is a search for purpose and meaning beyond religious affiliation. Ambrož and Ovsenik (2011) emphasize that spiritual tourism is erroneously referred to by religious beliefs, and that spiritual motivations are a new research topic but not a new phenomenon. Çetinkaya et al. (2007) list the elements that reveal the distinction between religion and spirituality as follows: (i) spirituality is a concept too wide that cannot be limited to religion, beliefs and practices; (ii) there is a possibility that spiritual beliefs and values may not be linked to religion; (iii) people without religious beliefs may also have spiritual dimensions; and (iv) spiritual values and beliefs are phenomena far beyond the belief in any being or power. According to Shanthakumari (2017), belief and spirituality are not the same concepts, but they can be oriented towards the same purpose. The outcome of these two types of tourism is oriented at ensuring the spiritual well-being of the person. The spiritual aspect of humans is as important as the physical, emotional and social aspects. Literature suggests that spiritual practices can also be effective in dealing with the end of life, illness, stress, the moment of questioning the meaning of life, the fear of death and loss of hope, the crisis, and the loss of loved ones (Walsh, 2008; Wong and Yau, 2009; Hiçdurmaz and Öz, 2013; Çınar and Eti Aslan, 2017). While engaging with the natural environment in order to experience the feeling of ­belonging to something great and eternal has become fashionable, spiritualism in tourism is a phenomenon that emerged in the conceptual

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debates of leisure activities in the 20th century. In the 21st century, because people are not dependent on any religion so are trying to fill in the spiritual gap they feel inside and are turning to other ways to find answers to their questions, spiritualism has become more popular than ever (Haq and Jackson, 2009; Shanthakumari, 2017). Many of today’s spiritual and holistic vacations focus not on escape but on encouraging the participants to be fully interested in their own self and reconciliation of their personal disagreements, and this new perspective on tourism is quite different from the old tourism concept that leads to hedonic activities or escape (Smith, 2003). While spiritual tourism is considered to be a type of tourism that mainly explores the spiritual tourists and the journeys that these tourists made (Haq and Jackson, 2009; Børø, 2015), it is seen as a largely scientific creation because of its functions that focus on self-discoveries and internal transformations (Norman, 2012). Spiritual tourism that stimulates the search for meaning can be described as an experiential approach in the new tourism era (Timothy and Olsen, 2006). In this context, spiritual tourism is travel by the individual to a specific region, unlike the one he/she is accustomed to in a divine context, to gain spiritual meaning and/or spiritual transformation without any religious input (Shanthakumari, 2017). Yiannakis and Gibson (1992) have distinguished spiritual tourism from other varieties of tourism and have stated that spiritual tourists associate themselves with increasing self-awareness and sense of life. Based upon the fact that every tourist has different expectations from their visits, Collins-Kreiner (2010) indicated that unlike pilgrims, spiritual tourists anticipate finding answers to the search for meaning in their lives from spiritual experiences. In this context it can be said that spiritual tourism arises from the need for spiritual development and awareness of the human being and goes beyond the spirit of religion, even though it seems to be nested with religion (Haq and Jackson, 2009).

Spiritual Experiences Touristic products are experiences that consist of a range of different services, such as transport, accommodation, tours and other tangible

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services which affect tourists’ satisfaction and whether tourist visits will be retained (Ambrož and Lotrič, 2009). Non-commercial spiritual ­experiences such as adventures, cityscapes and natural beauty are also important, but they are not easy to measure and control (Fuller, 2007). According to Jauhari and Sanjeev (2010), journeys performed with a spiritual intention have some unique qualities that will not be found in other touristic places. These can be listed as: (i) rituals to be performed in the holy place to be visited; (ii) to focus on praying; (iii) to connect with fellow travellers and chanting; (iv) to perhaps make a long trip to the top of a hill or dive into the sacred water; (v) to donate; (vi) to give respect; (vii) to eat ordinary vegetarian food; and (viii) to be patient in long queues. Spiritual tourism, based on non-religious motives, continues to guide global tourism and addresses tourists’ emotions such as success (Mount Everest), discovery (Machu Picchu), enlightenment (Giza pyramids), prosperity increase (Rishikesh), astonishment (Stonehenge) and experiencing the local cosmological systems (Uluru) (Cheer et al., 2017). Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem in Israel, Lumbini in Nepal and India, Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar in India are very popular spiritual destinations among countless sacred places all over the world (Hùng, 2015), and many tourists visit these destinations every year. Adopting the spiritual tourism perspective can be seen as a broad concept involving ­tangible and intangible products and services. Tangible products include churches, mosques, temples, shrines and other centres with a spiritual focus. Intangible products and services include events, seminars, festivals and meetings organized with spiritual motives (McKercher, 2002). Similarly, cruise travel, psychological seminars and workshops are now added to the spiritual tourism list (Hùng, 2015). Reisinger (2006) e­ ncourages the planning and organization of spiritually themed camps. In this sense, Nepal and the Himalayas, whose popularity is increasing as a spiritual tourism destination, are examples of a good spiritual experience destination (Børø, 2015). In Nepal, training camps for meditation, yoga and energy studies are organized in certain periods. Ambrož and Ovsenik (2011) emphasize that many destinations are marketing themselves ­using places important to holy leaders as a focus. For example, Pakistan holds mass annual

gatherings and international events at places that were important to the spiritual Sufi leaders (Haq, 2011).

Spiritual Tourists Cohen (1979) proposed five types of basic tourist experience built on the worldview and the meaning of the place visited, based on the fact that tourists cannot be described as ‘a generalized type’ in order to understand the dynamics of tourist experience. Cohen’s five modes represent a broad spectrum of experiences ranging from the experiences of tourists as travellers, to the experiences of modern pilgrims, to the search for meaning in the individual’s centre. Cohen (1979) defines these modes as: (i) recreational; (ii) diversionary; (iii) experiential; (iv) experimental; and (v) existential. Within these modes, the existentialist form is typical of tourists who are fully committed to an optional spiritual centre outside the general social preferences of indigenous society. Spiritual tourists are those who visit a different specific region that is not familiar to them for spiritual meaning and/or development/transformation, and it may or may not include a religious or divine context (Shanthakumari, 2017). Norman (2004) defines spiritual tourists as those who are searching for some sort of religious or spiritual experience in a religious or spiritual environment in order to partly or wholly fulfil their desire to travel. These spiritual tourists categorize themselves as travellers, seekers, Hajjis, pilgrims, devotees, conference/ festival attendants, holidaymakers, etc. (Haq and Jackson, 2009). Shanthakumari (2017) distinguishes five types of spiritual tourists. These are:

• •

•

Purposeful spiritual tourist: The main reason for the visit is personal spiritual development and tourists have a strong intention to seek the divine. Sightseeing spiritual tourist: The main reason for the visit is personal spiritual development, but this tourist type gives more importance to sightseeing than spiritual experiments. Casual spiritual tourist: Personal spiritual development is a small part of the reason for the visit, and the spiritual experience



•

•

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of these tourists is weaker than the first two tourist types. Incidental spiritual tourist: Personal spiritual development has no effect on the travel decisions of these tourists and they experience occasionally or rarely spiritual experiences during travel. Serendipitous spiritual tourist: Personal spiritual development has no effect on the travel decisions of these tourists, but as a result of the travel, tourists experience a deep spiritual experience by chance.

By analysing the change model for tourism typology of MacKay and Fesenmaier (1998), Haq and Jackson (2006) adapted the model for spiritual tourists. This was based on the need to develop strategies to market spiritual tourism efficiently, the need to better define the behaviour and attitudes of spiritual tourists, and therefore the need to construct spiritual tourist typology:

•

•

• • •

Pre-contemplators: Individuals who have never been interested in spiritual tourism and are not considered potential customers in the spiritual tourism market (they can be ­encouraged to contemplate). Contemplators: Individuals who consider themselves as regular tourists and who are considering purchasing spiritual tourism products or services but have not actively researched or purchased any. Ready for action: Individuals who have decided to live a spiritual tourism experience and are looking for suitable options in the spiritual tourism market. Active: These tourists go to spiritual tourism destinations, but their trips are not regular. Maintainers: These are constantly active customers in the spiritual tourism market and regularly purchase spiritual tourism products and services.

Spiritual tourists who travel with the desire for personal healing and enlightenment prefer personal space and freedom. They want to experience simple or natural experiences in harmony with nature. They search for existential authenticity. They can join local people in ritual traditions (Smith, 2003). According to Singleton (2017), spiritual tourists are distinguished

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as spiritual seekers and message seekers. Spiritual seekers cannot fully realize their spiritual quests with what they have at home, and they are motivated to go further afield to find what they seek. Message seekers stay in destinations for one or two nights to communicate with the souls of dead people. They see themselves as people who follow a spiritual path away from a defined religion (Singleton, 2017).

The Antecedents of Spiritual Tourism Motivations In the era of global capitalism and postmodernism, there is some existential negativity among the citizens of many Western developed countries (Smith, 2003). The absence of the meaning of life that is fundamental to life can create emptiness and hopelessness. For this reason, understanding the meaning and purpose of life adds a cause and value to life (Yılmaz, 2011) and also provides spiritual development to the individual. Spiritual development is an important issue for all ages and should be considered in tourists’ travel plans (Shanthakumari, 2017). While spiritual journeys change the nature of tourism products (Reisenger, 2006), tourism experiences include motivations to change spiritual content, psychological and physical benefits, self-realization and life beyond any destination or physical journey (Wilson and Harris, 2006). The reason for this situation is the change in society, which leads ideas to change towards spiritualism. This change is closely linked to the understanding of the effects of people on the earth (Ambrož and Ovsenik, 2011). In a study by Matheson et al. (2014) they searched for spiritual motivations of participants who attended the Beltane Fire Festival which was held on 30 April every year in Edinburgh, Scotland. Motivation antecedents of ‘escape from routine life, a change of pace, relieve daily stress, relieve boredom, increase cultural knowledge, enjoy new experiences, to seek ­adventure’ emerged. The reasons for spiritual quests as a major travel motive can be summarized as follows: (i) materialistic lifestyle; (ii) changes in human values; (iii) fake relationships; (iv) distrust among people; (v) alienation to one another; (vi) ordinary life; (vii) exclusion/alienation from

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the society; (viii) stressful city life; (ix) hard work; (x) overexposure to constantly evolving technological developments; (xi) the thought that beliefs are threatened; (xii) the loss of hope for life; (xiii) automatised social life; (xiv) the constant change of the perception of civilization; (xv) material elements not bringing happiness; and (xvi) the breakdown of communities and traditions (Pargament, 1999; Smith, 2003; Bash, 2004; Maclean and Walker, 2004; Reisenger, 2006; Ambrož and Ovsenik, 2011; Papatya et al., 2011; Willson, 2011; Matheson et al., 2014; Çınar and Eti Aslan, 2017). All of these cause some undesirable effects such as social anxiety, identity crises and feelings of exclusion, alienation, anxiety, spiritual emptiness, depression, loneliness and stress among people (Smith, 2003; Reisenger, 2006; Ambrož and Ovsenik, 2011; Yılmaz, 2011; ­ Çınar and Eti Aslan, 2017). For these reasons, individuals are trying to comfort themselves by having activities to increase their physical, mental and spiritual prosperity, such as yoga, Pilates, meditation, Ayurvedic therapies, aromatherapy and health spas. They use travel as an escape and in the search for reconciliation of their bodies, minds and souls that they cannot do at home. As tourists are moving towards simpler, more natural environments where they can be more productive, they move away from the materialist and secular environments (Smith, 2003). Spiritualism brings people humanistic qualities such as trust, happiness, love, compassion, patience, creativity, experience, righteousness, desire to find meaning and purpose of life, sentimentality, graciousness, desire to feel good, tolerance, forgiveness and harmony (Baloğlu and Karadağ, 2009; Çınar and Eti Aslan, 2017).

Spiritual Tourism Motivations Although spiritualism topics are intriguing in many areas today, there are very few literature studies directly related to spiritual tourism, and spiritually based motivated travels are inadequately investigated in tourism research (Reisenger, 2006; Timothy and Olsen, 2006; Ron, 2007; Raj et al., 2015). Spiritual motivations are a new research topic in tourism literature (Ambrož and Ovsenik, 2011). According to Gallagher (2009),

belief and spiritualism are among the most common travel motivations. Smith (2003) points out that the personal improvement or desire for enlightenment is the most important difference that distinguishes spiritual tourist motivations from massive and cultural tourist motivations. Lapierre (1994) defines six components in a model that defines spirituality: (i) a search for meaning in life; (ii) an encounter with transcendence; (iii) a sense of community; (iv) a search for ultimate truth, or highest value; (v) a respect and appreciation for the mystery of creation; and (vi) a personal transformation. In a study of spiritual tourism experience by Sharpley and Sundaram (2005) in Auroville and Sri Aurobindo Ashram,2 it turned out that some of the participants were not visiting India simply for spiritualism, but also for ‘curiosity, seeing touristic places or learning yoga’. In the same study, it appeared that participants had spiritual experiences, and felt spiritually fulfilled, enriched, grateful and peaceful. Aggarwal et al. (2008), in their work on tourists visiting Rishikesh and Haridwar for spirituality and yoga, ­remark that the aims of tourists visiting the Ashrams in these regions are as follows:

•

• •

Most foreign tourists who visit Rishikesh believe that religious sites are peaceful and spiritually satisfying. For this reason, they prefer to visit religious sites rather than adventurous, historical or exotic sites. Tourists participate in Indian festivals to feel happier and more satisfied. Most tourists are not seeking luxury; they believe that they are on their tough journey to simplify life, to achieve more fulfilling and rewarding divine goals.

According to Norman (2004), in order to determine the motivations of spiritual tourists it is necessary to understand who they are and their travel purposes first. The fact that spiritual tourists travel with their own complex, private and personal motivations should not be ignored for the reason that spiritualism has a great deal to do with individual experience (Singleton, 2017). The expectations of tourists of their spiritual travel experiences are shaped by the motivations of transcending the boundaries of human consciousness, changing their lives from time to time and adding meaning to life (Cheer et al., 2017). Further, Cheer et al. (2017)



Spiritual Tourism and Motivations

state that the motivations of spiritual travel are in great accordance with Maslow’s need for self-actualization and the need to search for life’s purpose. When the literature is examined (Yiannakis and Gibson, 1992; Lapierre, 1994; Zinnbauer et al., 1999; Smith, 2003; Norman, 2004; Reisenger, 2006; Timothy and Olsen, 2006; Haq and Jackson, 2009; Narayanan and Macbeth, 2009; Collins-Kreiner, 2010; Jauhari and Sanjeev, 2010; Ambrož and Ovsenik, 2011; Raj and Griffin, 2015; Raj et al., 2015; Cheer et al., 2017; Çınar and Eti Aslan, 2017; Jarratt and Sharpley, 2017; Kujawa, 2017; Shanthakumari, 2017) the following topics emerged as spiritual tourism motivations:

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

to experience a spiritual experience; to search for the divine; to connect with the creator; to discover the mystery of creation; to discover the self and satisfy the feeling of being at ‘unity/one’; the search for ultimate truth or the highest value; to discover and complete self; to raise self-awareness and enlightenment; to provide a balance of body, mind and spirit; to purify physically, mentally and spiritually; to be purified and renewed; for spiritual development; to achieve spiritual salvation; to search for the meaning of life; to make life meaningful; for personal healing and transformation; to fill the inner and spiritual gap; to heal the inner world; to complete the inner journey; to live an inner transformation; to discover the secrets of creation; and to understand the connection between nature and humans.

Summary Outdated marketing strategies that focus on attracting people to interesting places such as luxury holiday villages, entertainment centres and events have now begun to dissatisfy the needs of individuals with undecided minds and searches (Reisenger, 2006). While postmodern

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people in the metaphysical and ordinary world tend to move away from modern living conditions to go on a journey of cultural exploration, to connect with nature or to adopt local cultures, spiritual travels are emerging as a different type of tourism. Although in some studies spiritual travels are considered in the scope of belief tourism, spiritualism extends beyond being a religion and an ideology, and instead is innate in the individual. The spiritual tourist appears to want spiritual and inner journeys to search for self-fulfilment, personal healing and enlightenment. This chapter reveals that spiritual tourism has its own motivations (e.g. to find personal completeness, the meaning of life and spiritual development) and it is a type of tourism that needs to be developed in this context. As Reisenger (2006) points out, tourists are expected to contact spiritual guides and to go on spiritual journeys to renew and establish a spiritual connection. Numbers of spiritual tourists are increasing as a result of the negative conditions of modern life (e.g. today’s stressful city life and materialism) so there may be demand for new products. Haq et al. (2008) state that tour operators and tour wholesalers should design new spiritual tourism products and experiences within the product development strategy. Many major tourism destinations have greatly developed with regard to sacred people, to their connections to places and events (Gallagher, 2009), and there are a number of natural beauty sites for spiritual tourism. Each of these destinations has its own unique features. When this is taken into consideration, many destinations, as noted by Singleton (2017), should market themselves with the promise of satisfying spiritual motivations and to create spiritual experiences. Furthermore, in addition to the suggestions above, destinations should plan international events to understand and learn spiritual traditions by associating spiritual people with destinations and places (Haq et al., 2008; Ambrož and Ovsenik, 2011; Haq, 2011). Medhekar and Haq (2012) emphasize that spiritual tourism tours should be marketed as universal belief-based products not as religious travel products. The distinct field of spiritual tourism should be supported with further empirical studies of topics such as motivation, touristic product experience and destination experience.

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Notes 1. These examples include ‘the statues of Easter Island, Stonehenge in England, Uluru in Australia, Brodgar in Orkney, Teotihuacanos in Central America, Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the sacred mountains in China’ (Raj and Morpeth, 2007). 2.  The word Ashram is derived from the word ‘srama’ in Sanskrit, which means the place where a Hindu candidate or a guru is drawn to seclusion (Sharpley and Sundaram, 2005).

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Smith, M. (2003) Holistic holidays: tourism and the reconciliation of body, mind and spirit. Tourism Recreation Research 28(1), 103–108. Timothy, D. and Olsen, D. (2006) Tourism, Religion and Spiritual Journeys. Routledge, London. Trauer, B. (2006) Conceptualizing special interest tourism – frameworks for analysis. Tourism Management 27(2), 183–200. Walsh, F. (2008) Spiritual Resources in Family Therapy, 2nd edn. The Guilford Press, New York, 412 pp. Willson, G. (2011) The search for inner peace: considering the spiritual movement in tourism. The Journal of Tourism and Peace Research 1(3), 16–26. Wilson, E. and Harris, C. (2006) Meaningful travel: women, independent travel and the search for self and meaning. Tourism 54(2), 161–172. Wong, K. and Yau, S. (2009) Nurses’ experiences in spirituality and spiritual care in Hong Kong. Applied Nursing Research 23(4), 242–244. Yiannakis, A. and Gibson, H. (1992) Roles tourists play. Annals of Tourism Research 19(2), 287–303. Yılmaz, M. (2011) A dimension of holistic care: spirituality, nature and relationship with nursing. Journal of Anatolia Nursing and Health Sciences 14(2), 61–70. Zinnbauer, B., Pargament, K. and Scott, A. (1999) The emerging meanings of religiousness and spirituality: problems and prospects. Journal of Personality 67(6), 889–919.

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The Selfie in Islamic Pilgrimages as a Communication Tool in Hajj and Umrah Shin Yasuda* Takasaki City University of Economics, Takasaki, Japan

Introduction Hajj and Umrah, which are two types of Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia, are two of the most significant religious practices in Islam; taken together, they form one of the largest religious events in the world (Henderson, 2010). More than 2 million Muslim pilgrims gather in Makkah in order to undertake the Hajj rituals, and a huge number of pilgrims go to Umrah in order to deepen their Islamic piety. The religious events of Hajj and Umrah attract a large number of audiences, both Muslims and non-Muslims, from all over the world. With the development of digital and mobile devices, Islamic religious practices and religious events have also been influenced by these technologies. Consequently, the harmonization of these technological transformations with the traditional and religious atmosphere of such religious events has emerged as a topic of discussion. In particular, the Hajj of 1435 ah (ad 2014) has been described as ‘the year of the selfie’; it caused a selfie boom, which led to a serious discussion about the selfie practices in the holy places of Makkah, Saudi Arabia (Quraishi, 2014). Hajj pilgrims recorded their religious experiences by taking selfies and instantly uploading them on social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook,

Instagram and other related social networking services (SNS). This new phenomenon has drawn the derision of religious scholars and other pilgrims and has triggered an anti-selfie movement. An article titled ‘Say no to Haj selfie!’, which was published in Arab News on 30 September 2014, raises this topic and criticizes the phenomenon by citing the words of various religious scholars (Quraishi, 2014). One Islamic scholar condemned the selfie trend, saying, ‘It is as though the only purpose of this trip is to take pictures and not worship’ (Quraishi, 2014). Moreover, other scholars and pilgrims despaired over the lack of religious motivations and education, and they emphasized the importance of preserving the purity of the pilgrimage and its accompanying religious experiences. In these discussions, people focused on the proper way to show their religious authenticity in the digital era in order to retain the authentic pilgrimage experience in holy places – an experience that, some claim, is undermined by the selfie. Some anti-selfie figures describe the selfie boom as ‘touristic behaviour’ that will destroy the religious atmosphere of holy places, and they demand that selfies be banned in religious places; these demands are underlined by anxieties about the decline of the religious significance of Hajj. As the criticism of selfies in holy places has increased,

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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the Saudi government has sought to prohibit the use of mobile phones and the taking of selfies at pilgrimage sites. On the other hand, some selfie takers at the pilgrimage sites have strongly insisted that it is a contemporary way of showing the religious authenticity of the pilgrimage experience (Quraishi, 2014). They contend that recording their valuable memories during pilgrimage experiences is an important practice to commemorate their precious life events; in addition, they argue that sharing these experiences with relatives and friends enhances the importance of Hajj practices and the remembrance of God. Despite the anti-selfie criticisms, pilgrims at holy sites strongly engage in selfie-taking behaviour in order to record their pilgrimage experiences and share them on social media websites. As critical discussions about the selfie phenomenon have spread, however, the phenomenon has become more widespread and grown in popularity. Some pilgrims undertaking Hajj or Umrah are now beginning to livestream their pilgrimages by posting photos and videos on social media applications; these livestreams often show the atmosphere and spectacle of the religious events. A large audience consisting of internet users from around the world, both Muslims and non-­ Muslims, watches these livestreams and posts reactions, which, in turn, enhances the popularity of the streamed religious events. This situation indicates that this new way of expressing personal pilgrimage experiences is now widely accepted among Muslims, despite the strong criticism from some Muslim scholars and figures from around the world. This transformation shows that the contemporary Makkah pilgrimage is at a tipping point. This technological transformation has emerged despite previous studies strongly emphasizing the consistency and uniqueness of the religious practices devoted to Hajj and Umrah, which they attributed to Islamic thoughts and the social functions in Muslim societies. These studies often avoided any analysis of Hajj and Umrah transformations, which are reflected by the contemporary Muslim lifestyle. In particular, the global development of new technologies and communication tools has dramatically changed how pilgrims show religious commitment, which is conceptualized that ‘people feel and exhibit the appropriate emotions concerning their religious

actions and undertaking’ (Stark and Finke, 2000, p. 104) towards holy places and religious events. This chapter, therefore, has analysed the rise of the selfie phenomenon in the context of religious events such as Hajj and Umrah in Makkah in order to examine the religious commitment shown towards religious events in the era of digital and mobile technologies. The chapter focuses on the characteristics of selfie practices in the context of the Makkah pilgrimage and discusses a form of communication prompted by selfie practices. The chapter specially examines the concept of the ‘performance approach’ in the tourism study to examine the religious commitment in the digital and mobile technologies.

Performances and Digital Social Spaces in Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Tourism activities as well as tourism studies have been strongly influenced by the development of tools such as digital technologies and mobile devices. In particular, researchers focus on the social impacts of the advancement of digital devices, such as digital cameras and mobile phones, and the development of communication tools, for example SNS and apps (Larsen and Sandbye, 2014). These improvements in digital devices have led to rapid mass production of photos and videos by ordinary people. In particular, the spread of mobile phones has promoted the recording and maintenance of personal experiences and memories at low cost. Moreover, the development of SNS has transformed communication pathways in the modern world, and it has enabled users to share their recorded personal experiences in various social spaces. The spread of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media websites has made it possible for users to cross time and space in communication instantaneously, thus diminishing the geographical and temporal distances between people. The spread of new types of digital and communication devices in the tourism field has concretized individual tourism-related ‘performances’ and experiences beyond time and space. As research on the performance approach in tourism studies has clarified, personal ‘performances’ conducted in the course of tourism reflect individual



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sensibilities and are influenced by other people’s performances (Thrift, 1996, 1997; Crouch and Desforges, 2003; Noy, 2008). Tim Edensor’s research on the Taj Mahal in North India shows that the methods of taking pictures at the famous monument tended to differ between visitors and strongly reflected their individual motivations, cultural sensibilities and the social norms practised in their daily lives (Edensor, 1998). He indicates, however, that these individualized performances are shared by imitating the photo-­ taking practices at the Taj Mahal and explains the emergence of some temporal shared norms and values in the field through Erving Goffman’s concept of a ‘performance on the stage’ (Goffman, 1959; Edensor, 1998). This ‘performance on the stage’ promotes interaction and communication among people, despite the individualized nature of the ‘performance’. Research on the performance approach in tourism studies emphasizes Goffman’s contention that performance is ‘interpersonal communication based on the dramaturgic or performance analogy, where individuals and groups engage in individual and collective performances when and where they meet’ (Goffman, 1959; Doorne and Ateljevic, 2005, p. 174). It is ‘an approach that sees tourists’ behaviours as meaningful social roles that are both carried out and evaluated publicly’ (Noy, 2008, p. 510). It also ‘entails a holistic perspective whereby diverse social practices are viewed as sharing a common semiotic. Performances are, therefore, ‘formative behaviours that conform to, confirm, or challenge social norms, as well as the institutions, power relations and identities that these norms support in tourism activities’ (Noy, 2008, p. 510). In this approach, researchers stress that each person is described as ‘an actor upon a stage, whose performance is viewed and judged by an audience consisting of other actors present’ (Hyde and Olesen, 2011, p. 901). In this environment, ‘performance is an interactive and contingent process: it succeeds according to the skill of the actors, the context within which it is performed, and the way in which it is interpreted by an audience’ (Edensor, 2009, p. 556). Edensor mentions that ‘the efficacy of the performance relies equally upon the ability of the audience to share the meaning the actor hopes to transmit’ (Edensor, 2001, p. 327). Because much of social practice is an attempt to transmit meaning and

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identity, the effect of the performance is contingent upon an audience that understands the message. Hence, ‘the appreciation of the performances, and of their relation to the stage through which they are performed, requires an examination of the ways in which their visual, aesthetic, material and rhetoric aspects and arrangements are consumed’ (Haldrup and Larsen, 2003; Noy, 2008, p. 513). Because the performance is dependent on the audience’s ‘recognition’, as Axell Honneth indicates (Honneth, 1995), the interaction between performer and audience encompasses ‘common sense’ by contextualizing their shared communication experiences and promoting a certain sharable sensibility to the audience through the choice of performances (Edensor, 2001; Crouch and Desforges, 2003, p. 6). This shared sensibility that is expressed through collective experience to the audience confers meaning on the enactment and the actors (Crouch and Desforges, 2003). In this sense, the interaction with the audience creates a certain ‘social space’ that promotes connectivity with others and leads to the emergence of some shared values in the field (Coleman and Crang, 2002; Sheller and Urry, 2004; Urry and Larsen, 2011; Crouch, 2016). As digital technologies and mobile devices have continued to develop rapidly, some researchers have stated that improvements in these technologies have seemingly decreased the individualized nature of the ‘performance’ (Larsen and Sandbye, 2014). However, the development of digital spaces has paradoxically enforced shared social norms; this is because there is a strong consciousness of an ‘invisible audience’ in digital spaces. Most SNS use open networks or semi-open networks and support enormous audiences who can watch other people’s practices and evaluate their commitments through the certification and de-certification of the experience in the digital spaces; therefore, each performer is keen to observe the invisible audience’s supposed responses and social norms. As Michel Foucault’s concept of ‘Panopticon’ in Discipline and Punish (Foucault, 1975), consciousness of the ‘invisible audience’ promotes surveillance and disciples without any actual observation. Consequently, their performances are strongly regulated by the imaginary social norms of the invisible audience. These norms are reflectively constructed through the performer’s interactions

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with numerous audiences in the digital space. Therefore, the existence of this ‘invisible audience’ in the digital space promotes the contextualization of individual practices as meaningful activities and individual sensibilities as common sense. In this sense, the existence of the ‘invisible audience’ promotes the ‘digital social space’, which both individualizes and socializes performances. The employment of digital technology in holy places and religious events also creates a ‘digital social space’ that evokes the ‘invisible audience’. The selfie movement in Hajj and Umrah, therefore, can be described as being a part of a new form of communication in the ‘digital social space’.

Contemporary Hajj and Umrah in Islam Hajj is one of the largest religious events in the world. One of the five pillars of Islam and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims, it must be carried out at least once in a believer’s lifetime (Peters, 1995). The Hajj holds great religious and social significance for the Muslim community; it fosters solidarity and equality among Muslims by providing the faithful with an opportunity to meet and perform common rituals in the same place and at the same time. Compared to Hajj, Umrah is a pilgrimage to Makkah that differs in its methods of religious observance, and some rituals are omitted. These religious and social functions continue to attract Muslims from around the world, and they hope to know and feel these extraordinary experiences of Islamic life. Although these Islamic pilgrimage practices hold great religious importance, the number of pilgrims in Hajj and Umrah was not always so high because of geographical and economic constraints. David Long, Robert R. Bianchi and other researchers on Hajj and Umrah show that the statistics of pilgrims in Hajj and Umrah were not huge until the 1960s (Long, 1979; Bianchi, 2004). With the development of wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 747, and international aviation networks, the number of pilgrims in Hajj and Umrah began to rise dramatically (Bianchi, 2004; Chiffoleau, 2016), and more than 2 million pilgrims attended the Hajj event in 1438 ah

(ad 2017) (Smith, 2017). As a result, the management of the huge numbers of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims became an important issue for the Saudi government and other Islamic countries. The Saudi government introduced the Hajj quota system, which limits the number of Hajj visas issued to one Muslim per 1000 Muslims in the Islamic countries (Bianchi, 2004; Sardar, 2014, p. 336; Chiffoleau, 2016). After the introduction of the Hajj quota system in the 1980s, pilgrimage to Makkah has become a highly competitive event among Muslims in every Muslim country, and the costs of pilgrimage tours and journeys have become high. This quota system places restrictions on the number of Muslims who are allowed to visit Makkah, despite high demand for pilgrimage trips from Muslims around the world; consequently, some Muslims have begun to complain about this contemporary situation of the Hajj. Moreover, the Saudi government has strongly promoted the development of Makkah’s holy sites by expanding facilities for pilgrims and enhancing the country’s economy through the creation of a pilgrimage economy (al-Sarhan, 2016; Chiffoleau, 2016). This project has radically developed commercial industries, such as the hotel industry and the real-estate industry, in Makkah, thus changing the landscape of the city. The landscape of Makkah has been transformed by five-star hotels and shopping malls, such as the ones that have sprung up around the Kaaba (Campo, 2016). In particular, the Abraj al-Bayt, which is also recognized as ‘Zamzam Tower’ and was meant to be the largest clock tower in the world and built on the orders of the late King Abdullah, is expected to become the new symbol of Makkah. The Saudi government expected to promote this clock tower as the new symbol of Makkah and Islam. Muhammed Al-Arkubi, the general manager of the Royal Makkah Tower Hotel, said that ‘putting Makkah time in the face of Greenwich Mean Time’ was the main goal (Ali, 2010). The development of Makkah’s landscapes has, however, prompted different experiences among pilgrims. With the immediate transformation of Makkah’s landscape in the 2000s and the development of luxurious travel infrastructures, such as the hotels and transportation around the Kaaba, the Hajj became ‘a rich person’s privilege’ for Muslims (Yamani, 2004; Hammoudi,



The Selfie in Islamic Pilgrimages

2005; Campo, 2016; Wolfe, 2016). Moreover, pilgrimage guides (Mutawwif), in accordance with the Saudi government’s economic and religious strategies, tended to lead pilgrims to these commercial spaces. As a result, some pilgrims began to complain about the contrasts between the pilgrimage experiences of Muslims from different economic classes, and they became more conscious of the socio-economic status differences among themselves, rather than their affinity as members of Ummah (the Islamic community). The rapid transformation of Makkah’s landscape, therefore, promoted a consciousness of the differences between the pilgrims and a distrust towards the authorized agencies in the Hajj and Umrah. This prompted pilgrims to look for alternative ways to realize their religious commitment towards the pilgrimage experience by themselves. The selfie movement in Hajj and Umrah seems to be one of the consequences of the contemporary social and economic situation of Hajj and Umrah in Makkah.

Digital Technology and Religious Commitment in Hajj and Umrah The selfie boom in social media services has enabled pilgrims to produce huge amounts of photos and videos, especially selfie portraits, about their experiences in the Hajj and Umrah journeys, which are extraordinary moments in the pilgrims’ lives. Looking at the Hajj and Umrah selfies posted on social media websites, we can describe two characteristics: (i) a preference for religious symbols; and (ii) an avoidance of contemporary iconic structures in Makkah. With regard to the former point, the Kaaba is the most preferred symbol in the Hajj and Umrah, and most pilgrims are eager to snap a shot of themselves with it. In addition, some places, such as the Grand Mosque in Makkah, which surrounds the Kaaba, Muzda­ lifah and Jamarat in the suburban areas of Makkah, tents in the Valley of Mina, and Mount Arafat, are popular locations for selfie portraits. These places are important sites in the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage route, and all Muslims know their importance in the pilgrimage rituals. Moreover, some pilgrims take selfies with other pilgrims, who wear white clothes called Ihram, or selfies

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of themselves performing rituals, such as the Tawaf (circumambulating the Kaaba seven times), Sa’ay (running or walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah), Ramy al-jamarat (stoning of the devil), and Salat (prayer), in the progression of the Hajj and Umrah. Selfie portraits with pilgrims irrespective of their race and colour are also preferred by the selfie-takers. These icons and scenes exemplify the atmosphere of Makkah and Hajj for the pilgrims, and the selfies that capture them help pilgrims to remember their pilgrimage experiences. On the other hand, the scenes that pilgrims want to exclude from the frame are often the ones promoted by Saudi government figures. The Saudi government actively promotes the modern buildings and scenes of Makkah, such as the Abraj al-Bayt and other luxurious infrastructures, as the main symbols of Makkah’s modernization and the pilgrimage as well. Despite the active promotion of these symbols as the new symbols of Makkah by the Saudi government and other related organizations such as Saudi newspapers and television channels, most of the pilgrims deliberately avoid these new symbols while taking their selfies. Although these symbols are particular to Makkah, the pilgrims do not recognize them as the particular symbols of Hajj, Umrah, and even Islam. Rather than accepting these symbols as being religiously authentic, some pilgrims describe these symbols as places intended for economic benefit and icons that symbolize the commercialization and corruption of Islam.

The Digital Social Space and Connectivity in the Selfie Performance These two characteristics in the selfie practices of pilgrims, a preference for religious symbols and an avoidance of contemporary iconic structures in Makkah, reveal the personalization of pilgrimage experiences in the Hajj and Umrah. By taking a selfie, pilgrims freely choose their favourite Hajj and Umrah scenes, related situations and symbols and exhibit their own pilgrimage ­experiences in digital social spaces through SNS. However, despite the personalization of religious experiences in the Hajj and Umrah, the significance of the Hajj and Umrah remains rooted in the

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solidarity and equality of Muslims around the world. Pilgrims strive to feel and understand the common solidarity and equality that they share with other pilgrims in the Hajj and Umrah. This feeling of solidarity in the Muslim community has been repeatedly described in the narratives of pilgrims and the Islamic thoughts and education that they receive throughout their lives. This desire for community solidarity has led to the selfie boom in Makkah. In the selfie portraits, pilgrims are more focused on contextualizing their religious experiences with others rather than personal memories meant only for themselves. In fact, pilgrims are eager to share their photos with others, including their friends and family, in the digital social spaces and extract certification of their pilgrimage experience from them. By doing so, they seek to ensure the religious authenticity of their pilgrimage experiences; in other words, their experiences are authenticated by their fellow community members instead of by a particular authorized agency, such as the religious scholars or the Saudi government. As a result, some particular religious symbols, such as the Kaaba and the Grand Mosque, are actively chosen by pilgrims, and some icons that cannot extract favourable responses are avoided in selfies because including them could lead to the de-certification of the pilgrimage experiences among fellow Muslims. This ‘desire for authorization of the pilgrimage experience’, or ‘hot authenticity’ conceptualized by Erik Cohen and Scott A. Cohen (Cohen and Cohen, 2012) has led to the selfie boom in the Hajj. In other words, contemporary Hajj is based on the authorization of religious experiences by the common people rather than by authorized agencies such as religious scholars and the government. Pamela Rutledge describes the characteristics of selfies, claiming that ‘selfies are a product of the exuberance of the moment and allow communication directly from the individual on the scene’ (Ruthledge, 2014). She emphasizes the importance of this form of interaction between regular people, rather than having windows on to events that are curated only by the aesthetics and storytelling of professional photographers. In this sense, the personalization of religious commitments promoted by individual selfie practices paradoxically promotes the socialization of religious commitment. The selfie performance in the Hajj and Umrah fosters certain social spaces

in the digital spaces, which promotes collective certifications and de-certifications by the ‘invisible audience’ rather than the authorized agencies, such as the religious scholars and the Saudi government. The existence of the ‘invisible audience’ promotes surveillance and disciples without any actual observation, and facilitates the sharing of certain images, sensibilities and norms of the Hajj and Umrah among Muslims; this is accomplished through the competition between references of numerous selfie portraits, exchanges of various responses, and imitations of certain ‘performances’. For the selfie-taker, this recognition of a religious commitment in common with the ‘invisible audience’ clarifies and confirms their individual religious commitment and allows them to gain religious authenticity. In this sense, the digital social space promotes the enchantment and significance of the Hajj and Umrah for Muslims, and pilgrims are eager to certify their religious commitment and pilgrimage experiences by sharing selfie photos in the ‘digital social space’ with the ‘invisible audience’, despite the criticisms they face. As the ‘digital social space’ develops, it also begins to include non-Muslims as part of the ‘invisible audience’. The activity of browsing through selfie photos and posting responses to the practices in the digital social space is not limited to Muslims, and non-Muslims also actively participate in the phenomenon by responding in the same digital spaces. This public validation also accelerates the recognition of the selfie-taker’s religious commitment and deepens the confirmation of their religious piety and righteousness.

Summary This chapter has examined the religious commitment of selfie-takers towards religious events in the era of digital and mobile technologies by analysing the emerging popularity of the selfie phenomenon in the context of religious events such as the Hajj and Umrah in Makkah. The chapter focused on the characteristics of the selfies that capture the Makkah pilgrimage and discussed a form of communication prompted by selfie practices. The characteristics of selfie portraits in the Hajj and Umrah are summed up in two points:



The Selfie in Islamic Pilgrimages

(i) a preference for religious symbols; and (ii) an avoidance of contemporary iconic constructions in Makkah. These two characteristics of selfie practices reveal the selfie-taker’s personalization of the pilgrimage experiences in the Hajj and Umrah. By using digital and communication technologies as well as SNS in religious places and events, pilgrims promote their personal pathway of religious commitment. Although the Makkah pilgrimage is strictly managed due to the various religious norms and the Saudi government’s policies, the pilgrims freely express their personal pathways of commitment in their pilgrimage experiences and imitate other pilgrims’ practices. The selfie practices in Hajj and Umrah invite new forms of communication with the ‘invisible audience’ in the digital social space and provide a public validation of the individual religious commitment reflected in each pilgrim’s experience. This is achieved through the certification and de-certification of the pilgrimage experience among both Muslims and non-Muslims in the digital space. The accumulation of affirmative comments and responses to the selfies validates the religious commitment of the pilgrimage experience in the social space. However, negative comments and responses undermine this individual commitment. In both cases, the performance demonstrates the importance of public

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validation of the religious authenticity of pilgrimage experiences among Muslims. Therefore, pilgrims are eager to take selfies with authenticated religious symbols in Hajj and Umrah and share their experiences with others. This function accelerates the recognition of the selfie-taker’s religious commitment with others and deepens the pilgrim’s confirmation of their religious piety and righteousness. Therefore, the contemporary selfie movement in the Hajj and Umrah indicates that the contemporary pathway of Muslim pilgrims’ religious commitment towards religious events uses SNS to reflectively construct connectivity, communication and contextualization with the ‘invisible audience’. The emergence of the ‘digital social space’ has created a strong consciousness of an ‘invisible audience’ among internet users, and interactions with this ‘invisible audience’ in the digital space can accelerate and confirm individual religious commitment.

Acknowledgement This work was supported by the JSPS (Japan Society for Promotion of Science) Grants-in-­ Aid for Scientific Research, Grant Number JP 18K18283.

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Spiritual Motivation for Religious Tourism Destinations Jaffer Idris* Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

Introduction We live in a world where we are constantly looking for balance, approval and answers; some are easy to find and others often require a leap of faith. Therefore, it is of no surprise that in an age of advanced technology, scientific breakthroughs, social media and mass entertainment, many still choose religion and spirituality as a source for answers, direction and even comfort. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, as of 2017, the world population currently stands at 7.6 billion which is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030 (UNDESA, 2017). According to research conducted by the Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life, there are 5.8 billion religiously affiliated adults and children around the globe (Pew Forum, 2012). According to Poria et al. (2003) religion is a fundamental element of culture and is linked with various elements of people’s lives. With many world religions, there is often a physical connection that binds the faith with its followers. This takes many shapes and can often be observed in the form of places, texts and religious figures. This chapter examines the concept of sacred sites, what makes them important to travellers and why travellers make such difficult journeys to religious destinations. It explores the literature on the challenges that have arisen in a consumer

society where religious tourism is on the increase as well as the expectations that come with it. The chapter concludes by looking at the infrastructure that has to be constructed in order to meet the demands of religious tourists, the challenges of managing a mass influx of religious pilgrims, as well as the preparation that goes behind ­organizing and managing large-scale religious events.

The Concept of Sacred Sites and Pilgrimages These sacred affiliations often define the religion in form of origin, birthplace of its founder, passing of a key religious figure or, in some cases, a place of divine intervention. In many religions, people are actively encouraged to visit such sacred places, which in part give rise to the concept of pilgrimage (Park, 2004). Raj and Griffin (2015, p. 2) stated that, ‘Within these ever changing global political landscapes, religion has retained a significant place as a social movement with complexity of structures and functions which pervade cultures and traditions’. There are huge numbers of different religious sites associated with different religions dotted across the globe. It is these physical spaces that often ignite or reignite the affiliation with the religion and helps to bind the devotees

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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to their belief by strengthening their faith and connection. Let us first understand and determine what we mean by sacred. Yi-Fu Tuan (1977, p. 84) argues that the true meaning of ‘sacred’ goes beyond the general notion of perception such as temples and shrines, because ‘at the level of experience, sacred phenomena are those that stand out from the commonplace and interrupt routine’. According to Park (2004): Some sacred sites are selected because they are associated with people who have some particular religious significance or credibility. For example, many individual pilgrimage sites in Islam and Hinduism mark significant places in the lives of religious founders or leaders. Sites associated with the life of the Buddha – such as his birthplace at Lumbini in Nepal, Bodh-Gaya in India where he received enlightenment, and Sarnath (near Varanasi) where he first preached – are both sacred and heavily visited. (Park, 2004, p. 20)

People have long travelled to sites they deem as sacred, special or set apart from the mundane, everyday world (Eliade, 1961). Original spirit-­ seekers visited hallowed places based on a desire to become closer to divinity, seek forgiveness for wrongdoing, worship ancestors and nature gods, or petition deity for blessings (Nyaupane et al., 2015). Jackson and Henrie (1983, p. 94) define sacred spaces as ‘that portion of the earth’s surface which is recognized by individuals or groups as worthy of devotion, loyalty or esteem’. The perception of sanctity is central to this idea since sacred space exists only for those who know its characteristics and the reason for its delineation (Shackley, 2001, p. 13). Sacred sites perform many functions for their visitors depending on the type of visitor and their intention. According to Shackley (2001) visitors may travel for the purposes of worship, or because they are adherents of a particular religious tradition; they may visit a site in order to witness a message or value system, or to encounter a numinous and interesting artefact. For others, they may visit simply as tourists, travelling to a site in order to see great works of art or exquisite architecture, or to experience the atmosphere or simply as part of a great day out (Shackley, 2001, p. 1). By definition, sacred spaces are deemed worthy of visit and reverence by their affiliation with a certain religion and practice. It is worth

noting that we as humans will often have a different interpretation of how and what we class as sacred. A space may have become sacred for a number of reasons and contexts. It could be the founding place of a certain religion, or a birthplace of a religious figure that is central to its faith, or equally a burial place, or a place where a miracle occurred. Shackley (2001) puts forward a clear classification of sacred sites assigning certain sacred places as examples. By doing so, one can begin to understand the potential reasoning for a certain space to be viewed as sacred by its visitors. Barber (1993, p. 1) defines pilgrimage as ‘a journey resulting from religious causes, externally to a holy site, and internally for spiritual purposes and internal understanding’. Morinis (1992, p. 2) presents pilgrimage as a ‘quest for the sacred’, characterized by a ‘pursuit of the ideal’. He further states that all pilgrimages must contain both a journey and a goal (Morinis, 1992, p. 15). Dubisch (1995, p. 38) argues that pilgrimage depends on the following:

• •

the association created within a particular religious tradition of certain events and/or sacred figures with a particular field of space; and the notion that the material world can make manifest the invisible spiritual world at such places.

Not only is pilgrimage one of the oldest forms of population mobility (Collins-Kreiner, 2010), it exists in all of the main religions of the world (Pavicic et al., 2007). The intention to travel to a religious or sacred place can be for many reasons. Some journeys are bound by duty and are ­required as part of the belief system, the intention of others may be to increase travel and strengthen personal affiliation and commitment to a religion, whereas some sacred places may hold the essence of miracles to cure and heal. According to Park (2004): It is important to distinguish between pilgrimage that is obligatory (as in modern Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah) and pilgrimage that is a voluntary act involving a vow or promise (such as early Christian sacred travel to Palestine or Rome). (Park, 2004, p. 22)

Pilgrimage to a sacred destination, is seen by many as a temporary escape from the general



Spiritual Motivation for Religious Tourism Destinations

harsh existence in an agrarian-based society (Digance, 2006, p. 36). Pilgrimage is also a journey ‘in there’, a spiritual interior quest within the heart of those who feel something lacking in their lives – a sense of mystery and wonder, power, health, meaning and connection with others (Turner, 1973: Coleman and Elsner, 1995). A pilgrimage is, in one sense, a very regular sort of journey, often taken amid a big crowd of other people all with their eyes on the same goal (Hall, 2006, p. 64).

Motivation: Religious and Spiritual Religious travel is not a new phenomenon and has been around since people decided that a certain place or space holds fundamental values to their beliefs. This could have been as a result of divine direction or simply an event that helped to outline the earlier parameters of the religion itself. It is important to understand what motivates individuals to make such pilgrimages to sacred sites that are often at a distance and to carry them out requires a substantial amount of revenue and preparation. Vukonić (1996, p. 80) argues that traditionally and historically, pilgrimage has been defined as a physical journey in search of truth, in search of what is sacred or holy. Sallnow (1987, p. 3) argues that people are drawn to sacred places ‘where divine power has suddenly burst forth’. Others such as Preston (1992) argue that it is due to spiritual magnetism. Often the motivation is to seek out the truth, be enlightened, or to escape from the everyday rat race in search of authenticity (Olsen and Timothy, 2006). Yi-Fu Tuan (1984, p. 5) sees religious pilgrimage as a ritual by which one is able to break up ‘the drowsiness of routine’ from our daily life. He contrasts being ‘in place’ and ‘out of place’, by suggesting that in the general routine we will spend most of our lives in place, which is often surrounded with elements we need and consider important (i.e. familiar relationships, habits and routines). He also argues that we then also have a periodic need as individuals and as a society to transcend place (and then be out of place). This can be categorized as a place where we are able to break up our daily routines and in some sense, find ourselves: Pilgrimage represents a particular religious rite of passage, which involves separation (leaving

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home), transition (travel to the sacred place) and incorporation (arrival). The very act of engaging in the pilgrimage changes many pilgrims. They begin in a Familiar Place (at home), journey to a Far Place (the pilgrimage shrines, which are usually distant and peripheral to the rest of their lives), then return – ideally changed – to the Familiar Place. (Park, 2004, p. 23)

It is important to note that someone embarking on a spiritual journey can be quite different from a person going on a religious pilgrimage. As Heelas (1998, p. 5) states, ‘people have what they take to be “spiritual” experiences without having to hold religious belief ’. This is further explained by Hervieu-Leger (1999 quoted in Voye, 2002, p. 124) that spirituality is an individual experience that is outside ‘preconstituted discourse[s] of meaning’. Similarly, many people who consider themselves spiritual would not see themselves as religious and vice versa (Olsen and Timothy, 2006). Other factors may include an educational interest, where travellers want a deeper understanding about the history of a site or understanding a particular religious faith and its culture and beliefs (Olsen and Timothy, 2006, p. 5). Tomasi (2002, p. 1) states that, ‘the desire to travel in order to satisfy the need to know both mundane reality and celestial mystery is an impulse that has constantly driven humankind’. According to Sumption (1975), by the end of the 15th century the motivation for pilgrimage had changed with the traveller’s intention moving from spiritual to one of curiosity, the desire to see new places and experience new things. Tourists also visit sacred sites seeking authentic experiences whether that be by watching religious leaders and pilgrims perform their rituals or by simply experiencing a site’s ‘sense of place’ or sacred atmosphere (Shackley, 2001, 2002). Raj et al. (2015, p. 103) argued, ‘The religion and spirituality are very common motivations for travel over the last few decades for religious pilgrimage’. It is clear from the above literature that the intentions shown by those making such journeys are more than just a religious obligation. It is clear that one does not necessarily need to be religious or even affiliated with a religion to make such a journey. Stausberg (2011) presents quite an interesting list of reasons and intentions that would encourage someone to visit a sacred space.

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Some of the more common purposes of religious travels/tourism as outlined by Stausberg (2011, p. 25) include (in alphabetical order):

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

education and training; events (gospel concerts, papal visits, melas, etc.), fairs and expositions; feasts and festivals; healing and seeking other-worldly benefits; holidaying in a religious environment (camps, etc.); mission and other forms of propaganda/ evangelism; pilgrimages; purchase of religious objects; retreats; rituals; seminars, conferences, meetings, conventions; spiritual self-discovery and growth; and visits to religious authorities for counselling, confession, etc.

From the above, it is quite clear that the overall intention and motivation to visit sacred spaces, whether from a pilgrim’s perspective or that of a religious tourist, can vary. From the above list, the theme of educating oneself and retiring to a place of self-reflection and rest seems to be a common purpose. It has been noted that the main difference in the traveller’s ­motive for visiting a specific site is varied, with pilgrims being driven by sacred or spiritual ­desires, while tourists are motivated by secular interests or pleasure (Turner, 1973; Turner and Turner, 1978; Cohen, 1992; Raj and Griffin, 2015). Muslims travelling to Jerusalem to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where it is believed that Jesus was temporarily entombed for the 3 days before he was raised from the dead, is not an Islamic ritual. This journey is not considered religious or even obligatory when referring to Islam but is done more from an educational perspective. Similarly, travellers (either associated with a religion or not) will visit religious sites for a number of reasons ranging from appreciation of design, architecture and in some cases the sheer scale of construction: for example the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, or the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, as well as the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. Whatever the motivation, there is no denying that there must be a sense of achievement

and satisfaction associated with such journeys, hence accounting for the huge increase in numbers of visitors year on year. Making such long and often difficult travels requires a high level of mental strength, physical endurance and financial support for them to be successful. Travelling to religious destinations (festivals, events, pilgrimage, etc.) where huge crowds of individuals are expected still throws up its own unique challenges despite the majority of visitors being associated with the same belief system. Different cultures, regional etiquettes and languages are just some of the differences one would encounter when travelling.

Management and Expectations: Pilgrimages and Religious Tourism Today, travel to major pilgrimage destinations has seen a rapid increase, in part because of the coinciding growth of both religious pilgrimage and other forms of tourism (Lloyd, 1998). This increase in travel and spending also brings a whole different perspective to the intention behind the journey in the first place. In countries around the world, religion and its associated sites, ritual, festivals and landscapes are seen by many government officials and tourism industry promoters as a form of heritage (Timothy and Boyd, 2003). This is often easily identifiable through the scores of marketing materials, pamphlets and promotions that are attached to certain sites and locations (Olsen, 2006). Many people travel to sacred sites not only for religious or spiritual purposes but do so due to the way they are marketed (i.e. as a heritage or cultural attraction to be consumed) (Timothy and Boyd, 2003). In today’s consumer society, religion is just another marketable commodity or meaning system (Olsen, 2013), with individuals being able to choose packaged meaning systems, with ‘Buy this product and change your life’ being a common marketing theme (Aldred, 2000). Others have called it ‘spiritual smorgasbording’ (McColl, 1989), as well as ‘spiritual promiscuity’ (Solomon, 1999). Caplan (2001, p. 51) sees seeking spirituality as a fad and a ‘commodity that is bought and sold for millions of dollars, an identity, a club to belong to, an imaged escape’. In today’s current context, the modern pilgrim is not necessarily



Spiritual Motivation for Religious Tourism Destinations

motivated by religion (Stefko et al., 2015) and travels for many reasons other than religious ones (Oviedo et al., 2014). Even when pilgrims travel with religious motivations, there are many secular aspects, such as finding accommodation or a place to eat, that are the same as a tourist (Stefko et al., 2015). For these reasons and many others (cf. Turner and Turner, 1978; Olsen and Timothy, 2006), it is difficult to distinguish a pilgrim from a tourist. Turner and Turner (1978, p. 20) weigh in to this discussion by adding that ‘a tourist is half a pilgrim, if a pilgrim is half a tourist’. Tourism and pilgrimage can be identified as opposite end points on a continuum of travel (Smith, 1992). This takes us nicely into the realms of religious tourism which according to Rinschede (1992) and Shinde (2007) refer to contemporary patterns of visitation to places of religious importance or pilgrimage sites where visitors aim to fulfil religious needs and recreational needs. Urry (2002, p. 141) refers to tourism as, ‘the largest ever movement of people across national borders’, as well as an elementary form of modern global life (Stausberg, 2011, p. 12). Tourism and religion are historically related through the institution of pilgrimage (Smith, 1992; Fleischer, 2000). Religious pilgrimages are considered to be the early roots of tourism today (Digance, 2003; Timothy and Boyd, 2006). Thus, pilgrimages are considered to be one of the oldest forms of tourism (Rinschede, 1992; Mustonen, 2006; Stefko et al., 2015). Vukonić (1996, p. 75) states that: not every tourist who is a religious person qualifies as a homo turisticus religiosus, but only such a person who (a) undertakes his/her journey for religious motives and who (b) ‘demands that certain religious content be included in the obligatory range of touristic supply amenities’. (Vukonić, 1996, p. 75)

He further adds that are there are three main forms of religious tourism:

• • •

pilgrimages; religious events (‘large-scale gatherings on the occasion of significant religious dates and anniversaries’); and ‘a tour of and visit to important religious places and buildings within the framework of a touristic itinerary’ (Vukonić, 1996, p. 75).

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Travelling to a sacred site is classed as a pilgrimage and the person undertaking such a journey is referred to as a pilgrim. The word pilgrim originated from the Latin word ‘peregrinus’, which means traveller or stranger, although the best explanation of the term is a combination of these two meanings. The Latin term can also be referred to as ‘the idea of wandering over a distance’ (Yeoman, 2008; Liguorian, 2012 in Katri Nieminen, 2012). Interestingly, in today’s global concept of travel, Bremer (2004, p. 144) has appropriately stated that ‘for many people, religion slips imperceptibly into touristic practice’. Pilgrimages to sacred sites are obviously related to religious tourism considered as a ‘type of tourism whose participants are motivated either in part or exclusively for religious reasons’ (Rinschede, 1992, p. 52). An estimated 300–600 million people a year visit religious sites as part of an US$18 billion industry (McKelvie, 2005; Wright, 2008; Timothy, 2011, p. 387). Jackowski (2000) estimates that approximately 240 million people a year go on pilgrimages, the majority of whom are associated with Christianity, Islam and Hinduism (Olsen and Timothy, 2006). With the increase in mass media, transportation and general competition among travel companies, visiting religious sites, be it for pilgrimage or strengthening religious affiliation, has become more and more popular in the last couple of decades. Managing huge numbers of devotees as well as their expectations is no easy task. As religions grew over time, more and more people became aware of their associated religious sites. With the increase in population, faster and cheaper modes of transport as well as improved economics, more and more people have started to embark on spiritual and religious journeys (pilgrimage). This is evident by the number of people making the annual pilgrimage to Makkah every year for the purposes of the Hajj. The number of pilgrims arriving from other lands has multiplied exponentially in recent years, from as few as 24,000 in 1941 to 2 million pilgrims in 2017 (statistics from Thought.Co, 2018). Shackley (2001) compares this to the millions of ordinary tourists who visit the cathedral of NotreDame in Paris, which according to the venue’s official website, has increased to 13 million/year. That is an annual average of more than 30,000 people/day. Such statistics clearly highlight the

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rise in the total number of people who are attracted to such sites. The Holy Land, generally defined as the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, has long been the destination for pilgrims (Wilkinson, 1977; Hunt, 1984; Bar and Cohen-Hattab, 2003; Kaell, 2010). According to Olsen (2013) approximately 2.8 million visitors travelled to Israel in 2010, creating US$3.7 billion in tourism-related income for the country. Of these 2.8 million visitors, 66% came for either pilgrimage or tourism-related reasons (38% pilgrimage; 28% touring) (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2012). Travellers making the trip to Camino de Santiago in Spain are not all necessarily pilgrims and have various motivations in making the trip. According to the Pilgrim’s Welcome Offices in 2017, the reasons that most pilgrims indicated were religious and others (47.75%), followed by religious (44.26%) and non-religious (8%) (as cited in Amaro et al., 2017). Statistics and traveller behaviour clearly indicate that religious places have become some of the most visited and appreciated destinations in the world, not only for those who are followers of a faith but for others (general tourists) who also seek an interest (Griffiths, 2011). This is also evident by the mass influx of travellers visiting world-famous religious and secular sites such as the Ganges River, St Peter’s Basilica, the Salt Lake Temple, Borobudur and Prambanan, Angkor Wat, Old Jerusalem, the Taj Mahal and the Baha’i Gardens (Collins-Kreiner and Gatrell, 2006; Shinde, 2008; Olsen, 2009). Transport infrastructure With the increase in air travel, rise of low-budget airlines and better road systems with improved modes of transport means that travelling from one place to another is no longer an issue. Long gone are the days when pilgrims would have to travel for several months of the year to visit their religious-affiliated sacred sites. In the past, pilgrimages were often associated with asceticism, self-denial and physical penitence, but today most pilgrims like to travel more comfortably (Vorzak and Gut, 2009). Such journeys can now be made in a matter of hours (most of Western Europe from the UK) compared with the lengthy pilgrimage trails by foot (Russell, 1999). However, there are still those who prefer

the authenticity of the pilgrimage route. Travelling on foot or bicycle is ‘valorized’ by pilgrims because it symbolizes authenticity and genuine empathy with others (Badone and Roseman, 2004, p. 14). The most famous of the pilgrimages in Japan is the ‘88 places of Shikoku’, dedicated to Kukai (774–835) on the island of Shikoku, Japan. Pilgrims have been following the trail along the coastline of the island Shikoku to honour and commemorate the life and work of Kukai. Today, people perform this pilgrimage – which is some 1400 km long – by either bus, car, motorbike, bicycle or on foot. It takes approximately 1–2 months to complete the whole journey in its entirety (Digance, 2006). Lourdes, a well-known Christian pilgrimage centre in the south-west of France where many travellers seek miraculous cures at the famous grotto where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared, attracts up to 5 million pilgrims each year (Park, 2004) with current statistics from the official venue standing at an estimated 6 million pilgrims a year. Pilgrims travel to Lourdes by rail, bus, private car and (since 1948) by plane and in recent decades around two-thirds of all pilgrims arrived by train (Park, 2004, p. 27). Lourdes is served by Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport although many visitors also fly to Pau Pyrénées Airport. The town’s railway station Gare de Lourdes is served by SNCF and TGV trains, including overnight ‘sleeper’ services as well as a high-speed TGV service from Paris which takes 5 hours. Many pilgrims also arrive via bus service from France and Spain. Santiago de Compostela, one of Europe’s most important pilgrimage routes and the supposed burial site of the Biblical apostle St James, attracts an estimated 3.5 million pilgrims a year (Bywater, 1994) with an estimated 170,000 people walking the actual route Camino each year (Crowley, 2012). The complete pilgrimage route of the Camino de Santiago, which begins at the Camino Frances from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, could take up to 30–35 days. This is provided the traveller covers a distance between 23 km/day and 27 km/ day (14–16 miles) (Corrigan, 2018). By doing so, many pilgrims hope that the physical act of travelling would help them achieve a parallel inner journey of self-discovery and self-transformation (Badone and Roseman, 2004, p. 14).



Spiritual Motivation for Religious Tourism Destinations

The Hajj has a long history (Peters, 1996; Bianchi, 2004) and was once organized informally whereby local family clans took ­ charge of separate components (Woodward, 2004). Difficulties of making the journey and a lack of supporting amenities limited pilgrim numbers, yet these were still sizeable. The number of pilgrims arriving from other lands has multiplied exponentially in recent years, from as few as 24,000 in 1941. Responsibility for Hajj management belongs to the Ministry of Pilgrimage, supervised by the Supreme Hajj Committee, which reports to the king as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (Henderson, 2010). Figure 7.1 shows the total number of domestic and foreign Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia b ­ etween 1999 and 2018. In 2018, an estimated 2.3 million pilgrims fulfilled the Hajj. To deal with the huge influx of pilgrims during the Hajj as well as all-year-round travellers (Umrah), Saudi Arabia continues to invest heavily in infrastructure. Considerable sums have been spent on the modernization of ­airports,

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seaports and road networks and provision of apartments and hotels. Dedicated pilgrim ­terminals (Hajj and Umrah) have been constructed at Jeddah and Medina airports that allow the registration and processing of ­pilgrims. The Hajj terminal at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport is capable of accommodating 50,000 pilgrims for up to 18 hours upon their arrival and as many as 80,000 pilgrims for up to 36 hours upon their departure (Omrania, 2017). The terminal has the capacity to process 3800 arriving passengers and 3500 departing passengers per hour (World Bank Group, 2017). Saudi Arabia has also invested in a new US$16 billion (SR60 billion) high-speed train called the ‘Haramain Express’ between the cities of Makkah and Medina which came into operation in 2018. The service is expected to carry up to 60 million passengers a year, including millions of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. Using electric propulsion that will drive the trains to an operating speed of 300 kph, the express train is expected to

3,250,000

Number of pilgrims

3,000,000

2,750,000

2,500,000

2,250,000

2,000,000

20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08 20 09 20 10 20 11 20 12 20 13 20 14 20 15 20 16 20 17 20 18

03 04 20

20

01 02 20

00

20

20

19

99

1,750,000

Year statista

Fig. 7.1.  Annual number of Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia from 1999 to 2018. (From General Authority for Statistics (Saudi Arabia), 2018.)

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cut travel time between the cities of Makkah and Medina to under 2 hours, instead of 6 hours by bus (Gulf News, 2018).

Accommodation With the increase in traveller numbers, many sacred sites and locations have had to further develop their infrastructure to keep up with the huge demands of those making such trips. One such requirement is accommodation that would house these travellers while visiting such sites. The hospitality industry, as a part of the service industry, goes to great length to satisfy customer needs in a competitive environment (Buttle, 1986; Powers, 1997; Shoemaker and Lewis, 1999; Lockwood and Medik, 2001; Heo Kyeong et al., 2004). Lourdes hosts around 6 million visitors every year from all corners of the world and with this constant stream of pilgrims and tourists, the landscape of Lourdes has seen a dramatic transformation from the once small quiet market town into a small city. It has now become the second most important centre of tourism in France, second only to Paris, as well as having the second largest number of hotels in France after Paris (Park, 2004). Varanasi, the holiest city in India and the epicentre of Hinduism is a great attraction for tourists and caters for not only individuals but groups who are in search of recreation and a cultural experience. It has over 487 listed hotels from one-star to five-star abodes (data obtained from Yatra.com (2018) and Travel Guru (2018) homestays). The Hindu pilgrimage of Kumbh Mela in 2013 saw a record crowd of approximately 120 million devotees wash their sins away in the holy waters near Allahabad (Sridhar et al., 2014). During this religious event a number of accommodation options were available to devotees ranging from hostels, guest houses, temporary/ permanent camps, budget and economical hotels to luxurious stays. A large number of people stayed near the river in camps and tents either provided by agencies or tents brought by the people themselves who then found spots where they could pitch them. Visitors could choose from luxurious-, deluxe- and economy-class camps depending upon price and provider.

Due to the ever-increasing number of visitors, be it for the annual pilgrimage (Hajj) or Umrah, accommodation in Makkah is also constantly changing. There are over 165 hotels in Makkah ranging from those that are unrated to one-star to five-star accommodation (data obtained from booking.com, 2018). Generally, the closer you are to the Grand Mosque, the more expensive the stay. According to the Saudi Hospitality Sector Report (Aljazira Capital, 2015) about 43% of the hotel supply in Makkah and 46% in Medina is three stars and above, highlighting that there could be oversupply of premium hotels which may explain the growing popularity of branded economy hotels and apartments in both regions. The properties located near Masjid Al Haram (central area) are dominated by five-star hotels, with higher average daily rates (ADRs) during the Hajj season, whereas properties outside the central area command lower ADRs. In Medina, the total supply of rooms was 46,536 at the end of February 2014, with 17% (five star), 6% (four star) and 23% (three star). However, Medina also has a higher proportion of oneand two-star hotels, accounting for 45% of the overall supply. Security According to Timothy (cited in Buhalis and Costa, 2006, p. 19) ‘crises are unexpected, although potentially predictable, management failures that might have been averted with proper management’. However, disasters are unpredictable, catastrophic events that cannot be foretold (Faulkner, 2001; Prideaux et al., 2003). In both cases, threats to tourist safety and security have a significant effect on what travellers decide when it comes to choosing a travel destination. International risks, such as the threat of terrorism attacks affect the tourist mindset in a multitude of ways (Clayton et al., 2014). In many cases, the most common recurrence of accidents, in which tourists are severely injured or killed, can create a negative image associated with specific destinations even when most of the accidents are caused by the tourists themselves (Bentley and Page, 2001). It is clear that the more dangerous a destination is perceived to be, the more reluctant travellers are to visit that destination. As mentioned by de Albuquerque



Spiritual Motivation for Religious Tourism Destinations

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and McElory (1999), as tourism grows in a certain area, so will crime, resulting in a negative, but interdependent relationship. Table 7.1 highlights several of the most common threats to tourist safety, both human-­ induced and natural as outlined by Buhalis and Costa (2006, p. 20). One of the major challenges facing global tourism, be it for religious or recreation purposes or both, is the threat of terrorism. Terrorism, a form of political instability and war, attempts to enact changes in policy and practice through intimation and fear (Buhalis and Costa, 2006, p. 21). In the past decade we have seen a huge increase in the number of terrorist attacks on large-scale gatherings including religious events and sacred sites. Religiously motivated terrorism is a complicated, multidimensional phenomenon and there is no unified theory that explains it (Chowdhury et al., 2017, p. 2). Religion is one of many factors in the explosive brew of politics, culture and psychology that leads fanatics to target the innocent and take their own lives in the process (Baker, 2014, p. 60). Terrorism exists because the politically weak and disenfranchised have no other means by which to realize their objectives since they will not be taken seriously by the normal population (Baker, 2014). Terrorism, therefore, can place political change on the agenda (Crenshaw, 1998). Violence can also be fuelled by the lack of opportunity for political participation in a society (Crenshaw, 2003).

Pilgrimages such as the Kumbh Mela in India and the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia require months of planning and preparation beforehand for the event to be safe and successful. The Kumbh Mela in 2013 created approximately 650,000 jobs, before and during the event (The Better India, 2018). Due to the large scale of ­attendees, officials set up 14 temporary hospitals, staffed with 243 doctors, more than 40,000 toilets, and stationed 50,000 police officials to maintain order. The infrastructure of the city, including pipelines, electricity, sewage and healthcare facilities, was either re-built or developed in order to provide appropriate facilities for the attendees. Due to the huge numbers of pilgrims attending the Hajj, planning and successful operation for such a major event is very difficult. With such large numbers of people descending on one location, performing the same rituals in the same place at the same time presents a challenge that is near impossible for any incident not to happen. In 2017, almost 2 million pilgrims made their way to the city of Makkah for the annual pilgrimage. Another major complication with dealing with the massive number of pilgrims is regional and cultural differences. These can often result in a breakdown in communication, difficulties in understanding the needs of different pilgrims, language barriers and more. Table 7.2 shows just some of the incidents that have taken place during the Hajj over the last three decades.

Management

Expectations

Managing religious events is no easy task and requires exceptional planning and execution.

With so much money being spent on travelling and staying at such sites, expectations are increased.

Table 7.1.  Major threats to tourist safety and security. (From Buhalis and Costa, 2006, p. 20.) Threats

Examples

Accidents Crime Ethnic unrest Health concerns

Car accidents, aeroplane crashes, skydiving Pickpocketing, robberies, murder, rape Fighting between ethnic groups, conflict between religious groups, ethnic rebellions Unrefrigerated dairy products and meats, uncooked fruits and vegetables, food-borne illnesses, insanitary water, diseases Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions Coups, border closures, corrupt administrations, political scandals, riots Bombings, shootings, mass destruction, kidnappings Military altercations, cross-border armed conflicts, multi national wars

Natural disasters Political unrest Terrorism War

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Table 7.2.  Incidents/stampedes during Hajj. (From CNN Library, 2018.) Date

Incident overview

1987

More than 400 people, mainly Iranian Shiite pilgrims, are killed in clashes with Saudi security forces during anti-Western protests in Makkah. A large number (1426) of pilgrims are trampled to death. A stampede near Jamarat Bridge kills 270 pilgrims. A fire in Mina, Saudi Arabia, tears through a sprawling, overcrowded tent city, trapping and killing more than 340 pilgrims and injuring 1500. One hundred and eighty people die in a stampede near Makkah at the end of Hajj. A stampede kills 251 Muslim pilgrims and injures another 244 at a stone-throwing ritual which has been the source of deadly trampling in the past. A small hotel in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, collapses killing at least 76 people. The hotel, Luluat Alkheir, is occupied by Asian pilgrims when it collapses. A stampede kills at least 363 people. The stampede, like others in the past, happens during the stone-throwing ritual in which the pilgrims stone a symbolic devil. Days before the start of the Hajj, a construction crane crashes through the roof of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, killing 107 people. At least 238 others suffer injuries when a powerful storm topples the crane, according to the nation’s civil defence authorities. The Grand Mosque is the largest in the world and ­surrounds the Kaaba. During the annual Hajj pilgrimage, a stampede kills more than 700 people and injures nearly 900 others, according to state media. The incident occurs during the ritual known as ‘stoning the devil’ in the tent city of Mina. Iran bars its pilgrims from travelling to Makkah to take part in the Hajj pilgrimage after accusing Saudi Arabia of failing to guarantee the safety of its citizens.

1990 1994 April 1997 1998 1 February 2004 5 January 2006 12 January 2006 11 September 2015

24 September 2015

30 May 2016

Managing the large number of travellers as well as meeting their expectations is a huge task that requires effort and meticulous planning. Vukonić (1996), in a study on religious tourism, recommends that pilgrimage destinations are modernized in order to meet the ever-changing needs of the tourists as well as putting on delightful experiences for the visitors who visit for religious purposes in order to guarantee their repeat visits. However, modernizing a certain place, city or region can often lead to losing the main essence for which the intention of travel was made in the first instance. Modernization sometimes leads to the loss of key historical components such as buildings and the environment that helped shape the specific belief system. In order to keep up with the demands of pilgrims and space, the Saudi government has continuously removed historical buildings in and around the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Weidenfeld (2005) suggests there should be a focus on meeting the exceptional desires, needs and wants of pilgrims throughout their sacred journey to create a win-win situation in the pilgrimage tourism market for all stakeholders.

When talking about expectations, it is quite difficult to put forward a checklist of what organizers should have in place when presenting a travel package. The average Hajj package from the UK costs around £4000 depending upon the duration of stay, how many stars a hotel has, the proximity to the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the general amenities one desires while out there. Due to the vast expansion of the Grand Mosque, many low-budget hotels have been demolished to make way for this purpose. While such measures have improved the Hajj for many, the city’s development has been detrimental to those living in Makkah. Thousands of traditional homes have been demolished to make room for enormous luxury hotels, while the hefty bills that come with five-star accommodation and fine furnishings have priced out many Muslims visiting Makkah. As such, those without the means to afford accommodation that ranges in price from US$5000 to US$10,000 per night are confined to the outskirts of the city, facing a difficult commute to the Grand Mosque each day through gridlocked roads (Matsangou, 2015).



Spiritual Motivation for Religious Tourism Destinations

Summary Travelling to sacred spaces, be it as a pilgrim, traveller or both, comes with different expectations and intentions. In an age when travel is both affordable and accessible, not only have the numbers of those who are curious increased but there has also been an increase in the numbers of those who are devout. In a world where change is constant, whether that is technological or social, we all face challenges and in order to make sense of the chaos, many of us try to connect to something that is much greater than we have around us. That something in many cases tends to be our faith, beliefs, spirituality, etc., where we look for direction and answers.

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This will also determine our motivation to undertake such journeys; some are more difficult and challenging than others. The cost of travelling to such religious tourism destinations, the accommodation, food, etc. can all add to the final amount of money required to fund such journeys, which can be considerable and, as we live in a consumer world where ‘the customer is always right’, this in turn can lead to high expectations from such travels. Therefore, management of such sites and festivals has become more and more important, ranging from the maintenance of sacred sites and facilities to meeting the expectations, security and well-being of the visitors. With the increase in global terrorism, this is by no means an easy task.

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Pilgrim Tourist Motivations in Religious Heritage, Culture and Art Anne Lidén* Stockholm University, Sweden

Introduction Pilgrimage sites and routes form part of the medieval heritage of Europe. There is an increasing interest for cultural history along old pilgrim routes in Scandinavian countries, especially among young people, who combine hiking and biking tourism with learning experiences. Many research reports in cultural, educational and religion sciences demonstrate that pilgrimage and heritage tourism is very important for places such as Trondheim in Norway and Vadstena in Sweden. This chapter focuses on the motivations tourists may have to visit important pilgrim destinations, thereby connecting medieval heritage, art and personal narratives. On a rainy day in September 2017, Victoria, the Crown Princess of Sweden, was wandering together with schoolchildren along the Saint Olav pilgrim trail starting from the pilgrim centre at the Monastery Church in Varnhem, located in the middle of the western county, Västra Götaland. She announced her plan to walk 1 day in each province of the country, all 25 ‘landscapes’, to promote enjoyment and interest for outdoor recreation and to show ‘the treasure of the Swedish Nature that is open for us all’. At the press conference on the 9 September she said (translated from Swedish): Wandering in the landscape – it gives you time to think and reflect in community with others.

Since the trail is clearly marked it will be more accessible and people could more easily start walking out in the nature. (Royal Court, 2017)

The idea of Victoria’s landscape walking is a good representation of how important the Swedish national right to public access is with its collective social responsibility to care for both cultural and natural heritage. In Varnhem, Victoria first visited the home and the grave of the mighty Viking woman Kata, the Kata Farm, where many very early Christian graves and church buildings recently have been excavated. The educational walk ended at the Lake of Hornborga, the centre of the natural heritage landscape, where Victoria took part in bird-life conservation work in the Naturum Visitor Centre (Royal Court, 2017). This walking project with schoolchildren is also a noticeable example of the many visiting groups who are using the trails on a regular educational basis all around the Nordic pilgrim routes, including groups from schools, local secular communities or religious congregations.

Scandinavian and European Pilgrim Routes The Saint Olav pilgrim paths of the western region of Sweden are now being linked to the official

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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European Cultural Routes of the Saint Olav ways to Trondheim and to the Saint Bridget pilgrim trails to Vadstena in the eastern region. While they are less known than the Saint Olav official pilgrim routes in the north of Sweden, these newly marked historic trails are prominent examples of how pilgrim and heritage tourism is an important investment for both ecotourism and adventures, cultural development and the economic growth of a whole region, for example as projects of Interreg Europe (Olindersson, 2017; Västarvet, 2017). There is increasing research into the Scandinavian and European pilgrim routes, themed trails and pilgrim tales. The issues of families and children in tourism are also being more acknowledged by scholars (Frost and Lang, 2017). New research reports will be presented that deal with personal narratives and motivations of the pilgrim and heritage tourists of today. The question is, what do pilgrim and heritage tourists find important for their journey – the places of historic and cultural heritage, the physical exertion of walking or the personal experience of the landscape? In this chapter I will also illustrate the role of medieval pilgrim heritage, art and narrative, in modern management of pilgrim tourism in Scandinavia. The theoretical frame for this qualitative study is based on the concepts of linear, point and area spaces with nodes of interest in trail-based heritage tourism as discussed by Boyd (2017). In the Scandinavian countries, two cities constitute the most important pilgrim destinations in medieval history as well as in modern times, namely Trondheim in Norway, the city of Saint Olav of Norway, and Vadstena in Sweden, the city of Saint Bridget of Sweden. The pilgrim and tourist routes to these sites, officially inaugurated in 1997, follow medieval historical trails and are connected to the cultural and historical heritage, art and narrative of the lives of the saints as well as their religious cults (Karlsaune, 1996; Jörälv, 2000; Raju, 2015). Today these two destinations and the cultural heritage of Saint Olav and Saint Bridget have been strongly connected to Europe, both in secular and in spiritual culture, with a high cultural ranking. In October 1999 the Pope declared Saint Bridget to be one of the patron saints of Europe, and during the millennium year 2000 the European Church Council declared Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim as a main pilgrimage goal for Europe (Lindaräng, 2007, p. 7–17). In May 2010 the European

Institute of Cultural Routes certified the Route of Saint Olav ways to Trondheim as one of the European Cultural Routes. A motivation given in the process of establishing this fact was that the oldest image of Saint Olav from 1160 is represented on a pillar in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem (Kühnel, 1988; St Olav Ways, 2017). Shortly afterwards in 2012 a new Saint Olav path was inaugurated in Spain. It followed the old Camino to Santiago de Compostela, from Burgos to Covarrubias, where a new chapel for Olav the Holy had been established in 2011. This chapel serves as a pilgrim chapel as well as an open meeting place for tourism and cultural exchange. With this new pilgrim path and chapel in Spain, the Routes of Saint Olav ways have become even more integrated into the European pilgrimage heritage. In 2014 the millennium commemoration of King Olav’s conversion and baptism in Rouen 1013– 1014, a bilateral manifestation between Norway and France, was linked to the celebration of the Norwegian Constitution of 1814 (Kollandsrud, 1997; Camino de San Olav, 2016; Nidarosdomen (Nidaros Cathedral), 2017; Pilegrimsleden (Pilgrim’s Route), 2017; St Olavsleden, 2017). Given the increasing number of organized pilgrimages to Trondheim and Vadstena, the Lutheran Churches of both Norway and Sweden established special pilgrim priest departments which developed clerical pilgrim services (Vådahl, 2007). The first pilgrim priests were Arne Bakken at Nidaros Cathedral and Hans-Erik Lindström at Vadstena Monastery Church. The many pilgrim organizations and centres along the trails have now been coordinated into special national pilgrim offices at these two destinations (Nidaros Pilegrimsgård, 2017; Pilgrimscentrum, 2017). The coordinated web publications about all the official pilgrim routes and local pilgrim offices give both pilgrims and all kinds of tourists a lot of accessible information and maps, which promote access to a digital pilgrimage as well. The Catholic Church has its own websites for information. Most of these geographical pilgrimage routes have now been institutionalized, signposted, marked out and listed by the state, regional and local authorities and the Lutheran Churches of both countries. The Saint Olav red cross is the logotype for Trondheim routes and Saint Bridget’s white cross for the Vadstena routes, while the Lutheran Church of Sweden also has a separate logotype with the church cross for its own paths, called Pilgrimsleden. You can walk or run, ride on



Pilgrim Tourist Motivations in Religious Heritage, Culture and Art

a bicycle or travel on horseback in the summer, and you can travel a shorter or longer part of the trail. You can choose to travel alone or with an organized pilgrim group, and travel for a month, a week or just a couple of days. Maybe you also want to go on skis in winter, ‘gå på skitur’. To obtain the Olav letter, the pilgrim diploma and certificate of Nidaros, you must follow and complete the 100 km path near Trondheim and show the passport with authorized Olav stamps from offices or stops along the road. The same kind of certification is given to the Saint Bridget pilgrims to Vadstena, the Bridget certificate. Since most of the pilgrim routes in Sweden lead to Trondheim in Norway there is close cooperation around local practical tourist issues between the provinces and municipalities on both sides of the border. The pilgrim stops along these linear trails could be defined as special nodes of interest as well as the local churches or other sites of attractions. In this case the time and date for the journey is important, since it is related to the church festival days of the saint. Both saints are celebrated in the summer, the tourist and holiday season in Scandinavia. One explanation given to the pilgrimage revival and the increasing international interest is the old and strong hiking traditions in both Norway and Sweden, celebrating outdoor recreation for mental and physical health. The many healthy aspects of walking in fresh air and taking time out from a stressful job are often the focus of this contemporary religious and post-secular arena. Personal wounds and worries, like divorce or losing one’s job, can be reasons for the need of a therapeutic physical and mental process (Mikaelsson, 2014). Many pilgrims and heritage tourists are seeking a meaningful educational experience, meetings with new cultural heritage, while following the footsteps of a famous historical person like Olav or Bridget. Since these pilgrim sites, their art and narrative are based on authentic historical places and persons, it is relevant to first present the historical background of the two destinations.

Trondheim, Historical Background Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim (Fig. 8.1) is built on the burial place of the Viking king, King Olav II Haraldsson of Norway (995–1030), who was killed as a martyr in the Battle of Stiklestad on the 29 July 1030. He was enshrined and declared

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Saint Olav in 1031, as the ‘rex perpetuus norwaegie’ and the patron saint of Norway, and pilgrimage to his shrine was mentioned by Adam of Bremen (a German medieval chronicler who lived in the second half of the 11th century). The medieval Catholic Church festival opened with a Vigil Night Mass before Saint Olav Day on 29 July, followed by the Enshrinement Day on 3 August, and it was completed on the 5 August (Andresén, 2005). This week is called ‘Olsok’ and it was connected to the harvest season and the public summer law-meeting, the summer thing, which gave the Olav cult a special public role in medieval society. The Norse epic saga of Saint Olav by Snorre Sturlasson (1240) tells about his historic life as Viking king, his sailing voyages along the coasts and rivers of Europe, his battles and adventures, and his role as a strong regent and military leader, founder of cities and trade routes in the North (Andersson, 2016). The saga also tells us about the spiritual transformation of the brutal Viking king, his martyrdom for Christ and all the miracles. After meeting the Christian faith he was baptized in Rouen in 1013–1014, and as king he launched the first Scandinavian Christian Law in 1024. When the Archdiocese of Nidaros was established in 1153 in Trondheim, the Nidaros roman stone church was developed into a huge cathedral in gothic international style. The Saint Olav cult with churches, altars, relics, clerical legends, hymns and sermons, like Passio et Miracula Beati Olavi, was then widely spread in many countries of Northern Europe. The right to institute an altar in his name required a legitimate specific liturgical text authorized by the Nidaros archdiocese. Nidaros Cathedral with the Olav shrine became the main pilgrimage destination for pilgrims in all Scandinavian countries during the Middle Ages, and pilgrims along the routes were given protection by Scandinavian royal laws. The contemporary pilgrim ways of today follow these historical medieval routes, from Oslo and sites along the Norwegian border, and from cities along the coasts and regions of Sweden and Denmark. This shows that the Northern countries historically had been more united. Many historic places along the trails are related to his historical life as a Viking and regent, especially Stiklestad, even if the historic sources are rather few. You follow his footsteps. But most of the religious as well as legendary places and sites are more connected to his sainthood and the narrative of his miracles in

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Fig. 8.1.  The statue of the martyr king Saint Olav on the west front of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim is decorated with a green garland with red ribbons for the annual celebration of Saint Olav’s Day on 29 July. The pilgrims, who have been waiting for this moment during their long walk to their pilgrim destination, share this sacred event together. (Photograph by Ragnhild H. Aadland Høen, Trondheim, 29 July 2012.)

saga and legends. Still there is a risk that commercial use of history in time-travelling ‘edutainment’ and re-enactment heritage events at these sites could romanticize the epic Viking history too much. Only a few historic images of King Olav II Haraldsson are preserved on some coins and seals. They show the bearded king with his crown and axe. Most of the Olav iconography consists of the Christian cult images during the Middle Ages, which will be described below (Kollandsrud, 1997, pp. 179–205; Coupland, 1998; Lidén, 1999, 2016; Lindaräng, 2007; Steffensen-Berg, 2009; Nilsson, 2015; Stiklestad, 2017).

Vadstena, Historical Background The other important pilgrimage and heritage site in Scandinavia is the city of Vadstena and the Monastery Church, the burial place of Saint Bridget of Sweden (1303–1373) and a centre of the Bridgettine Order. The Holy Bridget died when she was 70 years old in her home at the

Piazza Farnese in Rome on the 23 July, the heavenly Natal day, and her wooden coffin was then brought home to Sweden. From the harbour of Söderköping in the province of Östergötland it was carried in a procession to Vadstena into the Monastery Church on the 4 July 1374. She was then canonized on the 7 October 1391 by the Pope as a confessor and a monastic founder, ‘patroni regni Svecie’. The enshrinement took place in the Monastery Church on 1 June 1393. These summer calendar days form the Church Festival of Saint Bridget pilgrimage, even if the main event is Bridget Day in October (Beskow and Landen, 2003; Lindaräng, 2007). Already as a young girl Bridget had spiritual visions and she received calls to become Christ’s spokeswoman, which she later described in her written Revelations. The Holy Bridget’s visions and revelations tell us about her reflections of both her life experiences and her spiritual life. As a daughter of a state councillor of Sweden she was married into nobility with a law-man (‘Lagman’, a lawyer and leader) Ulf Gudmundsson,



Pilgrim Tourist Motivations in Religious Heritage, Culture and Art

and she gave birth to eight children. After her husband’s death in 1344 she moved to Rome and developed a closer relation with the Catholic Church. The Regula of her monastic Bridgettine Order, the Order of the Most Holy Saviour, was established by the Pope in 1378. The Saint Bridget House at Piazza Farnese has since then been a centre of the Bridgettine Order. Thanks to a royal donation from the Swedish king they could build the Monastery in Vadstena, as a double monastery for both monks and nuns. Her daughter Katarina, Saint Catherine of Sweden, became the first abbess of the monastery (1370–1595) and the order grew within the Catholic Church with over 20 monasteries (Beskow and Landen, 2003, p. 380). Saint Bridget (Fig. 8.2) was a devoted pilgrim and she made several journeys to pilgrimage sites and holy places. She travelled around in 1339– 1340 to the grave of Saint Olav in Trondheim and in 1342 to the grave of Saint Jacob in Santiago de Compostela in Spain. In Italy she visited Bari, Naples and Assisi. When she was old and sick she undertook her most important pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1371–1372. At the birthplace of Christ in the Nativity Church of Bethlehem she received a revelation with a vision of Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus, which soon after became an innovative visual representation of great significance in art history that was widely spread. Important visual attributes of Saint Bridget in the iconography, beside her signs as author, the book, pen and ink, are her pilgrim attributes: the hat, bag and staff and the St Jacob shell (Beskow and Landen, 2003, pp. 201–246). The pilgrim could identify her by her halo, white widower headcloth and order vestment, and with book and pen in her hand. A special motif is her visionary dialogues with the Virgin Mary and Christ. Soon after her death the images of Saint Bridget and illuminations from her revelations were spread around Europe. Her own written texts in an edition by her father confessors became the main narrative of her life and miracles. Since then the annual Saint Bridget liturgy on the 7–8 October has been established as an important part of the Catholic Church. The medieval pilgrim routes to Vadstena were established in the eastern landscapes in Sweden from the Linköping diocese, the archdiocese in Uppsala, and Finland, those regions where the Bridget cult was strongest. Most pilgrimage destinations of her cult were Bridgettine monasteries in other

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Fig. 8.2.  St Olav and St Bridget together (altar painting from Tjällmo 1435, Östergötland, Sweden). The martyr King Olav with a royal crown and mantle is carrying an axe, his symbol of martyrdom, and a ciborium, the symbol of his Christian faith and the Church. St Bridget is depicted in her cloth, writing with a pen and her book Revelations. A legendary painting in this altar shrine shows St Bridget’s vision of the Nativity in Bethlehem. (Photograph by Lennart Karlsson. Museum of National Antiquities, Stockholm).

European countries, in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Poland (Beskow and Landen, 2003, p. 380). During the summer, contemporary pilgrims and heritage tourists to Vadstena can celebrate the other feast days of Bridget in June and July during the holiday season.

Motivations Related to Medieval Art and Narrative Found Along the Pilgrim Routes During the Middle Ages the motivations for pilgrimage were integrated in the Christian faith and all ruling customs and obligations of medieval

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society. Like contemporary pilgrim tourists they could combine the regular journey with a pilgrimage service. The pilgrimage was part of the collective normative obligations and pious virtues of the Christian faith and customs in the medieval society. The believers were seeking hope for salvation of the soul from evil and hope for cure of both mental and physical health. They could communicate sorrows and anxiety but also wishes and thanks. When sick or disabled pilgrims came close to or touched the place or grave, shrine or relic of the saint, the healing power of God was supposed to emerge from the saint, have an impact on their bodies, and drive out the illness and evil. In contact with the believers the saint could then make intercession for them with God. Witness accounts about such miraculous help from a holy person were also required in the sanctification process in the medieval church. The motivations could also be for penance, penitence as a punishment if you have been sentenced for a crime. With the many letters of indulgence that were sold by the church to pilgrims, the soul of the believer could be saved from purgatory more easily (Karlsaune, 2002, pp. 6–9). What kind of visual art and oral or written narrative about the saints did the pilgrim meet along the routes to Trondheim and Vadstena and in the grand church hall at their final destinations? The pilgrims in the Middle Ages often travelled along the common trade routes, on land and waterway, where they could get shelter and help along the way on their troublesome journey. They could follow the northern rivers, valleys and lakes, and along the coastline to cities, villages and harbour sites. Not all pilgrims could perform a long journey to far destinations like the Holy Land, Rome or Santiago de Compostela, like the nobility did, but they could afford a local sacred journey. The northern parish churches or chapels with an Olav or Bridget altar or relic are mostly situated in the middle of medieval sites, where the surrounding society had enough growth and welfare to support the church building, the clerical life and the cult. The different art and oral narratives that pilgrims met on their journey to Trondheim or to their regional Olav or Bridget church were connected to the clerical or spiritual customs that dominated the society. They could listen to prayers, sermons and legendary stories about the saint’s life and miracles and

learn how they had been of help in time of need. The local pilgrimage could also more easily be made to a local parish church, where the pilgrim could address their prayer in front of an altar image, a stone sculpture or a wall painting of Saint Olav and Saint Bridget. Their prayers were not sent to a historical person in a history book, but to a present holy saint that could come to their rescue. In many churches in the eastern provinces of Sweden, Östergötland, Sörmland and Uppland, the altar images show the two of them standing together as male and female intercessors and representations of the Church (Fig. 8.2). The martyr King Olav sacrificed his power and life for Christ and God, and the mother and confessor Saint Bridget followed the way of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ. Along the pilgrim trails in the forests and hills, farmers could give pilgrims shelter, with cottages or a holy freshwater well to drink from, but these places were not visually decorated. Instead the pilgrim souvenirs, the pendant amulet or the bottle, provided a portable holy image (Lidén, 1999, 2016). On their final destinations in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim and the Monastery Church of Vadstena, the pilgrims met visual and multimodal art of a grander scale, images in gold and bright colours, vivid music and scents. They could get close to the decorated shrine with the relics. The visual representations of Saint Olav show him with his royal attire and mantle, his martyr crown, the martyr axe and the globe or ciborium, sometimes standing on a small warrior or a dragon, the representation of evil. The Latin text ‘Ora pro nobis’ (pray for us) is often inscribed on the image in the golden halo of the saint. The pilgrim was certainly astonished by the colourful images on the church walls of the king’s miraculous sea voyages and his combat and martyrdom in battle. When the Olav cult grew stronger all over Scandinavia, more churches could afford to commission visual artwork. The most widespread art and narrative of Saint Olav during the Middle Ages was consequently the images and the texts of the church, and the local stories that were told every year at services to the parishioners. The written Norse epic saga of Olav the Holy by Snorre Sturlasson (1240) in parchment books were spread in more closed clerical circles and within the nobility in Sweden and Norway. Later in the middle of the 19th century and the revival of the Olav cult it was the



Pilgrim Tourist Motivations in Religious Heritage, Culture and Art

epic saga that was more easily translated into many modern languages. When the Lutheran Reformation transformed the church, the old Saint Olav Catholic clerical texts and books in Latin were no longer in liturgical use and they were destroyed or forgotten.

The Reformation Prohibition and the Revival of Olav Pilgrimage up until Today After the Lutheran Reformation in 1540, pilgrimage and the Catholic cult of saints was suppressed and forbidden in the Scandinavian countries, and monasteries were closed. But the narratives of the old cults and saints survived in popular culture and folklore, where the medieval church sermons were transformed into songs, folk tales and local legends that became part of local and family traditions around all the Scandinavian countries. Norway lost its sovereignty to Denmark, and in Trondheim the golden shrine of Saint Olav on the high altar was destroyed. The relics of the martyr king were sadly abducted from Nidaros Cathedral. They were later returned but buried at an anonymous place. A new shrine was reconstructed much later in the 19th century. In Sweden, the reformation king Gustav Vasa closed the monasteries and destroyed the Catholic Latin books, a sacrilege. But his court priest Olaus Petri, declared that the old holy martyr kings, Erik and Olav, were important spiritual predecessors of the Swedish king, and should be part of the royal and national heritage. Many images of Saint Olav and Saint Erik, the national martyr kings of Sweden, were consequently left in peace in several churches. The European protestant iconoclasm movement didn’t have the same influence on the parish peasants in Scandinavia as in Western Europe. In the counties, in towns and villages there are many places that have the name of the saint, beside the medieval Saint Olav churches that were preserved. The historical documents give evidence about mountains and hills, islands, cliffs, passages, coves and harbours that are connected to his name. Stories and songs were spread of how legendary marks in the landscape could show the way of his magic fast ship and his miraculous voyages. Meadows and flowers were given his name, also the streets

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and market places in the cities, buildings and towers as well as food and beer. The fact that the name Olav/Olof is one of the most common birth names in Scandinavian history also provides proof of the social historical impact of these cult traditions. The hopes and prayers for the assistance from the saint continued in the daily life for generations in Scandinavia, during the 16th–18th centuries. In the period of the union of Norway– Denmark, the Olav cult traditions and cultural heritage in Norway helped to preserve a national identity. In the middle of the 19th century during the Norwegian struggle for national independence, the Olav material and spiritual heritage underwent a revival, called the Olav Renaissance. Nidaros Cathedral was restored to its former grandeur and a new Olav shrine was built on the high altar. Now it was the national historical King Olav and his life as a Viking that was the focus of interest, not the old Catholic cult of the church in the Middle Ages. The narrative of the Norse epic saga and the folk tales in old northern dialects were translated into several modern languages. New images and monuments of the Viking fighter King Olav, the eternal king, were commissioned in this national movement, also churches and chapels. A chapel to Saint Olav was established in Rome in 1893 in the Church San Carlo al Corso with a huge altar painting, approved by the Pope. Today this is also a national heritage centre for Norwegian pilgrims to Rome (Olavsalteret i Roma, 2017). After 1905 when Norway was separated from the union with Sweden, the old art and narrative of the Saint Olav medieval cult was considered a most important heritage for the new government authorities and cultural institutions, such as museums and universities. During the German occupation of Norway in World War II the Nazi government performed a misuse of the Olav heritage for their own political purposes. When the Nazis ruled over Nidaros Cathedral, the bishop and priests resisted and held their church services in the churchyard outside the cathedral. After the war, the historical and cultural Olav heritage could therefore be salvaged from this Nazi influence. In 1954–1960 the big open-air amphitheatre established at the pilgrim site Stiklestad and the annual musical play, the Saint Olav Drama, became a unifying place for national resistance and a symbol of democratic identity (Lindaräng, 2007).

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The revival of the contemporary pilgrimage to Nidaros started with the Saint Olav 950-year jubilee in 1980 in Selånger at Sundsvall in the north of Sweden (Steffensen-Berg, 2009, pp. 29–35). At the beginning of July the Swedish bishop of Härnösand diocease, Bertil Werkström, and the Norwegian Dean of Nidaros, Tron Tronsen, together with a group of priests and monks held an open-air service at the Saint Olav ruined church of Selånger, attended by 1000 participants. A group of 25 pilgrims dressed in historical vestments started their long walk and exertion over the wild high mountains down to Trondheim. Their message of peace and reconciliation, ‘A message from coast to coast’, was brought to Nidaros on their arrival at the Saint Olav vigil on 28 July. This group became the very pioneers for a revival of pilgrimage to Nidaros Cathedral. They followed the historic footsteps of the martyr according to his drama of fate in saga and legends. In the year 1030 King Olav landed here with his ships and army and begun the road to martyrdom at the battlefield of Stiklestad in Norway. This example of a linear tourist trail is based on storytelling and historic narrative, now established as St Olavsleden (Boyd, 2017; McLeod, 2017; St Olavsleden, 2017). The jubilee event Pilgrim 1980 was also a starting point for a broader pilgrimage movement and the use of historical cultural heritage around Scandinavia. A national culture centre, Stiklestad Nasjonale Kultursenter, with exhibitions, restaurant and a pilgrim office, was developed in 1995 at Stiklestad, where the annual summer open-air drama is performed every Olsok to thousands of visitors. In this way a node of interest along the trail has been developed into a point of attraction of its own. The Olsok summer week has been institutionalized and is now a large cultural event, dominating the city of Trondheim, Olavsfestdagene, the Saint Olav Church and Culture Festival from 28 July to 5 August (Lindaräng, 2007, pp. 105–114, 149–170). This week is the main pilgrimage goal and site of attraction, also the very origin of the cult. The management intentions are clearly to increase the number of visitors from a wider range of tourist groups. In comparison with the group of pioneers from 1980 in historic dresses, the pilgrims and heritage tourists of today use more practical clothing for physical activities and outdoor recreation. Most contemporary pilgrims are not walking for penance, historical or religious enactment like medieval

pilgrims, but for a learning experience or healthy exercise or for other engaging reasons.

The Background of Modern Vadstena Pilgrimage The Monastery in Vadstena was closed by the Swedish king in 1595. The Bridgettine Order was forbidden in the Lutheran countries, but the monasteries were still active in all the Catholic countries and at the end of the 16th century the Bridget House and Monastery in Rome became the head of the order. It took a long time for the Swedish revival of a Bridgettine Order monastery in Vadstena, and it was not until 1963 when the monastery Pax Mariae was established again. In 1991 during the 600-year Saint Bridget jubilee of her canonization the Lutheran Swedish state church and the Catholic Church established an official cooperation around this event (Lindaräng, 2007). Saint Bridget was now recognized as a Swedish national saint and Vadstena as a national heritage site. On Saint Bridget Day, 7–8 October 1991, the Mass was even read in a northern tongue by Scandinavian Catholic priests in the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Rome. It was the very first time you could listen to Swedish and Norwegian words under these high vaults. During the middle of the 1990s the Bridget pilgrimage to Vadstena was revived and developed, with more frequent organized pilgrim-group tours around the holy site. The official Saint Bridget route follows the way taken by the procession with her coffin in 1374, from Söderköping to Vadstena. The book Birgittaleden 2017 (Pilgrimscentrum i Vadstena and Linköping, 2017) is a practical guidebook with maps, images of churches, monasteries and sites related to her life and history, pilgrim texts that could be used at the stops, and meditations and prayers related to the Bridget liturgy. Today you can walk all the way (145 km) in 7 days or choose a shorter path from Linköping Cathedral (Pilgrimscentrum, 2017).

Comparative Aspects of Olav and Bridget Pilgrimages In his comparative study of historic and political development around the official celebrations



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and commemorations of Saint Olav and Saint Bridget during 1891–2005, Helgonbruk i moderniseringstider, Ingemar Lindaräng finds they have different significances in their respective countries, both concerning life and cult (Lindaräng, 2007). As an historic king and a holy martyr, Olav the Holy has been a national unifying symbol in the commemorations: since 1030 he is ‘Norway’s eternal king’ and the founder of Christianization. Saint Bridget of Sweden was first mostly an international religious concern for the Catholic Church in Rome. She then became more important as part of Swedish cultural heritage, religion and art history, and she was used as a role model for the early liberal women’s rights movement. After the visit of the Pope in 1989 in Sweden and the 1991 jubilee the Swedish state and the Lutheran Church declared the legacy of Saint Bridget to be a Swedish national interest, which was manifested in the successful celebrations in 2003 of her birth year 1303. The results of this study show that Lutheran Churches have been more willing to accept the idea of pilgrimage after 1980, due to the increasing ecumenical development in Europe. A comparison between the pilgrim routes of Olav and Bridget show that the Olav trails in Norway are dominated by linear trails where the sites are linked. Some of the Bridget linear trails around Vadstena can also be defined as points and areas of pilgrim tourism, which characterizes other places connected to her birth and youth, such as Finsta/Skederid and Fresta in Uppland. These cults and trails are both based on historic persons. There are, however, in fact problems of authenticity concerning both the Olav and the Bridget cult and heritage, and there are critical discussions addressing this in the media and in the heritage critical research studies of the use of history (Gren-Eklund, 2014). In Trondheim there is an ongoing quest to find the missing grave with the Olav relics or other authentic remains of the martyr king, and early Olav ­ churches have been excavated (Nidarosdomen, 2017). Recent investigations of the Bridget shrine in Vadstena show that the skulls in the Bridget shrine do not belong to either Saint Bridget or Saint Catherine (Nilsson et al., 2010; Waara, 2010; Vadstena kommun, 2017). Still, all the other well-documented historical facts of the cults of both saints give enough historic background for the authenticity of the cult and the place, the

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architecture, the art, narrative and the documented historic pilgrimages.

Contemporary Pilgrimages, Interests, Motivations and Experiences In the Millennium Pilgrimage Year of Europe 2000 the Swedish Lutheran Church was legally reformed with loosened bonds to the Swedish state. A successful national pilgrimage was performed through all the 13 dioceses, led by two ministers and over 1000 people walked for a day or more. All the Swedish bishops, Bishop Bengt Wadensjö (ed), had already published their book Pilgrimsvandringar i Sverige in 1995, presenting one story each of a  pilgrimage in the 13 dioceses. Many of their ­examples relate to the old Saint Olav routes in the northern and middle parts of Sweden, the linear trails, but some of them relate to special Saint Olav sites in the southern landscapes, like the parishes of Åseda in Småland and Sankt Olof in Skåne, more characterized as point and area pilgrimage tours. Other examples from the bishops are focused on the spiritual life of the individual and the collective spiritual journey, where a main motivation is the open-air exertion and joy of walking together. The bishops are defining pilgrimage as both an inward and an outward journey. The ambitious 1000-year anniversary of the city of Trondheim took place in 1997, when the official pilgrimage trails were inaugurated in Norway and Sweden, and the ecumenical project European Pilgrimage 2000 raised an increasing interest for the pilgrimage phenomena among academic scholars and students. Many research studies of the pilgrimages in Scandinavia have been done in different fields, like history and religion, anthropology and the sociology of religion. Some of the studies investigate comparatively the northern trails and the Camino of Santiago in Spain, drawing on the much more developed research into the routes to Santiago (Almazán, 2002; Lidén, 2002; Jensen, 2014). In her 2009 master’s degree thesis in religion Hellig Olav- Tradisjon og kulturarv, Ellen Steffensen-­ Berg presents a broad historic documentation of the many historical Olav anniversaries and

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commemorations in Trondheim. Her thorough investigation shows how the monarchy, the state, the Church and the city, the press, communities and the university, in spite of different agendas and strategies, all have been working together in a national renewal of the legacy of Saint Olav, when it comes to managing historical or contemporary perspectives of heritage (Steffensen-Berg, 2009). In the report Secular Protestants – and Pilgrims? Erik G. Karlsaune (2002) presents the results from a cooperative international pilgrimage and heritage tourist project about the Nidaros destination. It is based on empirical material gathered in Trondheim in 1997–1998 during the Church and Culture Festival of Saint Olav, including interviews, questionnaires and videos, statements, tales and narratives from pilgrims, tourists and visitors. The researchers found that visitors, religious or non-religious, were interested in the place itself, the architecture of the cathedral, and the whole atmosphere with the music and the rituals with processions, prayers and lighting candles in the church room (Karlsaune, 2002, pp. 22–32). They appreciate learning by themselves by walking in silence and in contemplation. Other qualities mentioned are to leave everyday life routines behind, perform slow travel and to get a spiritual recharge. Lisbeth Mikaelsson focuses on different health aspects and motivations in her comparative study ‘Pilgrimage as a post-secular therapy’ (2014). Using examples like pilgrim tourists to Nidaros and on the Camino de Santiago, she finds that in the post-modern and post-secular arena, the contemporary pilgrim seeks to create an inward and personal meaning of their journey, the inner meaning of wandering. Those who don’t want to listen to preachers in a church have been more receptive to religious mediation in the footsteps of a holy person, at historic sacred places and in nature. They also have high demands for authenticity and historicity. Modern pilgrims appreciate the live stage performances of the harsh life of medieval pilgrims (Wilson, 2004). Along the Trondheim trail at the village of Sel in the Gudbrandsdal valley, a tourist Middle Age centre and open-air museum is established, based on the literary figure, a devoted medieval pilgrim named Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. The settings and buildings from a film about her in 1991 are now being re-used as a heritage

‘edutainment’ representation of her ‘medieval’ house. Commercial wedding events of today can hire the bridal suite as an ‘authentic recreation’ of a 14th-century bed. This exemplifies how the use of storytelling is constructing a tourist space (McLeod, 2017). Brandon Wilson shows how the trail is discovered by professional adventurous world trekkers, but also full of those who simply seek solitude and peaceful contemplation (Wilson, 2004): ‘So, if you’re looking for serenity, time away from the nagging drone of cell phones and clutter of everyday life, this trail should be on top of your list’. In comparison with the crowded Camino in Spain he met few people in the Norwegian high mountains. He then travelled the Swedish trail from Selånger/Sundsvall to Trondheim 10 years later, in August 2014, and wrote a blog (Wilson, 2014–2015). Here he tells about a lonely ‘meditative moment’ in the beauty of the grand panoramas in the wild landscape, ‘the travelling outside – when travelling within’. Still he finds the Swedish trail not enough practically developed with pilgrim huts and shelters, a reason why it is ‘less travelled’. The research project by Anna Davidsson Bremborg in Lund concerning pilgrimage tours in Sweden organized from Vadstena and from Lund in the southern region, shows that the destination often is of minor importance (Davidsson-Bremborg, 2008, 2013, pp. 550–556): ‘By disconnecting a specific physical place from the pilgrimage concept it has been possible to spread pilgrimages as a parish activity all over Sweden.’ In these cases is neither the saint’s narrative, history nor the shrine in focus. The religious services and structure during outdoor walking itself is more important for both the diocese and the participants. The first pilgrim priest Hans Erik Lindström at Vadstena formed a special pilgrim theology in a model with seven key words: slowness, freedom, simplicity, silence, lightheartedness, sharing and spirituality. With this as a model the participant could create an individual lifestyle and a sacred space, an inner journey and a journey of life. In similar lines of thinking the Lutheran Church of Sweden has increased different pilgrimage activities in most of the dioceses, along trails with the special pilgrim logotype for the Church of Sweden. Saint Olav routes in Norway and Spain focus on aesthetic learning processes. For his master’s



Pilgrim Tourist Motivations in Religious Heritage, Culture and Art

degree thesis at the Royal Institute of Arts in Stockholm in 2015, Juan Manuel Gonzalez from Spain, wanted to study ‘the utility of walking as an artistic practice and my role as activator of aesthetic relational encounters’ and also what influence the sacred route could have on the individual process (Gonzalez, 2015). Together with a multinational group of artists, writers, philosophers and archaeologists, he performed two pilgrimages of Saint Olav trails, St Olavsleden from Selånger/ Sundsvall to Trondheim and the new Caminosanolav from Burgos to Covarrubias in Spain, both along uninhabited areas. He could from a non-religious perspective compare the aesthetic encounters and parallels between the two trails, places, art and narrative. ‘I have discovered that a non-religious person may experience the mystical in nature’. Gonzalez found that the wandering experience for him as a Catholic was important for individual development and creative processes, meeting the Lutheran pilgrim ­aspects. The comparative visual and aesthetic material of art and narrative that he met along the  trails illustrate his arguments and his ­reflections. His study illustrates the symbolic

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transformation of the landscape during the sacred journey (McLeod, 2017).

Summary The authentic medieval cultural heritage of Saint Olav of Norway and Saint Bridget of Sweden, in history, art and narrative, provides the legitimate ground for all aspects of the management of pilgrim tourism and pilgrim routes to Trondheim and Vadstena. Throughout history the pilgrimage has been a journey for hope, hope for good physical and mental health. In comparison with the medieval pilgrims who followed a collective duty of faith, the contemporary pilgrims and heritage tourists of today show more individual motivations for their sacred journeys. Research reports and personal pilgrim narratives tell us about wishes for heritage learning experiences, enjoyment in walking exercise and of the scenery of the landscape. The pilgrim and heritage tourists today are in this way expressing their deep concern and care for the environment and the cultural heritage they visit and meet.

References Almazán, V. (2002) San Olav. Rey perpetuo de Noruega. Xunta de Galicia, Santiago, Spain. Andersson, T.M. (2016) The Sagas of Norwegian Kings (1130–1265). An Introduction. English transl. Islandica: a series in Icelandic and Norse studies; volume LIX. Cornell University Library, Ithaca, New York. Andrésen, K. (2005) Olsok I Nidaros Domkirke. En Historisk Gjennomgang. Liturgisk skriftserie nr 11. Tapir forlag. Trondheim, Norway. Beskow, P. and Landen, A. (eds) (2003) Birgitta av Vadstena. Pilgrim och profet 1303–1373. En jubileumsbok 2003. Natur och Kultur förlag. Publishing comp., Stockholm. Boyd, W.S. (2017) Editorial: heritage trails and tourism. Journal of Heritage Tourism 12(5), 417–422. Camino de San Olav (2016) Available at: www.caminosanolav.es (accessed 29 July 2016). Coupland, S. (1998) A Saint for all Nations. The Cult of Saint Olav Outside Norway. Nidaros Domkirkes restaureringsarbeiders forlag, Trondheim, Norway. Davidsson-Bremborg, A. (2008) Spirituality in silence and nature: motivations, experiences and impressions among Swedish pilgrims. Journal of Empirical Theology 21, 149–165. Davidsson-Bremborg, A. (2013) Creating sacred space by walking in silence: pilgrimage in a late modern Lutheran context. Social Compass 60(4), 544–560. Frost, W. and Lang, H.J. (2017) Children, families and heritage. Journal of Heritage Tourism 12(1), 1–6. Gonzalez, J.M. (2015) Walking toward the meeting of Saint Olav. A shared aesthetic project in the North of Scandinavia and the central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula. Master’s degree thesis, Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm. Gren-Eklund, G. (2014) Att konstruera historia: exemplet Heliga Birgittas födelseplats. Kyrkohistorisk årsskrift 2014, 13–25. Jensen, R. (2014) Pilegrim, Lengsel, Vandring, Tenkning – før og nu. Novus forlag, Oslo. Jörälv, L. (2000) Vägen till Nidaros. Längs medeltida pilgrimsleder genom Sverige och Norge. Stockholm. Karlsaune, G.E. (ed.) (1996) Pilegrimen. Vallfartsmotiv og vallfartsmål. Tapir forlag, Trondheim, Norway.

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Karlsaune, G.E. (2002) Secular Protestants – and Pilgrims? Conference report at the 16th Nordic Conference on Sociology of Religion in Uppsala, 22–25 August, NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Trondheim, Norway. Kollandsrud, M. (1997) Pilegrimsleden til Nidaros. En guide til vandringen. Direktoratet for Naturforvaltning og Riksantikvaren i samarbeid med Gyldendal forlag, Oslo. Kühnel, G. (1988) Wall-painting in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin. Lidén, A. (1999) Olav den helige i medeltida bildkonst. Legendmotiv och attribut. PhD thesis in Art History, Stockholm University. KVHAAs Monographs, Stockholm. (Summary in English) Lidén, A. (2002) Jacobmiraklet med den hängde pilgrimen och dess nordiska efterföljare. In: Kempff Östlind, M. (ed.) Pilgrimsvägar och vallfartskonst. Runica et Mediaevalia Scripta Minora 6. Sällskapet Runica et Mediaevalia, Stockholm, pp. 171–188. Lidén, A. (2016) Sankt Olavs seglats i medeltida bild och legend. En bildpredikan i kyrkorummet. In: Øystein, E. (ed.) Helgenkongen St.Olav i kunsten. Museumsforlaget Trondheim, Norway, pp. 55–76. Lindaräng, I. (2007) Helgonbruk i moderniseringstider. Bruket av Birgitta- och Olavstraditionerna i samband med minnesfirande I Sverige och Norge 1891–2005. Linköping Studies in Art and Sciences no. 392. Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. McLeod, N. (2017) The role of trails in the creation of tourist space. Journal of Heritage Tourism 12(5), 423–430. Mikaelsson, L.H. (2014) Pilgrimage as post-secular therapy. In: Ahkbäck, T. (ed.) Post-secular Religious Practices. Donner Institute, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland. Nidarosdomen (2017) Available at: https:/www.nidarosdomen.no (accessed 10 August 2017). Nidaros Pilegrimsgård (2017) Available at: pilegrimsgarden.pilegrimsgarden.no/en (accessed 29 July 2017). Nilsson, M. (2018). The post-secular tourist: Re-thinking pilgrimage tourism. Tourist Studies 2018:2. Nilsson, M., Possnert, G., Edlund, H., Budowle, B., Kjellström, A. and Allen, M. (2010) Analysis of the putative remains of a European patron saint – St. Birgitta. PLoS One 5(2), e 8986. Nilsson, S.E.E. (2015) Creating holy people and places on the periphery. Dissertation in Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Olavsalteret i Roma (2017) Available at: www.olaviroma.no (accessed 16 October 2017). Olindersson, A. (2017) I Olav den heliges fotspår. En studie av historiebruket vid fem västsvenska Olavsleder. Examensarbete Teologi. University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Pilgrimscentrum (2017) Available at: https://www.pilgrimscentrum.se (accessed 10 August 2017). Pilgrimscentrum i Vadstena and Linköping (2017) Birgittaleden 2017. Peregrinus skriftserie 21. Pilgrimscentrum i Vadstena and Linköping stift. Linköping, Sweden. Pilegrimsleden (2017) Available at: https://.pilegrimsleden.no (accessed 29 July 2017). Raju, A. (2015) The Pilgrim Road to Trondheim. Oslo to Nidaros. Cicerone Press, Kendal, UK. Royal Court (2017) Available at: www.kungahuset.se (accessed 9 September 2017). Snorre Sturlasson (1240) Nordiska kungasagor Bd II. Olav den heliges saga. (Swedish translation by Karl G. Johansson in 1992). Fabel bokförlag, Stockholm. Steffensen-Berg, E. (2009) Hellig-Olav- Tradisjon og kulturarv. En analyse av olavstradisjonen i nyere tid med hovedvekt på historiebruken i Nidaros. Masteravhandling i Religion og Etik, Det teologiske menighetsfakultet Trondheim, Norway. Stiklestad (2017) Available at: https://stiklestad.no/english (accessed 28 July 2017). St Olavsleden (2017) Available at: https://stolavsleden.com (accessed 29 July 2017). St Olav Ways (2017) Available at: www.stolavways.com (accessed 29 July 2017). Vådahl, Ö. (2007) Den moderne pilegrimsbevegelsen ved Nidaros domkirke med saerlig vekt på pilegrimsprestenes rolle. Master’s degree thesis, Science of Religion IKRR, University of Bergen, Norway. Vadstena kommun (2017) Available at: www.vadstena.se (accessed 7 October 2017). Västarvet (2017) Available at: www.vastarvet.se (accessed 10 August 2017). Waara, A. (2010) The putative skull of St. Bridget can be questioned. Press release Uppsala University 16 February 2010. Wadensjö, B. and Weman, G. (1995) Pilgrimsvandringar i Sverige. Svenska kyrkans biskopar. STF, Stockholm. Wilson, B. (2004) Trekking the Trail of Norse Kings. Available at: www.pilgrimstales.com/stolavsway-pdf (accessed 11 October 2017). Wilson, B. (2014–2015) Build It (Well) and They Will Come. St. Olav Ways Sweden. Available at: www.pilgrimstales. com/stolavsway-pdf (accessed 11 October 2017).

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Diminishing Religious Cultural Heritage of Holy Makkah and Medina due to Commercialization of the Sacred Event Jahanzeeb Qurashi* University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK

Introduction

Although Timothy and Boyd (2003) argue tourism can be seen as contributing in various ways to Tourism that is religiously motivated has the preservation of heritage, religious sites and ­increased remarkably in both scale and scope in to reinforcing declining economies. the modern era (Sharpley, 2009; Raj and Griffin, However, since 1985, mosques and vital his2015). Over the last decade, the Hajj has devel- torical sites witnessed from the time of Prophet oped into one of the most significant mega-­ Muhammad (peace be upon him (PBUH)) have religious events. As a result, there has been been demolished, as have Ottoman-era manors ­increased interest on the impact of the Hajj on and forts, prehistoric wells, stone bridges, the the socio-economic life of the host holy city of houses of Sahba (the companions of Prophet Makkah. Muhammad, PBUH) and even Islam’s first Caliph’s The commercial impact of religious tour- mosque and house been demolished to make way ism (Hajj) is so intense, that the once dusty desert for an ATM in Medina and the Hilton Hotel in city of Makkah now towers above its environ- Makkah (Power, 2014). The question can be ment with a dazzling display of skyscrapers, raised: what are the driving forces acting behind shopping malls, contemporary branded luxury the destruction of Makkah and Medina’s religious hotels and hi-tech technology. The holy cities cultural heritage and why? of Makkah and Medina are visited by 12 milDr Sami Angawi, a well-known Saudi expert lion pilgrims annually; Makkah alone attracted on the region’s Islamic architecture, is equally 3.16–3.65 million pilgrims in 2012, and earned alarmed: ‘This is an absolute contradiction to revenue of US$16 billion (Arab News, 2013). the nature of Makkah and the sacredness of the These earnings are expected to increase to house of God; also both Makkah and Medina are US$17 million by 2025 (Taylor, 2011; Wain- historically almost finished. You do not find anywright, 2015). thing except skyscrapers’ (cited in Taylor, 2011, By contrast, the above-mentioned commer- p. 1). Therefore, this chapter critically appraises cial gains have not been achieved by preserving commercial and theological angles of the destrucMakkah’s heritage but instead at the cost of its tion of this cultural heritage in both holy cities, religious cultural heritage (Arab News, 2013). particularly in Makkah.

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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Makkah’s Background Makkah, with more than 2 million inhabitants, is the capital city of one of 13 provinces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (Mahmoud and Plumb, 2010). The holy city’s importance far outweighs its size on account of both its status as the capital of Islam, and also because it enjoys the privilege of hosting the annual pilgrimage journey of Hajj, the fifth of the five mandatory pillars of Islam, and it has done so for more than 1430 years (Gwyn, 1989). In the Arabic language the term Makkah literally means weak, tired or the place with no water (Al-Azraqi, 1965 cited in Akeel Ibrahim al-Ken, 1995). Makkah used to be known as ‘Bakka’; ‘Baak’ means to cry, to smash or be submissive (Ahmad al-Sarif, 1965 cited in Gibson, 2011). A few observers have also conventionally related one reference to the Valley of Bakka, the ‘valley of the one who weeps much’ (Ahmad ­al-Sarif, 1965 cited in Gibson, 2011). Evidence is present in the Quran of the holy location, the Kaaba, also known as the ‘house’; this is universal terminology presently connected with Makkah. Although, the Quran addresses Makkah with five names – Makka, Bakka, Umm Al-Qura, Al-Balad and Al-Qarya – some philosophers pick up more names from the Quran such as Al-Balad, Al-Amin, Al-Baldah, Macäd, Al-Masjid, Al-Bayt Al-Atiq and Al-Masjid alHardm (Kahhdla, 1964 cited in Akeel Ibrahim al-Ken, 1995). Kahhdla (1964 cited in Akeel Ibrahim al-Ken, 1995) argues the origin of the word Makkah could be Assyrian or Babylonian in derivation, as in the Babylonian language Makkah means ‘the house’, this also gives an indication of the origins of the city. Historically members of the Al-Amäliq tribe were considered to be the first residents of Makkah, and they were later succeeded by the ‘Jurhum’ tribe from Yemen, who controlled Makkah for a long time. Later, northern Yemeni tribes took two words, ‘Makk’ (meaning house) and ‘Rab’ (meaning Allah – God), to create a new word ‘Makkrab’, meaning Allah’s house (Kahhdla, 1964 cited in Akeel Ibrahim al-Ken, 1995). According to Al-Azraqi (1965 cited in Akeel Ibrahim al-Ken, 1995), like the name Makkah, the establishment of Kaaba is also debatable. A few scholars argue it was initiated by angels,

while on the contrary a few claimed it was built by Prophet Adam (PBUH), when he was cast off from heaven, during his roving in the desert of ‘Al-Hjaz’ (currently Saudi Arabia, containing the holy cities of Makkah and Medina). There he found a lustrous stone, hidden beneath a canopy sustained by four emerald columns illuminating the entire valley, then Prophet Adam (PBUH) had started the circumambulation around the place for seven times, and from here the word ‘Tawaf ’ (circumambulation) took birth. Later Adam (PBUH) gathered a few rocks from the neighbouring mountain called ‘Hira’ and built a wall. This is the commonly acknowledged version of the establishment and architecture of the Kaaba from ancient times (Ba-Salamah, 1981 cited in Akeel Ibrahim al-Ken, 1995). However, other scholars claimed it was built by Prophet Noah (PBUH) followed by Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH), though the majority of Muslim scholars like A. al-Jaziri and Al-Imam al-Nawwy reached the complex consensus in their book Manasik, that it was angels 2000 years before Adam’s creation, then followed by Ibrahim (Qussayy, Abd-al-Muttalib), Abd Allah ibn’ al-Zubayr and al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Taqafi (Hamad al-Jäsir et al., 1983 cited in Akeel Ibrahim al-Ken, 1995). However, Ba-Salamah (1981 cited in Akeel Ibrahim al-Ken, 1995) believes that the Kaaba was rebuilt 12 times during its history by angels, Prophet Adam (PBUH) and his son Sheth, Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH), Prophet Noah (PBUH), Al-Amalektes, Jurhum (tribe), Qusayy (descendant of Prophet Ibrahim, PBUH), Abd-al-Muttalib (grandfather of Prophet Muhammad, PBUH), Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (the son of Asma bint Abi Bakr, the daughter of the first Caliph of Islam Abu Bakr, PBUH), al-Hajjäj ibn Yusuf al-Taqafi (the most notable governor who served the Umayyad Caliphate) and Al-Sultan Murad Kan (the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640) (Al-Resseeni, 1992). However, by contrast Gibson (2011) questioned the archaeologists of the KSA during his survey of the archaeological record in and around Makkah, and they confessed that Makkah’s archaeological record before ad 900 is basically missing. But, the Quran categorically mentioned that Ibrahim rebuilt the Kaaba on its earlier foundations (Quran 22: 26 and 2: 127) which is considered to be authentic evidence among Muslims. After taking historical facts and perceptions regarding the city of Makkah,



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questions can be raised concerning what makes the holy city of Makkah significant in the realm of religious cultural heritage tourism.

Makkah and Religious Cultural Heritage Tourism Neil (1990) argues that defining tourism is as challenging as defining tourist or pilgrim, because of its complex nature. The tourism industry, which provides goods and services to the tourist or pilgrim, is also a complex phenomenon. However, Rinschede (1992) argues the perceptions which are related to tourism, such as leisure tourism, entertainment tourism, religious cultural heritage tourism, adventure tourism, religious tourism, business tourism, sports tourism, hospitality and recreation, are concepts that are much clearer in their definitions than the all-inclusive concept of tourism. Thus, one of the main concerns of this study is to consider issues around the concept of religious cultural heritage tourism in conjunction with the holy city of Makkah. Religious tourism in the form of pilgrimage is not new, as it existed before the Holy Bible and the Quran (Timothy and Olsen, 2006). Religiously motivated tourism is perhaps as old as religion itself and thus the oldest kind of tourism (Lanczkowski, 1982 cited in Rinschede, 1992). In the ancient world, religious tourism experienced its first rise among the peoples of the early high cultures, when religious and political powers were closely tied. For instance, the religious centres in ancient Egypt, such as Abydos, Heliopolis, Thebes, Luxor and Karnak, attracted hundreds and thousands of pilgrims that admitted the rulers as well (Kreiner, 2006). The Hittites planned annual festivals and pilgrimages together with their king, occasions for which even war campaigns were interrupted. The Assyrians worshipped their God in Aleppo and Hierapolis, where pilgrims from as far away as Arabia gathered together (Nolan and Nolan, 1989). The Babylonians, as well as others, worshipped the God Marduk in Babylon. There were also other holy places, for instance Nippour, where pilgrims prayed for peace, or Namma, where they implored God for a long life (Jackson et al., 1990). Religious tourism required the participation of members, for instance Hebrews, Israelis and

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Jews in the festivities in Jerusalem, where annually over 1 million believers gathered. According to the period of development, three major types of pilgrimage sites can be differentiated today (Shokeid, 1987; Weingrod, 1988): (i) holy, mostly historical religious cultural heritage sites from Biblical times in Jerusalem and its surroundings; (ii) holy burial sites of Talmudic and Gabbalic prophets from the 1st and 5th centuries in Galilee; and (iii) burial sites of holy men and prophets, which were especially popular in North Africa. Additionally, in pre-Islamic times, Makkah itself (which represented an important stop on the caravan route between southern Arabia and the Levant) as well as its bordering cities of Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifa were, independently from one another, sought out by Arabic tribes as holy places of worship. These rites developed into maturity within 200 years after Muhammad’s (PBUH) death. Islam tied these different rites together so that the site of Makkah and its surroundings, with about 2 million pilgrims a year, developed into a single place of worship that the Muslims must visit (Long, 1979). There is a yet greater choice of holy places in the national and superregional catchment areas of Islam. Makkah and Medina in Saudi Arabia belong to those cities that distinguish themselves by their religious cultural heritage places which include prophet houses, mountains, battlefields, mosques, burial sites, forts, wells and Quranic schools (Lanczkowski, 1982 cited in Rinschede, 1992; Martin, 1987; Raj and Griffin, 2015). Vukonic (1996) argues that followers go on a pilgrimage for two main reasons. First, and most prominently, to gratify a spiritual need as initially a pilgrimage is a religious deed by performing religious rituals such as offering prayers, visiting heritage places and making sacrifices, and secondly for material needs. Religious tourism has been established as a formal part of the religious cultural tourism industry for a long time. Throughout history, oral, archaeological and written records document people’s involvement with spiritual experiences and their journeys to engage in spiritual activities (Smith, 1989; Rountree, 2002; Shackley, 2002; Timothy and Olsen, 2006; Raj and Griffin, 2017). Whether religious tourism has been to meet self-actualization, for personal well-being, or to satisfy any other needs, fulfilling a spiritual need appears to be central to human social psychology, irrespective of race,

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colour, creed, religion or any other identified criteria (Maslow, 1971; Faulkner, 2000). Currently religious tourism is closely associated with religious cultural heritage as well (Rinschede, 1992). For instance, organized pilgrimages in the Islamic ritual of Hajj and Umrah often follow a planned programme, so that the pilgrims can also make day trips into the surrounding area to see religious cultural heritage sites of Makkah and Medina, like in pilgrimages to Lourdes, where such activities reach from Andorra in the east. Raj (2015) stated that, ‘Hajj provides a most powerful message to individual pilgrims about Tauheed (monotheism) and Akhirat (the hereafter), two of the pillars of faith’ (p. 174). In Islam, religious and spiritual heritage trips are common during Hajj and Umrah, and these are called ‘Ziyara’ or ‘Ziyarat’ (Haq and Jackson, 2006). Ziyara is considered to be for spiritual growth in order to meet famed Islamic intellectuals, joining in to celebrate religious centenaries, conferences or distinct days of prophets, Imams or Sufis at their tombs or graves, or imitating the journeys of prophets, Imams or Sufis (Bhardwaj, 1998; Haq and Jackson, 2006). Muslims travel on Ziyara to specific tombs, shrines, mosques or monasteries to find out more about the history, to pray and to gain religious spirituality. However, some Islamic schools of thought, like the followers of Wahhabism, disapprove of such Ziyara since they are said to be a creation of local cultural and traditional practices, and not endorsed by the Islamic dogma based on the Quran or Hadith (traditions of Prophet Muhammad, PBUH). However, different Islamic sects such as ‘Hanafi’ have different views of it, and disagree with the Wahhabi school of thought. In this chapter it is important to discuss Hajj and Umrah Ziyara places (religious cultural heritage sites of the holy cities) as the majority of Muslim pilgrims during the journey of Hajj and Umrah go for Ziyara to see the religious cultural heritage sites of Makkah and Medina, though Ziyara is not part of Hajj rites. However, due to the emotional value of spiritual attraction and the spiritual attachment with the prophets and their companions (Sahba), pilgrims want to see the ancient and historical houses, old mosques, water wells, mountains, forts, battlefields and special places that give pilgrims such religious cultural spiritual affection.

Heritage places in Makkah and Medina include the following:

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • •

the house and the grave of Prophet Khadija (PBUH), the wife of the Prophet (Makkah); the grave of Eve (Jeddah); the house of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (Makkah); the house of Hamza (Makkah); the grave of Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttaleb, the father of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (Medina); the second house of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (Medina); the birthplace of Fatima (Makkah); the Salman Al-Farsi Mosque (Medina); the Raj’at ash-shams Mosque (Medina); the house of the Prophet (PBUH) in Medina, where he lived after migrating from Makkah; the house of Jafar Al-Sadiq, sixth Shi’ite Imam (Medina); the complex of the Banu Hashim tribe (Medina); the house of Imam Ali, the fourth Caliph in Islam (Makkah); the house of the Prophet’s uncle, Hamza and the graves of the martyrs of the Battle of Uhud (Makkah); the Al-Baqi and Al-Mullah Cemetery (Medina); the Umm Hani house pillars inside the Grand Mosque. (It was from here that the Prophet (PBUH) was summoned by Jibraeel and taken to Bayt Al-Maqdis in Jerusalem. This incident is known as ‘al-Isra’ (the night journey) and occurred around 621 ce.) (Makkah); relics from the era of the Abbasids and the Ottoman Empire – manors, column, forts and pillars inside Grand Mosque (Makkah); Prophet Abu-Bakr (PBUH) Mosque (Medina); Prophet Abu-Bakr (PBUH) house (Makkah); and Prophet Bilal Mosque (Makkah). This is the place where Prophet Ibrahim called people to visit Makkah. (CASS, 2015; Osser, 2015)

On a sad note, a number of the above-­ mentioned religious cultural heritage places in  Makkah and Medina have been destroyed in  the KSA because as the country has grown



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economically the heritage sites have become the victim of commercialization. However, Howard (2003) argues that it is individuals or groups who express heritage and that these groups and individuals attribute the value they believe appropriate to heritage, rather than the value being intrinsically present and ready for them to discover in an appropriate way. For instance: The heritage process depends on the values that people invest in the heritage phenomena, on the different kinds of ways in which things are viewed … they will differ between people according to a whole range of lenses that give biases to particular views of attractiveness. To understand the heritage value of any particular item we need to grasp where all the stakeholders are ‘coming from’ and what values they bring to it. (Howard, 2003, p. 12)

Commercialization and Religious Cultural Heritage of the KSA Makkah is for Muslims the holiest place in the world, birthplace of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the home of Kaaba, the focal point of Islam. Makkah today is the home of a number of skyscrapers, for instance the ‘Abraj-Al-Bait’(Fig. 9.1), mostly known as the Royal Makkah Clock Tower Hotel, which at 600 m tall is the world’s largest clock tower, even bigger than Big Ben in London. It is visible from 25 km away, and is equipped with 30 laser beams noticeable from 30 km. Conducting the largest laser show in the world in the holy city of Makkah requires 2.2 megawatts of electricity which is enough to power a small town. From its inception the Royal Makkah Clock Tower building was surrounded by controversy. Many see it as one of the symbols of the great religion of Islam and consider it Makkah’s answer to the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Big Ben in London. But others find its scale and opulence incongruent with the ascetic form of the Islamic faith; for them it is a glittery emblem from Saudi Arabia that contradicts the interpretation of Islam. It represents the commercialization of religion and destruction of sites with incalculable historical heritage value. This Royal Makkah Clock Tower was not only built at a cost of US$15 billion but also it was constructed on the cultural heritage site of a 1781 stone fort.

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The Al-Ajyad Fortress was built by the Ottoman Empire in Makkah and its destruction in 2002 ignited a global clamour. The Turkish Culture Minister declared it a crime against humanity and cultural heritage genocide (Penczu, 2014). Burial sites, mosques and places associated with Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and other Islamic personalities are regularly demolished: up to 95% of Makkah’s thousand-year-old buildings have been knocked down. It is this contradictory legacy the critics cite when they decried the construction of ‘Abraj-Al-Bait Towers’; its creators hoped that the tower would not only be a clock tower or minaret but a tool and a blind symbol for the Islamic faith (Ghani, 2011). But some wonder if the early destructiveness of Wahhabism paved the way for hard-line Islam, whose offshoots are Al-Qaeda, and that the Makkah Clock Tower points to new lavishly expensive vision of Islam taking root in a Makkah reconceived as Makkah Hatten or Makkah Vegas. One thing is certain, driven by the same petrodollar that fuels the Wahhabiest extension, the paradox that is contemporary Saudi Arabia will continue to delight and outrage the world (Penczu, 2014). Furthermore, the Grand Mosque Al-Haram (Makkah) expansions began with the late King Abdullah laying its first stone in 2011, with plans including widening the area of the mosque by 400,000 m2 to allow an increase of 1.2 million worshippers. The development of the eastern side of the Grand Mosque, which is the oldest existing section, will, however, necessitate the removal of the architectural heritage designed by the Abbasids and the Ottomans. This includes eliminating the inscribed Arabic calligraphy of the names of the Prophet’s companions and the important events of his life. The designated ­expansion of the Grand Mosque also includes the destruction of a column that marks the spot where the Prophet began his journey to Jerusalem and then on to heaven, on a day known as ‘Meraj’, where Muslims mark the anniversary of this event by fasting. According to the historian and executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, Dr Irfan Al-Alawi, there are also plans to remove the house in which it is believed that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born (Al-Islam, 1995, 2015). Furthermore, the holy

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Fig. 9.1.  Abraj-Al-Bait Hotel or the Royal Makkah Clock Tower Hotel.

city of Makkah has been transformed into a profit-generating sector for the government and multinational firms. Ivor McBurney, spokesman for the Hilton Hotel, stated the following with regards to construction of the hotel in Makkah: ‘We saw the tremendous opportunities to tap into Saudi Arabia religion tourism segment’ (Peer, 2012, p. 1). The effects of these expansions have left fewer than 20 structures in Makkah that date back to the Prophet’s time some 1400 years ago. A point to ponder here is that the construction of the Hilton Hotel in Makkah in 2014 cost

the house of the first Caliph of Islam, Prophet Abu-Bakr (PBUH) (Sami Al-Maghamsi, 2014) (Fig. 9.2). As the contemporary Saudi state advanced, the Saudi authorities destroyed the house of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his first wife Khadija (PBUH) in 1989, replacing Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) house with a library. The house of Abu-Jahal (one of the worst enemies of Islam) was converted into the toilets (Power, 2014). After nearly another 10 years, in 1998, the establishment flattened the grave of Aminah



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Fig. 9.2.  Construction sites of various hotels including the Hilton, costing the house of the first Caliph of Islam Prophet Abu-Bakr (PBUH). (Photograph taken by pilgrim in the Hajj of 2016.)

(PBUH), the Prophet Muhammad’s mother. By 2012, the government had begun abolishing sites where the Prophet was said to have worshipped or preached. A year later, the administration used concrete to fill in the gap at Mount Uhud, north of Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad was nursed after being wounded in battle. Power (2014) noted that when the authorities finished cementing the crevice, they proceeded to fence off ‘the base [of Mount Uhud], warning would-be visitors that it was just a mountain, like any other’ (Power, 2014).

In November 2014 the establishment demolished seven separate mosques in the city of Medina. One of these, the mosque belonging to Islam’s first Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Siddique (PBUH), was bulldozed to make room for an ATM (Power, 2014). Additionally, in 2014, the administration destroyed the house of Hamza, the Prophet Muhammad’s uncle, to clear space for a nearby hotel (Power, 2014). Before the end of the year, officials even announced plans to destroy Prophet Muhammad’s birthplace; warning signs were posted around the site that said there is no proof

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that the Prophet Muhammad was born there, ‘so it is forbidden to make this place specific for praying, supplicating or get blessing’ (Power, 2014). The KSA government’s obliteration of religious cultural heritage sites began to receive extensive global consideration and became most clearly identified with the processes of commercial urban development, after the late King Abdullah sanctioned US$88 billion for religious tourism planning. The aim was to boost hospitality and tourism infrastructure, with an additional 343,000 branded hotel rooms by the end of 2015, compared with 250,000 in 2011 (HVC, 2012). This trend was due to increase the numbers of inbound pilgrims by 6% annually, and some commentators suggested that by 2015 hotel stock might enter into double-digit growth due to religious tourism, despite worldwide recession (Colliers International, 2011). In 2010, the government earned US$9 billion revenue which had risen to US$16 billion in 2012, solely from religious tourism events (Travel Talk Middle East, 2010). Blumberg (2015) reported that by 2018, for example, Makkah would become home to the world’s largest hotel by room count, at the complete expense of the Saudi Ministry of Finance. Presently, the largest hotel in the world is under construction in Makkah; Abraj Kudai hotel with 10,000 rooms will be completed by 2020 with investment of US$3.5 billion. Commentators have called this hotel a ‘city in the sky’ and have said that after all this there is no hesitation to call Makkah a Vegas of the Middle East (Wainwright, 2015). Sami Angawi said that these projects will just as certainly spell devastation for historical neighbourhoods and cultural sites (Batrawy, 2014; Blumberg, 2015). Dr Fayez Jamal echoes this sentiment in Al Jazeera News, asserting that ‘what is going on in Makkah, bulldozing of the history and the geography … whole mountains have been blown up in order to achieve investment projects and private interests under the title of expansion for the Muslims’ (Batrawy, 2014). Other critics point out that the development programmes have already imperilled Makkah’s most vulnerable populations. In order to implement the Jabal Sharashif project, for example, which entails the construction of a metro system, a high-speed rail line, a series of hotels and an upscale residential neighbourhood for Saudi nationals, the

authorities are planning to raze a slum area that is primarily home to Burmese and African ­migrants (Batrawy, 2014).

Impact of the Kingdom’s Religious Ideology on the Religious Cultural Heritage The obliteration of places of worship in Saudi Arabia is a logical and continuing operation that is entrenched within the doctrine of religious and political establishments in the region. This creed, also referred to as ‘Wahhabism or Salafi’, was introduced by Muhammad ibn Abd al-­ Wahab who lived from 1703 to 1792 (Al-Rasheed, 2010). He stood out for his sturdy interpretation on monotheism by refusing and critiquing all methods of arbitration between God and the follower. His theories stressed the compulsion for holy war ‘jihad’ against non-Muslims, and also Muslim movements or governments who did not back his doctrines. Among his thrilling interpretations was the severe exclusion of visiting holy shrines, graves and religious buildings, which he considered as profanity, polytheistic and a bid’h (innovation in religion) (Al-Islam, 2015). The call for jihad against those who fluctuated with his philosophy led to the conquest of lands of Arabia, enforcing Muslims from the occupied areas to accept the Wahhabi movement including their interpretation of Sharia (Islamic law) and Islam. This comprised the terrain of Hejaz, which includes Makkah and Medina in contemporary Saudi Arabia. As part of their movement and mission, they demolished nearly all the sepulchres in Hejaz. They alleged that graves should be unmarked to evade visits by Muslims. Those who stood stable with other Islamic sect principles were either killed or had their possessions confiscated (Al-Islam, 2015). The survival of Abd al-Wahab’s philosophy has been slowly intimidating religious culture and heritage in Saudi Arabia and also other parts of the world where it is implemented. The deliberate targeting of the Shrines of Prophet Jonas and Prophet Daniel in Mosul, Iraq in 2014 by the extremist group who call themselves ‘Islamic State’ is a fine example of ibn Abd al-Wahab’s teachings and cultural cleansing (ADHRB, 2015).



Diminishing Religious Cultural Heritage of Makkah and Medina

Furthermore, the Kingdom’s Ministry of I­ slamic Affairs apparently played a contradictory part in the obliteration of Islamic holy places; it was actually the by-product of an odd coalition between the forces of Wahhabism and commercialism (Batrawy, 2014). Saudi Arabia’s fast population growth augmented urbanization, but there was a downward economic trend principally caused by deteriorating oil incomes, so the administration has progressively functioned to satisfy both the Wahhabi religious establishment and the Kingdom’s financial elite (ADHRB, 2015). To do so, it has detained the dual opportunity to expand major Islamic sites and clear space for commercial development. The present Grand Mosque expansion project, for instance, concurrently aids the broader Wahhabi proselytization mission and maximizes the profitability of the Hajj. The commercial ventures are virtually completely sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Finance, and they also deliver a means by which the government can reprocess its petrodollars for grander returns (Power, 2014). However, although the government framed these expansion projects in typically inoffensive or impervious technical terms, these projects have interrupted conservative communities and instigated permanent impairment to the peninsula’s historical scenery. In Makkah, state-sponsored ‘Islamic development’ has meant the illogical annihilation of religious artefacts to make way for hotels, shopping malls and cash-dispensing machines (Ghafour, 2015). The Grand Mosque expansion is just the main one of many similar ‘development’ schemes at work across the Kingdom; taken overall, these developments signify a wider configuration of artistic obliteration, aimed at some of the ancient and most important places in human history. The government has exploited this convergence of religious and monetary benefits to validate a movement targeted at the removal of dissenting minority heritage sites and the imposition of broader religious homogeneity. These simultaneous efforts have worked to expunge from the historical record any culture existing prior to Saudi rule. Although the government’s expansion campaigns have intensified over the last 20–30 years, the logical obliteration of heritage sites did not begin with the formation of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. In fact, the frontrunners of the Al Saud family initially espoused a

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strategy aimed at demolition of ‘idolatrous’ ­religious buildings, such as the old minarets, during their re-conquest of the peninsula in the mid-1920s. Furthermore, in 1926, 6 years prior to the official amalgamation of the Kingdom, Abdul-­ Aziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Saud (also known as Ibn Saud, the first king of modern Saudi Arabia) destroyed the holy tombs at the Al-Mo’alla Cemetery in Makkah (Al-Islam, 1995, 2015). The graveyard, which predates Islam, contained the resting places of Abdul Manaf (the Prophet Muhammad’s great-great-grandfather), Abdul Muttalib (the Prophet’s grandfather), Abu Talib (the Prophet’s uncle) and Khadija bint Khuwaylid (the Prophet’s first wife). In a similar year, Ibn Saud ruined most of the Al-Baqi Cemetery in Medina, abolishing the graves of Ibrahim (Abraham of the monotheistic faiths), Fatima Zehra (the Prophet’s daughter), Imam Hasan al Mujtaba (the second Twelver Shia Imam) and so on (Al-Islam, 1995, 2015; CASS, 2015). Furthermore, the two freshwater wells of Talha (Sahba) in Medina were filled up with concrete during the expansion of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) Mosque. However, the marks have been left for identification in the mosque: two circles under the carpet are the signs of the water wells. Similarly the authentic building of Zamzam holy water well in the Tawaf (circumambulation) nave area, which is in the premises of Kaaba, was later demolished and replaced with heat-resistant tiles; a round faded mark can be observed in the current premises of Kaaba. Additionally, the hills of ‘Al-Safa’ and ‘Al-­ Marwah’ located inside the holy Grand Mosque (Makkah), where running (Sa’yee) between these two hills is a mandatory part of Hajj rites, and also where the event of the miracle water of Zamzam took place, have been demolished for the sake of extensions to the Grand Mosque. This has been justified on the basis of health and safety and security issues of the vicinity. Sami Angawi, a leading figure in Saudi Arabia, and the founder of the Hajj Research Centre and the history of Makkah and Medina, has expressed melancholy about this. However, he thought it has largely been a doomed effort, saying, ‘the root of the problem is Wahhabism; they have a big complex about idolatry and anything that relates to the Prophet, yet it has largely been a doomed effort’ (Howden, 2005, p. 1). He is not alone in his

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­ pprehensions: the Gulf Institute, an independa ent news-gathering group, has exposed what it says is a ‘Fatwa’ (a ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized authority) issued by the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars (a religious body) in 1994, stating that preserving historical sites ‘could lead to polytheism and idolatry’ (Howden, 2005, p. 2). Although the Kingdom’s establishment has been using the explanation of extension for accommodating more pilgrims and regarding their health and safety issues, the Fatwas (religious ruling) delivered by the religious authorities evidently narrate their condemnation of building shrines and mosques over graves and highly embolden their elimination. The Standing Committee for Religious Scholarly Research of the Kingdom issued 38 Fatwas in connection to the subject of graves, buildings, mosques, wells and mountains to justify their religious, heritage, social and commercial perspectives (Alifta, 2015).

Conclusion Therefore, on these grounds, one can argue that the issues of religious cultural heritage are highly complex due to different Islamic sects’ interpretations. Muslims proudly discuss their heritage but Islamic holy cities’ heritage is, unlike any

other heritage, very multifaceted in nature. The Quran places countless stress on reason (Akal) and knowledge (Iliem), but Muslim Islamic scholars have conservatively developed knowledge to defend their own government’s commercial and religious dogmas, rather than spreading authentic Islamic knowledge beliefs about what is generally referred to as religion. The above discussion depicts that the religious cultural heritage is in jeopardy due to commercialization and religious sects’ interpretations. Despite the complaints and condemnation concerning the elimination of heritage sites, the Saudi establishment has carried on with expansions. Important sites in Islamic history have been knocked down and those that are left may be bulldozed anytime. The confidence of removing these places is indoctrinated within the idea of Wahhabism which has heartened the Saudi establishment to continue with commercial strategies. The decision to accommodate more pilgrims/tourists at the cost of eradicating ancient locations is observed by many Muslims and non-Muslim scholars as a momentous threat and cause for alarm. There is a need to balance economic growth in the holy cities of Makkah and Medina with the protection of religious and historical sites, taking into account sensitivity towards every sect and religion that reveres the monuments in these two cities.

References Akeel Ibrahim al-Ken (1995) The Hajj: past, present, and future. ‘The communication aspect’. PhD thesis, Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. Alifta (2015) Fatwas of the Permanent Committee, Group 1, Volume 1: Aqidah (1), Creeds, Exaggeration regarding graves and building Masjids (mosques) over them – Ruling on building over graves (Fatwa no. 7210). Available at: http://www.alifta.com/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?languagename=en&View= Page&PageID=217&PageNo=1&BookID=7 (accessed 1 November 2016). Al-Islam (1995) History of the Cemetery of Jannat Al-Baqi. Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project. Available at: http://www.al-islam.org/history-shrines/history-cemetery-jannat-al-baqi (accessed 20 November 2016). Al-Islam (2015) Wahhabism. Available at: http://www.al-islam.org/wahhabism-ayatullah-jafar-subhani (accessed 25 August 2015). Al-Rasheed, M. (2010) A History of Saudi Arabia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Al-Resseeni, M. (1992) The water resources structures on the Syrian and Egyptian pilgrims routes to Makka and Medinah. PhD thesis, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. America for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) (2015) The destruction of religious and cultural sites (Chapter 7). In: Mapping the Saudi State. Available at: http://www.adhrb.org/2015/10/mapping-thesaudi-state-chapter-7-the-destruction-of-religious-and-cultural-sites/ (accessed 1 January 2016). Arab News (2013) Revenue from pilgrims makes 3% of Saudi GDP. Available at: http://www.arabnews.com/ revenue-pilgrims-makes-3-saudi-gdp (accessed 21 April 2016).



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Batrawy, A (2014) ‘MAKKAH-HATTAN’: Islam’s holiest city is being overhauled, and people are furious. Business Insider. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/Makkah-is-being-overhauled-andpeople-are-furious-2014-10 (accessed 20 November 2014). Bhardwaj, S.M. (1998) Non-Hajj pilgrimage in Islam: a neglected dimension of religious circulation. Journal of Cultural Geography 17(2), 69–87. Blumberg, A. (2015) Makkah will soon be home to the world’s largest hotel. The Huffington Post 2015. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/Makkah-worlds-largest-hotel_n_7451012.html (accessed 11 November 2016). CASS (The Centre for Academic Shi’a Studies) (2015) Available at: www.shiaresearch.com/Doc/ Destruction-of-Islamic-Heritage-in-Saudi.pdf (accessed 11 January 2016). Colliers International (2011) Saudi Arabia Hospitality Overview Report. Available at: www.colliers-me.com/ download.aspx?Report_ID=118 (accessed 1 January 2016). Faulkner, B. (2000) The ‘researcher’s gaze’ towards the new millenium. In: Faulner, B., Moscardo, G. and Laws, E. (eds) Tourism in the 21st Century: Lessons from Experience. Continuum, London, pp. 243–246. Ghafour, A.P.K. (2015) Haram expansion gains momentum. Arab News. Available at: http://www.arabnews. com/featured/news/689746 (accessed 3 December 2015). Ghani (2011) Saudis Turning Makkah into Las Vegas. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=TGHDwXm6YEU (accessed 16 November 2016). Gibson, D. (2011) Qur’anic Geography. Independent Scholars Press, Ottawa. Gwyn, R. (1989) The centrality of Islam: space, form and process. GeoJournal 18(4), 351–359. Haq, F. and Jackson, J. (2006) The recognition of marketing of spiritual tourism as a significant new area in leisure travel. Paper presented at Tourism: the Spiritual Dimension Conference, Lincoln, UK. Available at: file:///C:/Users/chan%20yua/Downloads/View%20authors'%20version%20online%20(1). pdf (accessed 9 April 2019). Howard, P. (2003) Heritage: Management, Interpretation and Identity. Continuum, London. Howden, D. (2005) The destruction of Makkah: Saudi hardliners are wiping out their own heritage. The Independent. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-destruction-ofMakkah-saudi-hardliners-are-wiping-out-their-own-heritage-304029.html (accessed 11 November 2016). HVC (2012) Middle East Hotel Survey: the Impact of the Arab Spring. Available at: www.hvs.com/Content/3255. pdf (accessed 30 December 2015). Jackson, R.H., Rinschede, G. and Knapp, J. (1990) Pilgrimage in the Mormon Church. In: Geographia Religionum, Vol. 5. Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 27–61. Kreiner, C.N. (2006) Christian Tourism to the Holy Land: Pilgrimage During Security Crisis. Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, UK. Long, D.E. (1979) The Hajj Today: a Survey of the Contemporary Makkah Pilgrimage. State University of New York Press, Albany, New York. Mahmoud, B.C. and Plumb, C. (2010) Real Value in a Changing World. Available at: http://www. joneslanglasalle-mena.com (accessed 6 October 2015). Martin, R.C. (1987) Muslim pilgrimage. In: Eliade, M. (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Religions, Volume 11. Macmillan, New York, pp. 338–346. Maslow, A. (1971) The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. Viking, New York. Neil, B. (1990) The Tourism Process. Washington Publishing, Bellevue, Washington. Nolan, M.L. and Nolan, S. (1989) Christian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Osser, E. (2015) Why is Saudi Arabia Destroying the Cultural Heritage of Makkah and Medina? Available at: http://theartnewspaper.com/comment/comment/why-is-saudi-arabia-destroying-the-cultural-heritageof-Makkah-and-medina/ (accessed 12 November 2016). Peer, B. (2012) The Modern Makkah. Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/16/modernMakkah (accessed 9 November 2016). Penczu (2014) Saudi’s Lavish Buildings Threaten to Overwhelm Makkah Site. Available at: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=QsN__zB_2JM (accessed 25 November 2016). Power, C. (2014) Saudi Arabia Bulldozes over Its Heritage. Available at: http://time.com/3584585/saudi-­ arabia-bulldozes-over-its-heritage/ (accessed 11 February 2016). Raj, R. (2015) Pilgrimage experience and consumption of travel to the city of Makkah for Hajj ritual. In: Raj, R. and Griffin, K. (eds) (2015) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management: an International Perspective, 2nd edn. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 38–45. Raj, R. and Griffin, K. (2015) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management: an International Perspective, 2nd edn. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.

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Managing the Physical Environment of the Sacred Tourist Destination

̇ Özlem Güzel,1* Ilker Ş ahin1 and Seda Yetimoğlu2 Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey; 2Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey

Introduction Religion is linked to a variety of issues as a concept in the tourism research literature but is most commonly mentioned in relation to pilgrimage and discussions about the links between tourism and pilgrimage (Joseph and Kavoori, 2001). This is because travelling for faith, praying and pilgrimage have become a motivation factor for travellers throughout history and religious sites have welcomed thousands of people from different parts of the world. Religious sites have the potential to draw tourists back to the destination because the ambience of these sites stimulates the tourist emotionally leaving a spiritual impression. Current studies in the tourism literature centre on analysing the influence of physical environment cues at religious sites which stimulate the tourist emotionally. The main goal of this chapter is to determine the influence of physical environment cues at the Mevlâna Museum at Konya in Turkey, in the context of religious tourism. For the case study four main aspects of the physical environment at the Mevlâna religious site were considered: (i) decoration; (ii) ambience; (iii) design; and (iv) layout. Visitors were surveyed as to the effects of these physical environment cues. The findings of the case study are expected to incentivize the

museum management about the issues to improve their attractiveness.

Faith-oriented Travels Religious tourism is as old as religion itself and faith-oriented travels have always had a connection with the tourism industry as being the oldest form of tourism (Olsen and Timothy, 2006; Karar, 2010; Raj and Griffin, 2015). Especially after the emergence of different kinds of religion, followers felt the necessity to visit and to experience the atmosphere of religious sites or the places related to their beliefs. According to Wright (2007) religious tourism in the 21st century no longer constitutes only pilgrimage and missionary travel. Spiritual travel has changed the nature of tourism products (Reisinger, 2006) as tourism experiences incorporate more than just physical travel to a place but can also involve the spiritual elements. Hawks (1994) stated that spirituality referred to a high level of faith, hope, belief system, values, ethics, love, joy and peace. Ambroz and Ovsenik (2011) add that many major tourism destinations have developed their connections to sacred people. Konya as a destination in Turkey has always engaged with an important spiritual leader:

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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Mevlâna.1 His mausoleum has been used as a museum and in 2014 it was the third most visited museum in Turkey. This study focuses on the tomb/museum of Mevlâna which is integrated with spirituality and Sufism. Kurmanaliyeva et al. (2014, p. 959) state that there are two main kinds of religious tourism: (i) pilgrimage tourism; and (ii) tourism of a sightseeing-informative orientation. In the context of the sightseeing-informative orientation, museums can be defined by holy meaning in at least three ways. First of all, as pilgrimage sites, museums are the places of rituals (Duncan, 1991; O’Neill, 1996). They take on some of the roles of churches. Whereas children are taken to a cathedral to view its stone carvings, stainedglass windows, frescoes or mosaics for instruction in life’s mysteries, the museum fulfils that role today. Second, within the museums, the experience has been described as akin to religious devotion and veneration. Third, museums are sometimes implicated as ‘storytelling’ about religions and religious groups, and are sometimes the site of display of religious art and artefacts (O’Neill, 1996, p. 191). As a result the experiences created by real, imagined or virtual events are designed around many environmental stimuli that affect the customers (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982; Schmitt, 1999). Experiences are the combination of physical performance, stimulated sensations and evoked emotions (Shaw, 2005). Factors of the physical environment make an impact on customers, and perceptions of the physical environment can provide customers with the first positive and negative ideas about a business (Bitner, 1992; Bowie and Buttle, 2004). Humans establish a relationship with the outer world through objects or events, make a judgement about these issues and act noticeably with their perceptions. This condition creates the cognitive part of the physical environment. When perceiving an object or event, humans perceive it with symbols, signs and physical impressions in mind, going through a process of recognizing and interpreting sensory stimuli. This is referred to as perception. Then, the emotional impressions occur, such as good or bad, liking or disliking which constitute the effective ̇ part of the physical environment (Inceoğ lu, 2004, pp. 72–84). The environmental scheme and image designed by a business could be defined as the critical points that affect the customer’s perception of service quality and these critical points affect

the degree to which the customer is emotionally stimulated resulting in the customer approaching, or escaping from the experience place (Baker et al., 1992; Bitner, 1992; Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003; Bowie and Buttle, 2004). Berry et al. (2002) suggest that the mechanical cues (physical environment cues) can be defined in a service industry as ‘the nonhuman elements such as design and ambient factors, including equipment, facility layout, lighting, and color’. Han and Ryu (2009) collect the environmental cues related to a restaurant under three headings: (i) decoration; (ii) layout; and (iii) ambience. In their research, Slatten et al. (2009) divide atmospheric experience cues into three headings: (i) ambience; (ii) interaction; and (iii) design. In their study conducted on the hospitality industry, Al-saqre et al. (2010) handle the physical environment cues in hotels as follows: ‘the exterior design, the equipment, and the ambient conditions’. Heide and Gronhaug (2006) evaluate the ambient factors (sound, light, scent), social factors and design factors (spatial layout, architecture, decor elements, signs and symbols, etc.) and they analyse the effect of these on hospitality outcomes (satisfaction, return, word of mouth). When the literature is analysed through the potential constructs of the physical environment cues, it has been determined that the dimensions are classified as decoration, ambience, design and layout. Decoration refers to the interior and exterior elements and details that are placed to ensure the visual attraction of the place (Parasuraman et al., 1988; Al-saqre et al., 2010; Ryu and Han, 2011). Carbone and Haeckel (1994) define the sights, smells, tastes, sounds and textures as mechanical cues generated by things, and they suggest that by engineering customer experiences through the design and integration of mechanics, feelings and sub-experiences could be managed. Ambience refers to the background attributes (e.g. music, scent, temperature) connecting to the sensory organs (Wakefield and Blodgett, 1996; Mattila and Wirtz, 2008; Slatten et al., 2009; Al-saqre et al., 2010; Ha and Jang, 2010; Ryu and Han, 2011). Design refers to the creation of a plan or structuring the construction of an object, material or building (Reuland et al., 1985; Wakefield and Blodgett, 1996; Heide and Gronhaug, 2006; Slatten et al., 2009; Al-saqre et al., 2010; Ha and Jang, 2010). Layout refers to the way in which equipment, elements, objects



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and furnishings are organized within the plan of the physical environment (Reuland et al., 1985; Wakefield and Blodgett, 1999; Ryu and Jang, 2008; Al-saqre et al., 2010; Ryu and Han, 2011). From the marketing approach the atmospheric cues have an effect on customers’ purchase behaviour and they can increase purchase likelihood in three ways. These are as: (i) an attention-creating medium; (ii) a message-­ creating medium; and (iii) an effect-creating medium (Kotler, 1973). Wasserman et al. (2000) confirms that physical environment cues affect the customers’ behaviour and emotions when they are integrated with pleasure and emotional arousal. Molitor (2007) records that the physical environment cues strengthen the impact of the brand, creating sustainable customer loyalty and purchase behaviour within the experience-­ based design approach. Ariffin et al. (2012) state that certain atmospheric elements generate different types of customer behaviour. It might be concluded from the literature review that physical environment cues such as a hotel’s exterior design, layout, cleanliness and electrical equipment quality appear to play a key role in value perception, perceived quality, satisfaction, emotions, feelings and loyalty (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974; Russell and Ward, 1982; Spangenberg et al., 1996; Wakefield and Blodgett, 1999; Dube and Renaghan, 2000; Wasserman et al., 2000; Cronin, 2003; Hinkin and Tracey, 2003; Foxall and Yani-de-Soriano, 2005; Wall and Berry, 2007; Harris and Ezeh, 2008; Al-saqre et al., 2010). In this context, following the literature review it has been found that physical environment cues are among the best drives for customers’ behaviour, but this was mostly based on restaurant and hotel experience. Heerden et al. (2009) suggests that there is a positive correlation between tourists’ perceptions of atmospherics and destination attractiveness. Within this realm, the focus of this study is the religious destination of Konya and in particular the aim is to determine the physical environment cues at the Mevlâna Museum, which is known as Turkey’s most visited Islamic museum related to Sufism.

Case Study Approach The case study explores the dimensions of the physical environment cues in religious experiences. In order to examine the dimensions, a

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measurement scale was composed. The measures for the physical environment cues were operationalized by using the scale used by the following authors: Parasuraman et al. (1988), Wakefield and Blodgett (1996), Heide and Gronhaug (2006), Ryu and Jang (2007), Mattila and Wirtz (2008), Slatten et al. (2009), Al-saqre et al. (2010), Ha and Jang (2010) and Ryu and Han (2011). The questionnaire form was composed of two parts: (i) socio-demographic items (including gender, age, nationality, educational level, marital status, occupation, number of times the Mevlâna religious site was visited and information source); and (ii) statements about the physical environment cues which participants were asked to rate using a five-point Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (5). In order to ­improve content validity, a pre-­questionnaire was administered so that there was a clear mutual understanding of what was meant. The questionnaire form was administered in the months of June, July and August 2015 in Turkey to visitors of the Mevlâna religious site (also called the Mevlâna Museum). The research sample was determined by using a simple random sampling method. A total of 400 questionnaire forms were obtained and the data was analysed by using spss software with frequency analysis, independent sample t-test and exploratory factor analysis (EFA).

Case Study Results and Discussion Demographic aspects of the Mevlâna Museum visitors are shown in Table 10.1. It is easily recognized that the table shows there was a gender inequality. There is a dominance of women in participant numbers, woman respondents (n: 224, 56%) exceeding those of men (n: 176, 44%). The table shows that 83.5% of the respondents are Turkish travellers while the rest are foreign visitors (16.5%) who are either individual travellers or tourists visiting Konya city as a part of their daily programme with a travel agency-­organized package tour accompanied by professional guides. More than half of the participants (63.8%) had never been in the Mevlâna Museum before in their lifetime. On the other hand, only 145 respondents (36.3%) stated that they were repeat visitors. The participant profile table underlines that almost one-quarter of the visitors (24.3%)

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are private-sector employees while slightly more than one-fifth of the respondents are public-sector employees (22.3%). According to the table, university graduation is the dominant educational status (41.8%) among the respondents who took part in the survey. Within the scope of the survey, the participants were asked what type of information sources they had benefited from before they made the decision to travel to the Mevlâna Table 10.1.  Participant profile (n = 400). Characteristic Gender Woman Man Age 18 and under 19–25 26–35 36–49 50 and over Nationality Turkish Foreigner Mevlâna Museum experience First time One time Two times Three times and more Marital status Single Married Occupation Housewife Student Public sector Private sector Business owner Retired Unemployed Educational status Primary/secondary school High school Associate degree programme University Master/doctorate Not stated

Frequency

Percentage (%)

224 176

56 44

17 93 112 117 61

4.3 23.5 28.0 29.3 15.3

334 66

83.5 16.5

255 70 31 44

63.8 17.5 7.8 11.0

214 186

53.5 46.5

54 75 89 97 40 36 9

13.5 18.8 22.3 24.3 10.0 9.0 2.3

33

8.3

122 40

30.5 10.0

167 21 17

41.8 5.1 4.3

­ useum in Konya city. The Turkish and foreign M tourists were given the opportunity to put a tick against more than one option listed in the questionnaire. The results obtained are shown in Table 10.2. Interestingly, the survey revealed that printed media and written materials were not so popular pre-visit information documents about the Mevlâna Museum among the travellers. Slightly more than one-third of the visitors who participated in the research (n: 155) paid attention to the information about the Mevlâna Museum shared by travel agencies located in Central Anatolia. Contrary to the authors’ expectations and general views of former studies, visual media channels such as the internet (social media) and television were less important than suggestions offered by friends, relatives and travel agents. In this context, Table 10.2 points out attention-grabbing results obtained with the help of the exclusive statistical program (spss Version 20). On the other hand, it is clearly recognized that the number of the visitors (n: 108) who had been already advised by either friends or relatives to make a visit to the Mevlâna Museum, is substantial. The statements about physical environment cues at the Mevlâna religious site are listed in Table 10.3. Almost all of the statements got high scores from the respondents. As a general assessment, it is probable that the high scored means are indicators of visitor satisfaction in the Mevlâna Museum. As shown in Table 10.3, it is clear that most of the visitors agreed with the following ideas: visually appealing exhibited Table 10.2.  Information sources of participants.a Information sources about Mevlâna Travel agency Friend’s/relative’s suggestion Internet Television Tour guide Brochure/travel book Newspaper Other

Frequency

Percentage (%)

155 108

38.8 27.0

70 34 27 25

17.5 8.5 6.8 6.3

13 105

3.3 26.3

Some participants obtained information from more than one source (hence the total of the percentages exceeds 100%).

a



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Table 10.3.  Participants scores for the statements about physical environment cues at the Mevlâna religious site. Statements The exhibited hand-woven carpets and hand-written Qurans are visually appealing. The Islamic wall decorations are visually appealing. The calligraphic tiles in the museum are visually attractive. The interior decoration of Mevlâna Museum has appealing Islamic features. The exhibited Islamic objects are attractive. The interior design of Mevlâna Museum is attractive. The decoration in this museum is attractive. The museum has a spiritual atmosphere. The outside appearance and exterior design of the museum is attractive. The exterior design of the museum has interesting Islamic and Sufi features. The exhibited Islamic tombs in the museum are interesting. The design of colour harmony in the museum creates a warm atmosphere. The Mewlewi melodies and the sound of Sufistic reed flute have enriched my experience. The lighting in the museum is captivating. The smell in the museum is nice. I think that the museum is kept clean. The signs in the museum provide adequate direction. The temperature in the museum is comfortable. Walkways and exits in the museum are easily accessible. The handy electronic equipment/audio guides of the museum make the visit easier.

Mean scorea

SDb

4.70 4.57 4.56 4.47 4.46 4.44 4.44 4.43 4.40 4.39 4.38 4.29 4.28

0. 51 0.63 0.59 0.66 0.57 0.62 0.66 0.65 0.68 0.70 0.68 0.71 0.68

4.13 4.06 4.05 4.03 3.95 3.90 3.75

0.85 0.88 0.82 0.93 0.92 1.04 1.09

Values shown are means of scores given by survey participants for each statement. Statements were rated using scores from a five-point Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (5). b  SD, Standard deviation. a

I­ slamic objects, wall decoration and calligraphic tiles, appealing interior atmosphere, having a spiritual atmosphere, nice museum exhibition layout, satisfactory sanitary requirements, interesting Islamic and Sufistic exterior design features and attractive decoration details. While most of the statements about the Mevlâna Museum had good mean scores higher than 4.00, it is conspicuous that lower scores were given in relation to issues such as interior temperature, accessibility and equipment quality. It is probable that obtaining standard deviation scores more than 1 in accessibility and equipment quality subjects, indicates variable visitor opinions about such issues. It is thought that this finding might be the result of variation in nationality among the responding museum visitors. In order to ensure clarification and to plumb the depths of the subject, an ‘independent sample t-test’ was conducted in the next analysis. The t-test is a very common statistical test used for comparing the means of two independent or paired samples (Ghasemi and Zahediasl, 2012; Rochon et al., 2012). Unsurprisingly, the

‘independent sample t-test’ results confirm the expected divergence between Turkish and foreign visitors on the issues shown in Table 10.4. The table shows only the variables that have significant P values (P < 0.05). The rest of the items which have no significant mean difference with P values more than 0.05 (P > 0.05) are not shown in the table. The t-test results show that foreigners seem to have a less positive perspective than Turkish travellers concerning cleanliness, accessibility and electronic equipment quality at the Mevlâna Museum. In other words, it is accurate to allege that foreign visitors are not as satisfied as the local tourists. In order to uncover the underlying structure of a relatively large set of variables and define the structure of the physical environment in a religious site scale, EFA has been practised. Finch and West (1997) indicate that when the researcher has no hypothesis about factors or patterns of measured variables, they could use EFA. Fabrigar et al. (1999) state that EFA is commonly used by researchers when developing a scale (a ‘scale’ is a collection of questions used to

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Table 10.4.  Independent sample t-test results comparing scores given by Turkish and foreign participants. Variables

Nationality

Mean scorea

SDb

Pc

I think that the museum is kept clean.

Turkish Foreigner Turkish Foreigner Turkish Foreigner Turkish Foreigner

4.10 3.76 4.03 3.24 4.09 3.73 3.83 3.30

0.80 0.86 0.53 0.14 0.50 0.12 0.90 1.03

0.002*

Walkways and exits in the museum are easily accessible. The signs in the museum provide adequate direction. The handy electronic equipment/audio guides of the museum make the visit easier.

0.000* 0.010* 0.000*

Values shown are means of scores given by survey participants for each statement. Statements were rated using scores from a five-point Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (5). b  SD, Standard deviation. c  Significance is indicated by a P value < 0.05 (marked by *). a

measure a particular research topic) and serves to identify a set of underlying patterns in measured variables. For this purpose, principle component analysis and Varimax rotation have been applied to the data. By utilizing Varimax rotation, 20 variables were put through EFA in spss Version 20. Besides, in order to define the relations among the variables, it benefits from Bartlett’s test of sphericity (2210.061; P: 0.000). The results (P: 0.000) point out that the variables in the factor analysis have relationships with each other as shown in Table 10.5. Moreover, according to the factor analysis results, the KMO (Kaiser Meyer Olkin: 0.865) value indicates that the survey sample was sufficient for further evaluations. The variables with an eigen value less than 1.00 and the ones with low factor loadings (0.40 and less) were not taken into consideration. In order to attain a clearer factor structure, two statements (15 and 11) – ‘The exhibited Islamic objects are attractive’; ‘The exterior design of the museum has interesting Islamic and Sufi features’ – were omitted from the factor analysis because of their low eigen values (below 0.40). Furthermore, Statement 5 – ‘The temperature in the museum is comfortable’ – was omitted as it obtained almost near loadings (0.47–0.44) under two different dimensions. Plus, getting an unsatisfactorily low factor loading and appearing under an irrelevant dimension caused the elimination of the Statement 7— ‘The museum has a spiritual atmosphere’. In order to test reliability of both scales in general and the factors one by one, reliability analysis was applied. Reliability analysis (Table 10.5) proved that the value of Cronbach’s alpha was satisfactory and acceptable enough

(α: 0.86). This value put forth that the survey scale was reliable enough to practise. In conclusion, unlike most of the former tourism studies in the literature a four-dimensioned factor structure has been obtained. Table 10.6 shows the four dimensions named in line with the relevant literature as ‘decoration’, ‘design’, ‘ambience’ and ‘layout.’ All of the factors have high scores – over 4.00 – except the ‘layout’ dimension with a comparatively low score (3.89). Expectedly, this score stems from the disagreement of foreign visitors about the subjects related to museum order (hygiene, accessibility and electronic device quality). This result might be a good pathfinder for the Mevlâna Museum to upgrade its performance in such issues, to acquire more foreign tourist satisfaction with repeat visitation, recommendation potential and positive communication by word of mouth for further trips. The decoration dimension has the highest mean score in total. In this dimension, appealing wall decoration and calligraphic tiles are the featured contents. In the museum decoration on the walls relates to Islam and calligraphy (text of Quranic quotations, religious texts, poems, etc.) counts as a uniquely original feature of Islamic art. The sarcophagus of Mevlâna embroidered in gold with verses from the Quran and sarcophagi of several others (including his father ­Bahaeddin Veled and his son Sultan Veled) are covered with Seljuk woodcarving adding to the decoration in the museum. Moreover, the Ritual Hall (Semahane) displays clothes (Mevlâna’s included), crystals, praying rug/instruments and the small mosque is decorated with Qurans,



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Table 10.5.  Factor structurea of physical environment cues at Mevlâna religious site. Factor loadings

Factors and variables Factor 1: Decorations The Islamic wall decorations are visually appealing. The calligraphic tiles in the museum are visually attractive. The interior decoration of the museum has appealing Islamic features. The exhibited hand-woven carpets and hand-written Qurans are visually appealing. The exhibited Islamic tombs in the museum are interesting. Factor 2: Design The outside appearance and exterior design of the museum is attractive. The interior design of the museum is attractive. The design of colour harmony used in the museum creates a warm atmosphere. The overall design of this museum is attractive. Factor 3: Ambience The Mewlewi melodies and the sound of Sufi reed flute in the museum has enriched my experience. The smell in the museum is nice. The lighting in the museum is captivating. I think that the museum is kept clean. Factor 4: Layout The signs in the museum provide adequate direction. The handy electronic equipment/audio guides of the museum make the visit easier. Walkways and exits in the museum are easily accessible.

Eigen value

VER (%)b

αc

34.23

18.47

0.80

11.73

14.84

0.72

7.83

13.55

0.77

6.50

13.42

0.71

0.78 0.76 0.72 0.63 0.60 0.75 0.77 0.45 0.56 0.76 0.75 0.71 0.63 0.76 0.72 0.69

KMO, Kaiser Meyer Olkin, 0.865; Bartlett’s test of sphericity, 2210.061; P, 0.000; Cronbach’s alpha, 0.86; total variance explanation rate, 60.30%. b  VER, Variance explanation rate. c  α, Factor reliability (Cronbach’s alpha). a

Table 10.6.  The mean scores of the four dimensions. Dimensions

Mean score

SDa

Decoration Design Ambience Layout

4.53 4.39 4.13 3.89

0.46 0.49 0.62 0.81

SD, Standard deviation.

a

valuable prayer rugs and a box of Muhammad’s holy beard. The design dimension has the second highest mean score. In this dimension, interior and exterior design items are seen to be important – the museum is a very big planned complex containing many sections both inside and outside. The ambience dimension comes after the d ­ esign dimension in terms of mean score and this

covers the melodies of the Sufi reed flute, the aroma and the lighting in the museum. As Pikkemaat and Weiermair (2003) state, consumer activities should be produced and marketed with the psychological foresight to transform ordinary products/services into memorable experiences. In this context the ambience ­dimension affects the senses and stimulates the tourists’ emotions. So, activating multisensory-­based ambience cues would create unforgettable memories and moments, strengthen the level of emotional connection and affect the customers’ cost value perceptions (Güzel, 2013). For ­example in the Mevlâna ­Museum, Semah shows should be organized often with Sufi reed flute melodies and mystic aromas in order to activate the ambience dimension. The layout dimension has the lowest mean score of all the dimensions. However, within the layout dimension the statement about the signs

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in the museum has the highest score. As the museum is the third most visited museum in Turkey after Topkapı Palace and the Hagia Sophia Museum, these contents highlighted the crowd management in the site. More signs would be helpful to direct visitors to visit the museum in a planned way. The handy electronic audio guide is another important content in the layout dimension. As it is very difficult to follow the tour guide inside, this innovative application makes the visit easier. The study shows that most of the visitors were satisfied with the overall exhibition layout, the interior atmosphere, the sanitary and hygiene conditions, the exterior design and museum decoration. Although this finding suggests a good level of visitor satisfaction, a meaningful difference in perception between locals and foreigners was revealed. It is seen that foreign tourists don’t have perceptions as positive as the locals about cleanliness, accessibility and electronic equipment quality. This result might be a good pathfinder for the Mevlâna Museum to upgrade its performance in such issues in order to acquire more foreign tourist satisfaction with repeat visitation, recommendation potential and positive communication by word of mouth for further trips. This finding clearly points out that the Mevlâna Museum requires renewal of visitor management strategies and it is expected to embrace a more visitor-friendly concept in the short term. Obtaining comparatively negative perceptions from foreign visitors indicates that the Mevlâna Museum lacks the universal standards of international visitor management. It will be a helpful step for the museum to: (i) upgrade the standards by placing signboards with English translations both in interior and exterior areas; (ii) modernize the pathways, entry and exits for disabled guests; (iii) intensify sanitary precautions; and (iv) update the electronic audio guide’s usage in information and technology. These are the managerial recommendations that can be put into practice. In general assessment, most of the visitors have a positive perception of the museum with the following ideas: (i) nice museum exhibition layout; (ii) appealing interior atmosphere; (iii) satisfactory sanitary requirements; (iv) interesting exterior designs reflecting Islamic and ­Sufistic features; and (v) attractive decoration details. It could be said that the high-scored

means obtained are indicators of visitor satisfaction in the Mevlâna Museum. However, as stated in the literature review, physical environment cues play a key role for value perception, perceived quality, satisfaction, emotions, feelings and loyalty (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974; Russell and Ward, 1982; Spangenberg et al., 1996; Wakefield and Blodgett, 1999; Dube and Renaghan, 2000; Wasserman et al., 2000; Cronin, 2003; Hinkin and Tracey, 2003; Foxall and Yani-de-­Soriano, 2005; Wall and Berry, 2007; Harris and Ezeh, 2008; Heerden et al., 2009; Alsaqre et al., 2010) and setting up a conceptual model of these physical environment cues through consumers’ (i.e. religious tourists’) behaviour will assist in the management of the religious site, helping to maintain and improve it so that tourist satisfaction is retained and visitors will return. There are several studies which support this view. For example, according to Forrest’s (2013) study, the atmospheric condition of spaces affects customer or visitor behaviour, which is also observed in museums. Findings from the study show that space creates a sense of relaxation on the spot. Thanks to this perceived atmosphere, the relationship between space and experience is strengthened. In their research, Ali and Amin (2014, p. 260) evaluate the impact of the physical environment in resort hotels on emotions, customer satisfaction and behavioural intention. Their data on the ambience of places is similar to the positive results obtained from previous studies (e.g. Harris and Ezeh, 2008; Kim et al., 2009; Lin and Liang, 2011) showing how it affects satisfaction and subsequent consumption behaviours. Lyu et al. (2017) set up six dimensions in a study of Chinese tourist’s perceptions of the service environment in cruise tourism and identified them as cruise facilities, decor, natural scenery, coastal tours, entertainment and social communication in culinary and catering services. Heerden (2017) also indicated that there was a positive correlation between the tourist’s perception of service, the atmosphere and the attractiveness of the resort area. Kuçukergin and Dedeoglu (2015) point out that the physical environment related to restaurants constitutes the first condition for attraction to a restaurant which triggers the re-purchase behaviour. H ­ owever,



Managing the Physical Environment of the Sacred Tourist Destination

in one study it was shown that the physical environmental factors that customers rate as most important vary depending on the demographic characteristics of the customers (Tuzunkan and Albayrak, 2016, p. 5). Positive perception of such environments by the visitors will make revisiting the site more likely; on the other hand, bad experiences will lead to negative opinions (Amato, 2016, p. 18).

Conclusion This chapter focused on finding out the factor structure of physical environment cues in one of the most visited holy sites of Turkey, the Mevlâna Museum, as well as revealing the difference in perception of the physical environment cues between local and foreign visitor groups. The findings showed that physical environment cues of the religious site had four dimensions: (i) ambience (smell, lights, melodies/sound of flute, being clean); (ii) design (interior design, exterior design, overall appearance, design of colour); (iii) decoration (Islamic features, calligraphic tiles, wall decorations, hand-woven carpets and handwritten Qurans, tombs); and (iv) layout (signs, handy electronic equipment/

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audio guides, walkways, exits). Visitors were surveyed by answering a questionnaire as to the effects of these physical environment cues. Most of the participants of the study were on their first visit to the Mevlâna ­Museum and many of them were overnight d ­ omestic tourists or foreign day trippers who were in the museum as a part of their routine tour itinerary on the way to Cappadocia. Most of the respondents were informed about the museum by travel agencies but also a large number of the visitors were advised to visit it either by friends or relatives. According to the authors, this intriguing result demonstrates once again the significance of communication by word of mouth in the tourism industry. Of the four dimensions of physical environment cues (design, decoration, ambience and layout), decoration of the Mevlâna Museum received the highest score from visitors who participated in the study, followed by the design dimension. On the whole it appeared that visitors were satisfied with their visit and had a positive perception of the museum. However, when local and foreign visitors responses were compared, foreign visitors had negative perceptions on issues related to cleanliness, accessibility and equipment quality in the museum. These are issues that the museum can and should address to ensure visitor satisfaction, return visits and recommendations to other tourists to visit this religious site.

Note 1.  Mevlâna Celaddiin-i Rumi is a 13th-century Muslim saint and Anatolian mystic known throughout the world for his exquisite poems and words of wisdom, which have been translated into many languages. Rumi, as he is known in the West, is a bestselling poet in the USA. The United Nations declared 2007 ‘The Year of Rumi’ and celebrations were held worldwide. Mevlâna was a Muslim, but not an orthodox type. His doctrine advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love. To him all religions were more or less truth. Mevlâna thought Muslims, Jews and Christians were alike. His peaceful and tolerant teachings have appealed to men of all sects and creeds. In 1958, Pope John XXIII wrote a special message saying: ‘In the name of the Catholic World, I bow with respect before the memory of Rumi’. Mevlâna died on 17 December 1273 and was laid to rest beside his father in Konya, in present-day Turkey. A splendid shrine, the Mevlâna Mausoleum was erected over the ­remains, which is now a museum and place of pilgrimage. Every year on that day, at this magnificent 13th-century mausoleum, the Seb-i Arus ceremony (meaning ‘wedding day’) is celebrated with thousands of people from all around the world in attendance (International Mevlâna Foundation, 2015). During this event, the Semah ceremony of Whirling Dervishes (semazen-s) is performed which is a form of remembrance of God. In 2008, the Mevlevi Semah Ceremony of Turkey was confirmed by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as among the ‘masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity’.

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Shaw, C. (2005) Revolutionize Your Customer Experience. Palgrave Macmillian, New York. Slatten, T., Mehmetoglu, M., Svensson, G. and Svaeri, S. (2009) Atmospheric experiences that emotionally touch customers: a case study from a winter park. Managing Service Quality 19(6), 721–746. Spangenberg, E.R., Crowley, A.E. and Henderson, P.W. (1996) Improving the store environment: do olfactory cues affect valuations and behaviours? Journal of Marketing 60, 67–80. Tuzunkan, D. and Albayrak, A. (2016) The importance of restaurant physical environment for Turkish customers. Journal of Tourism Research & Hospitality 5(1), 1–7. Wakefield, K.L. and Blodgett, J.G. (1996) The effects of the servicescape on customers’ behavioral intentions in leisure service settings. Journal of Services Marketing 10(6), 45–61. Wakefield, K.L. and Blodgett, J.G. (1999) Customer response to intangible and tangible service factors. Psychology and Marketing 16, 51–68. Wall, E.A. and Berry, L.L. (2007) The combined effects of the physical environment and employee behavior on customer perception of restaurant service quality. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 48(1), 59–69. Wasserman, V., Rafaeli, A. and Kluger, A. (2000) Aesthetic symbols as emotional cues. In: Fineman, S. (ed.) Emotions in Organizations. SAGE Publishing, London, pp. 140–165. Wright, K. (2007) Religious tourism: a new era, a dynamic industry. Leisure Group and Travel Special ­Edition, 8–19. Zeithaml, V. and Bitner, M.J. (2003) Services Marketing. McGraw-Hill, New York.

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Motivations to Visit Sacred Historical Objects: the Lindisfarne Gospels’ Visit to Durham 2013 – a Sacred Journey? Ruth Dowson* UK Centre for Events Management, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK

Introduction and Scope The aim of this chapter is to analyse the impacts of ‘eventization’ on the 3-month release of the Lindisfarne Gospels from the British Library to Durham Cathedral in the summer of 2013, compared to those of a promotion of the Lindisfarne Gospels in 2003 and of the Magna Carta in 2015. This chapter further reflects on the experiences and motivations for visiting sacred objects of historical importance, from the perspectives of those who make such visits possible, as well as their visitors. While many historical religious artefacts are now preserved in specially constructed environments, they are often hidden from public view. However, some religious objects and associated heritage sites are increasingly promoted through a process of building a framework of events through and around them, to encourage and facilitate tourism, whether such tourism is prompted by a spiritual or religious focus, or not. Religious tourism activity increasingly connects into the popular experiential marketing trend by including a range of event types developed to promote a sacred object or site. Taking as a case study the 3-month release of the Lindisfarne Gospels from the British Library to Durham Cathedral for an exhibition in 2013, this chapter explores the application of the concept of eventization to tourist journeys

made to visit sacred objects. The impacts of this 2013 project are compared to those of a promotion in 2003, triggered by technological developments that enabled the production of facsimile copies of the Lindisfarne Gospels. A subsequent promotion by the same organizing partners also brought the Magna Carta to Durham in 2015, as a result of the installation of suitable permanent environmental storage facilities to display historical objects, developed and built for the 2013 Lindisfarne Gospels’ visit. These two projects will be compared with the visit of the Lindisfarne Gospels in 2013 in terms of events activity and visitor numbers, to learn more about successful management of religious heritage in promoting tourism. As organized events increasingly become part of the way we ‘do life’ in the experience economy (Pine and Gilmour, 2011), this trend can be applied to the operation of religious tourism and pilgrimage, both in terms of their promotion, and in terms of the experience itself. In aiming to meet the Lindisfarne Gospels’ Exhibition objectives, 2013 became a year of celebration, filled with a ‘rich programme of events’ (Lindisfarne Gospels, no date) and resulted in the online sale of over 97,000 exhibition tickets to view the Gospels over a 3-month summer period. Learning from this approach, religious heritage sites and associated objects can be promoted

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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more effectively through a process of eventization. However, developments in the skills required to facilitate such tourism, impacts on the traditional role of the museum curator (Brown, 2003a, p. 5.), requiring an extension of their ­expertise into events management, and developing new perspectives on curation that encapsulate events within the process. The chapter analyses the number and range of event types developed to promote the 2013 Lindisfarne Gospels’ visit to Durham for a public exhibition that was sited in a specially adapted environment in the Palace Green Library of Durham University.

Durham Religious Heritage Site The Lindisfarne Gospels’ visit to Durham was identified as a trigger for tourists with an interest in religious heritage objects. The concept of heritage is relevant here: Smith (2006) argues that ‘Heritage is something vital and alive. It is a moment of action, not something frozen in material form’ (p. 83). She defines heritage as ‘a process of engagement, an act of communication and an act of making meaning in and for the present’ (Smith, 2006, p. 1). The concept of heritage involves making stories, in forming shared memories, through shared experiences. Such actions help us to ‘make sense of and understand not only who we “are”, but also who we want to be’ (Smith, 2006, p. 2). And material objects, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels, can usefully provide us with a ‘prop and prompt’ (Smith, 2006, p. 2), in the stories we tell, and in the stories we share. The story of the release of this important religious and cultural heritage object sheds light on the influence of events in enabling such shared experiences and developing these shared memories. As the influence of the experience economy deepens (Pine and Gilmour, 2011), events have become central to our day-to-day lives and activities. The influence of this cultural development can benefit the ways that religious heritage objects are presented to promote religious tourism, both from an engagement perspective and in terms of promotion, and with positive economic impacts (de Beyer and Takke, 2012; BiGGAR Economics, 2016).

Role of Events in the Cultural Environment and on Religious Tourism In the context of the UK, summer is the main time for events and outdoor celebrations, and some years, such as 2012 are remembered for their plethora of high-profile events – from Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. But a quick glance online or through any newspaper today or any other day, brings a wider range of examples – from politicians meeting to debate the state of the economy, to demonstrations against them; from election conventions, to music festivals, weddings, exhibitions and business conferences. Bowdin et al. (2011) summarize the key characteristics of an event as:

• • • • •

being ‘consciously planned’; having ‘a purpose’; being time-bound or ‘of limited duration’; being ‘one-off or frequently occurring’; and resulting in a ‘unique’ combination of ‘the blend of management, programme, setting, and people’.

The environment in which the Lindisfarne Gospels were brought to Durham was one that increasingly incorporated events into marketing and promotional activities, as well as in everyday life activities such as sports, music, the arts, business, leisure and social life. Key regional stakeholders collaborated in developing a plan that persuaded the British Library to release an important national treasure beyond the confines of its own specially constructed safe space, back into its historical home, for a limited period of 3 months; a possibility that might only be repeated every 7 years, in order to protect the fabric of the delicate ancient manuscript. An events programme was created around the core exhibition to widen participation across and beyond a region truly proud of its historical heritage and identity, to engage with as many people as possible. In 2017, the UK events industry as a whole generated over £42.3 billion to the economy in terms of direct spend by event participants, attendees and organizers, an 8% rise on the previous year, and more than the agricultural industry. Over 25,000 events businesses employ people in the full-time equivalent of over



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570,000 jobs, and bring 7 million business visitors annually into the UK. By 2020, it is estimated that the UK events industry will be worth £48.4 billion, equivalent to 16 Olympic Games (Eventbrite, 2018; Rogers and Smith, 2018). The context in which the organizers planned the visit of the Lindisfarne Gospels included a plethora of public cultural events, from the 2012 celebrations of Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (Royal.uk, no date), to international sporting and music events, resulting in an environment in which events thrive at local, national and international levels. An example of the levels of media coverage of events that influenced the development and context of the exhibition can be seen on one Sunday in July 2012, which included the Wimbledon men’s tennis finals (BBC Sport, no date), the British Formula 1 Grand Prix (Formula1.com, no date) and the ‘T in the Park’ music festival (BBC Music Events, no date), only weeks prior to the London 2012 Olympics (London 2012, 2012). Particularly in the internet era, such media coverage significantly influences and affects public experience. According to Roche (2009), events are ‘sociologically important in characterizing and understanding modern societies’ (p. 3), so it should therefore not be surprising that the national levels of events activity might be reflected in the levels of religious or heritage-related events activity. Religious events and festivals attract the largest gatherings of all, from an estimated attendance of up to 60 million participants in the 2001 Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, held in four sacred sites every 12 years in Kerala, India (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015; The Hindu, 2017), to up to 7 million people attending a Papal Mass in Manila, the Philippines in 2015 (ABS-CBN News, 2015). A 2005 Australian survey concluded that ‘many people engage with history at a far more personal and engaged level than previously understood’ (Smith, 2006, p. 37 commenting on a study by Ashton, 2005; Ashton and Kean, 2009), encouraging community participation in the construction of heritage activities. Meanwhile, in the UK, evidence of engagement with heritage and related activities is available from statistics that showed that in 2012 over 73% of adults visited a heritage site (Ozdemiroglu et al., 2014, p. 23), while some 78% attended or participated in an arts activity (Ozdemiroglu et al.,

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2014, p. 33). More recent statistics demonstrate a slight increase to 74.8% of adults visiting a heritage site in England (Christophersen, 2017; Reynolds, 2017, p. 1). Now while this high activity is unlikely to be limited to events, engagement with the arts and heritage is increasingly through events activity. This chapter seeks to discover the impact of events on religious heritage engagement and tourism. It is in this endeavour that analysing the visit of the Lindisfarne Gospels to Durham in the summer of 2013 might contribute to studies on the role that organized events play in embodying religious culture, examining the ways in which different religious and spiritual elements use events to transmit, express, and even to develop their own cultures. These studies may prove useful to understanding and developing aspects of religious tourism. Of course, this thinking has applicability beyond the Christian example of the Lindisfarne Gospels, to other aspects of religious tourism and its management, and might also be applied to other religions.

A History of the Lindisfarne Gospels The Lindisfarne Gospels provide the earliest example of a fully illuminated English book (Brown, 1994). They include the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and contain ‘one of the most accurate translations of the Vulgate Latin text’ (Sadgrove, 2013a, p. 98), as well as ‘the oldest surviving translation of the gospels into the English language’ (Sadgrove, 2013a, p. 98). The Gospels were, unusually, not the work of a team of scribes and calligraphers (Sadgrove, 2013a, p. 98) but of one man, Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne (Cartwright and Cartwright, 1976, p. 58; Brown, 1991), in the early 8th century (produced between ad 715 and ad 720) (Brown, 2003a, b). Created in the midst of the ‘Dark Ages’, as an act of worship of God, the Gospels also honour St Cuthbert (Brown, 2011), known as the best-loved saint of Northern England, who was born in Northumbria in ad 635, and whose body now lies entombed in Durham Cathedral. The Gospels are recognized by many as the most beautiful of medieval Christian treasures. But frequent Viking attacks on the north-east

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coast of England led the monks of Lindisfarne to carry both the body of St Cuthbert and the Lindisfarne Gospels from place to place, on a 1000mile journey, from the borders of Scotland, across to Carlisle, when an attempt to cross over the Irish Sea led to a shipwreck, which they fortunately survived unharmed (Brown, 2004). Eventually the community and the Gospels settled in Durham for 200 years, having spent 100 years in nearby Chester-le-Street (Gameson, 2017). By 1753, the Gospels were placed for safekeeping as one of the foundation collections in the British Museum in London (Backhouse, 1981, p. 88). Since the Gospels finally came under the care of the British Library, they have rarely been seen except by scholars, despite their continuing ‘mystique’ as a holy relic (Backhouse, 1981, p. 90). Despite having survived a shipwreck and been found on a beach hundreds of years ago, today the Lindisfarne Gospels are stored in tightly controlled environmental conditions so as not to damage the fabric.

Learning from the Lindisfarne Gospels The story of the Lindisfarne Gospels and their journey can shed light into diverse areas, from the political history of wars and conflict due to  the fear of Viking raids, to demonstrating technological developments, such as light boxes or in chemistry, by studying the parchment, pigments and inks used (Gameson, 2017); from the use and development of the written English language and script (Brown, 1993), to the sense of belonging and community, and even in theological understanding. The story of the visit of the Lindisfarne Gospels can also provide insight into changes in the function and practice of museums and their keepers. As academics involved in the study of religious tourism and heritage, should we insist that such precious objects are hidden away, to ‘protect’ them from harm? Or should we work to enable a range of stakeholders and publics to engage with these treasures, to facilitate the creation and building of their own stories, and to integrate the history of these objects within their own history. We might ask what purpose lies in hiding our cultural heritage away behind

locked doors, if such objects can influence our understanding of our own past, our identity, our sense of place, and in wider contexts (Timothy and Boyd, 2003; Timothy, 2011). By the beginning of the 21st century, museums were viewed as the best place to keep important historical artefacts, while the curator’s role included being custodian (Brown, 2003a), preserving the original objects in scientifically controlled conditions. But being the official interpreter of the meaning of such national treasures, and carefully ‘facilitating appropriate levels of access to ensure that they continue to exist for future generations’ (Brown, 2003a) can appear to the layperson to be not unlike the teacups we have inherited from a long-forgotten relative, being hidden away at the back of a cupboard for fear that their use would end in their destruction. Smith argues that the ‘dominant trend in British heritage [was] to make history “safe, sterile, and shorn of danger, subversion and seduction”’ (Smith, 2006, p. 39, citing Urry, 1996, p. 52). The visit of the Lindisfarne Gospels to Durham in 2013 provides opportunities for discovering new approaches to widening participation in the experience of religious heritage objects through an events-based process (eventization), while also growing tourism for the immediate project and in the future.

Facsimile 2003 By 2003, technological developments enabled the production of facsimile copies of the Lindisfarne Gospels, which were given to Durham Cathedral and the Holy Island community, to allow the public the ‘same level of access to the Gospels as scholars visiting the British Library’s reading rooms’ (Brown, 2003a, p. 6). While academics and curators were privileged to view the original, in the excitement of the white-hot heat of technology, the idea that a simple copy would suffice in meeting the public’s wish to engage with this magnificent treasure today seems less than acceptable. If cultural literacy was only for the privileged few (Smith, 2006, p. 21), the trend towards the ‘democratization of corporate hospitality’ (Dowson and Bassett, 2015, p. 17) alone indicates that change must happen. No longer is it acceptable for the fat cats of industry



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to have the best seats, as demonstrated by the embarrassment of empty seats at the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. Instead, experiential marketing enables the ordinary customer to become a VIP. In the same way, perhaps it is also less acceptable for ‘experts’ to discourage the ‘active use of heritage’ (Smith, 2006, p. 29), whether or not the objects of heritage require ‘proper care’ (Carman, 2005; Smith, 2006, p. 29). Subsequently, the local media played an important role in campaigning to bring the Lindisfarne Gospels back to their ‘home’ in the North East of England. The Northumbrian Association campaigned for a permanent return to the North East from 1999 (Williams, 2013), with local press calls in 2008 to ‘Give Our Gospels Back, you hypocrites!’ (Ford, 2008) and the British Library’s actions viewed as too London-centric (Bignell, 2008). Durham Cathedral’s view was that the Gospels belong together with St Cuthbert’s shrine, sited within the cathedral itself (Sadgrove, 2013c), but has become reconciled to the need for appropriate environmental restrictions to preserve the book, recognizing it as not only a national treasure, but part of the historical cultural and religious inheritance of the world. The former Dean of the cathedral notes this paradox of heritage, likening the Gospels’ placement at the British Library rather than with St Cuthbert’s shrine, to the empty display case labelled ‘Codex Sinaiticus’ at St Catherine’s Monastery, which is sited at the foot of Mount Sinai, where the Codex was kept until the mid19th century. The Codex is named after the Monastery of Saint Catherine, and was produced in the middle of the 4th century; it is one of the two earliest Christian Bibles. The principal surviving portion of the Codex, comprising 347 leaves (pages), is held by the British Library in London; some 43 leaves are at the University Library in Leipzig; while parts of six leaves are at the National Library of Russia in Saint Petersburg. Few portions remain at Saint Catherine’s Monastery, along with the empty, labelled display case.

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original home in North East England, under the strapline: ‘Lindisfarne Gospels Durham: “one amazing book, one incredible journey”’. However, this visit was initiated in a very different environment from the 2003 production of facsimile copies, in which organized events dominate cultural, social, leisure and sporting landscapes, underpinned by experiential marketing activities. The partnership of organizers, Durham University, Durham Cathedral, Durham County Council and the British Library, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, explicitly recognized that ‘the exhibition had to be much more than a book in a case’ (Lindisfarne Gospels, no date; italics added by author). The partner organizations’ objectives were ‘To engage people with the story of the Gospels; to celebrate the rich heritage of culture, learning and artistry; and to emulate the spirit of creativity’ (Lindisfarne Gospels, no date). As part of achieving this aim, the logo of the project was released for wide use and encouraged inclusion in any related events and communication (Fig. 11.1).

2013 Programme of events The planning process for the visit involved the development of an ‘interpretation hierarchy’, with the Lindisfarne Gospels Exhibition in the Palace Green Library at its core. An inner ring comprised ancillary events and services surrounding the exhibition, and an outer ring contained wider regional and associated events. The aim was that these three aspects would be seamless, with a feeling of one big celebration of the Gospels being in Durham, rather than lots of disjointed events. The model is shown in Fig. 11.2.

2013 Visit For 3 months in the summer of 2013, Durham became the focus of a new journey for the Lindisfarne Gospels, as they returned to their

Fig. 11.1.  The logo of the Lindisfarne Gospels Durham, used for branding all related events and communications.

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Outer ring events

Inner ring events Core event

Fig. 11.2.  Interpretation hierarchy of events with a core event at the centre surrounded by an inner ring of ancillary events and an outer ring of wider regional and associated events.

The core event was the Lindisfarne Gospels Exhibition, held in the Palace Green Library, Durham University. The exhibition’s team at Durham University worked closely with leading academics to develop the exhibition itself (notably with Professor Richard Gameson, Professor of the History of the Book at Durham University, and a key influencer in the inspiration behind the exhibition from the university’s perspective). This specialist knowledge was used to identify objects and manuscripts that would enable the story to be told more broadly (Caulton, 1998). The exhibitions officer organized the loans of any additional objects as well as the writing and preparation of interpretation, through different media, including films. Over 97,000 tickets were sold for visits to the main exhibition (Durham University, 2013), with visitors from every area of the UK and significant international numbers visiting from across Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South America and various African nations. It is relevant to note that for the first time, tickets to the exhibition were made available for sale online through the Ticketmaster website, more usually used for rock concerts, sporting events and festivals. This method of sales and promotion introduced a stronger events element to the project. The organizers recognized the strong value of this outsourced partnership, utilizing Ticketmaster’s experience of managing large events. The exhibition reached the top two sales positions for

Ticketmaster consistently throughout the project. September was completely sold out, and in August, only late-night ticket slots were available. The inner ring events were planned and led by the learning and outreach team, working closely together with the exhibition’s team in developing an interpretation plan for the exhibition, to include a range of sessions to be hosted either at the university or in schools, engaging especially with wider community groups and families. This led to the delivery of some 86 timetabled events, including the following:

• •

• •

• •

book signings; creative practitioners’ interactive workshops in animal handling, archaeology, food history, glass workings, illuminated letters, jewellery making, leather working, music, photography, pottery, printmaking, screenwriting, storytelling, textiles, Viking history and yoga; dramas; informal talks and lectures by Durham academics and other experts, including Professor Richard Gameson, the Academic Curator of the Lindisfarne Gospels Exhibition, and Professor Michelle Brown, foremost specialist on the Lindisfarne Gospels, now Professor Emerita at the University of London; re-enactments/living history; and storywalks.



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The schools outreach programme connected with some 20,000 children taking part in learning sessions and workshops. But more importantly, from the organizers’ perspective, was that the topic was and remains embedded in the curricula of the region’s schools, mapped against the National Curriculum from early years to A level studies. The outer ring events formed a region-wide programme, developed by a regional partnership comprising Durham University, Durham Cathedral, Durham County Council and the British Library, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Northumberland County Council. The partnership encouraged an inclusive and dialogical approach (O’Neill, 2012), holding open meetings to identify potential groups from learning communities, churches, tourism and other related areas. The themes identified were then cross-pollinated, and at no point was quality control imposed on the types, size or theming of the associated events, which continued throughout the year. Altogether, almost 1000 associated individual events formed a festival of the North East, held in churches, museums, attractions, galleries and community venues, in locations from the Isle of Canna in Scotland through to North West England (Preston). The events programme in Durham Cathedral included a spectacular flower festival, ‘Jewels of the North’, that celebrated not only the Book, northern saints and Christian heritage associated with the cathedral, but also the whole region (Sadgrove, 2013b; Wakefield and Rooms, 2016); the performance of a widely acclaimed dramatic and musical interpretation, The Young Person’s Guide to the Lindisfarne Gospels (Sadgrove, 2013b), backed by a 1000-strong choir; and the re-naming of a train after the cathedral, using the Lindisfarne Gospels’ branding. The connection also spread into existing events such as the annual Durham Brass Festival and the Durham Miners’ Gala.

Outcomes of the exhibition For Durham University, the positive impacts included the development of world-class exhibition facilities for artefacts to enable hosting of other world treasures. The team developed a

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tried-and-tested blueprint for outreach programmes that was applicable across heritage sites, museums and libraries. The Lindisfarne Gospels became embedded in the region’s National Curriculum, and the whole enterprise gained extensive social media coverage at the time and continued building a community around the exhibition after the event. In terms of expertise, the team’s exhibition planning and events management experience grew considerably, and they were able to apply their learning to other contexts, developing the international reputation of the team’s expertise through, for example, collaboration with Beijing in replicating the ‘Durham Lindisfarne Gospels model’. And there were continuing impacts post-exhibition, with regional recognition and award-winning tourism awards, gaining ‘Best Overall Event’ and ‘Best Durham Event’ at the North East Culture Awards. This was followed up by the Lindisfarne Gospels being named both ‘Tourism Experience of the Year’ and ‘Tourism Event of the Year’ at the North East Tourism Awards (Ford, 2013).

2015 Magna Carta In 2015, the organizers put their learning into practice for another exhibition of an arguably more famous national treasure, the Magna Carta (The British Library, no date). In 2015 the 3-month-long Durham University Magna Carta summer exhibition excitedly claimed a higher initial rate of early ticket purchase than for the Lindisfarne Gospels (Durham University, 2015; Metcalfe, 2015), but with only a possible 40,000 tickets going on sale (compared with 120,000 for the Gospels’ exhibition), expectations may not have been quite as high as in 2013. Despite the early flourish in ticket sales, almost 25,000 Magna Carta tickets were sold, out of a possible 40,000. These sales figures lead to questions about the differences between the two exhibitions. In some ways, the Magna Carta is better known than the Lindisfarne Gospels, for historical reasons. Was there a special factor involved in the popularity of the Gospels, perhaps some spiritual or religious significance? Was the initial flurry caused by people buying tickets early because they didn’t want to be disappointed, as some had been the previous time?

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New Facilities and Resources The British Library made the decision to release the Gospels on loan to Durham with the aim that the host of the exhibition was to be Durham Cathedral. However, manuscripts of that age and significance have to be kept in particular storage and environmental conditions for display. The cathedral was undergoing major capital works at that time, with significant disruption onsite, so the Palace Green Library at Durham University became the preferred site for the exhibition. Palace Green forms part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site that also includes the cathedral. The university had plans to develop one gallery with special environmental systems, but decided to develop an additional, smaller gallery, which became the room in which the Lindisfarne Gospels were displayed. The venue needed to meet the strict environmental criteria to ensure there could be no threat to the manuscript during its time in Durham. The Gospels book is sensitive to changes in humidity levels because it is made on an organic material, parchment. Fluctuations in humidity can cause parchment to expand and contract, and lighting has to avoid causing light damage. The university modified the shape of the venue for the exhibition in order to tell the story in one route, so the ground floor of the building was reconfigured to accommodate the one-way flow and volume of visitors.

New Skills The Palace Green Library as an exhibition centre opened its first gallery in 2011 and the second in 2012. This meant that the university facility did not have an established track record in displaying high-level material, in comparison to other, more experienced museums, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. A key task at the start of the process was to establish links with other major lenders to be able to bring in objects that supported the telling of the story. This aspect of the project developed the team’s relationship-building skills by working with those lenders. Other skills development areas included working with external exhibition designers and

an audio-visual production team, rather than relying on in-house resources. The front-of-house skills included the development of new policies and procedures to ensure the exhibition worked well. The team learnt that, as with all exhibitions, they needed to build up their knowledge about the subject matter, developing subject specialisms quickly in order to be able to ensure that what is presented to the public is correct. Academics provide specialist input but the rest of the team also require an understanding of the subject matter to be able to make decisions about how information is presented. This included a wider understanding of the history of the book, of manuscripts and of the history of the Lindisfarne Gospels.

Motivations for Attending the Exhibition A survey, promoted through social media pages linked to the Lindisfarne Gospels, provided insight into the reasons for visiting the exhibition. Table 11.1 summarizes the main themes for motivations to visit. Over half of responses mentioned a connection of the Gospels with the region or area and the importance to their identity and heritage. Only 16% explicitly suggested a religious connection to their visit. Comments highlight the importance of seeing the Gospels in their place of origin: ‘I’m a Northerner and proud of it, and they are the most beautiful illustration of the art and craft of the North.’ ‘To see the Gospels in a more appropriate heritage context than London’ ‘Seeing such an array of Celtic treasures amassed together, their spiritual and artistic significance, the “feel good” factor it brought to the region’ Table 11.1.  Grouped thematic responses for motivations to visit. Themes Professional interest Religious connection Heritage/identity/history Other

Responses (%) 12.9 16.1 56.5 14.5



Motivations to Visit Sacred Historical Objects

Figure 11.3 shows the range of responses, grouped by themes. Members of the university team were clear that their role in the partnership with the cathedral was to focus on the secular aspects of this historical treasure, and leave the significant spiritual elements with the cathedral. However, one university interviewee expressed their passionate goal, for the Gospels’ exhibition to be ‘not just another book in a box’, while another described how they would make a special effort, almost compelled to volunteer to open up the exhibition for 10 a.m. and lock up at 10 p.m. as often as possible, simply to spend time alone with the book, in what became an ‘amazing’ ‘sacred space’, filled with spiritual and emotional connection (Doney, 2013). It is this transcendent encounter with the numinous that differentiates the Lindisfarne Gospels and its exhibition from the other two examples, of a facsimile of the book (described by an interviewee as ‘not the same as the real thing’), and the Magna Carta (arguably a more wellknown historical document). The idea of attempting to divide the secular and religious aspects of

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the visit indicates a dilemma for those responsible for organizing such exhibitions, and a need for sensitivity to and accommodation of religious intelligence, in addition to what might be seen as ‘secular’ cultural and historic intelligences (Olsen, 2008). It might be argued that only religion can fully interpret the theological and spiritual dimensions of the book (Crossley, 2018). The model in Fig. 11.4 suggests a view of the levels of experience and relationship between these aspects. In terms of religious tourism, a question arises as to how a sacred text or object is displayed within a secular environment. But for attendees responding to the online survey, only 16% mentioned some religious connection, with more than half focusing on their connection to regional identity and bringing the Gospels back to their place of origin, to their historical home.

Impact of Eventization? The Lindisfarne Gospels Exhibition was widely recognized as a success (Durham University,

Motivations for attending Skilled Archaeologist Work Art workmanship connection 1% 5% 2% 3% Seen before 3% Religious connection 16%

Calligrapher 8% Goal 2%

Proximity 2% Love manuscripts 2%

Heritage 29%

Identity 16%

History 11%

Fig. 11.3.  Motivations for attending the exhibition.

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Historical and cultural interpretation

Theological interpretation

Experience of the numinous

Fig. 11.4.  Model of levels of experience of visiting the Lindisfarne Gospels Exhibition.

2013), gaining overwhelmingly positive feedback (99.7%), and with tickets in most weeks having sold out. Some mistakenly thought it was a permanent exhibition, and in the last few weeks the team received phone calls from people asking if they could attend, even though there were no tickets left. The ticket sales target was 80,000, but over 97,000 were sold. Long-term benefits include the increasing number of visits to schools by the education team at the university to talk about the Lindisfarne Gospels, with 10,000 children in 2012, increasing to 24,000 in 2013 and stabilizing at 20,000 in 2014, attributed to the strength of relationships (Park, 2014) built through the Gospels project. The exhibition was important to the whole region, with feedback that people felt part of the venture even if they had not visited the exhibition itself. The vision of the organizers for enabling themselves and others to build an events programme around the exhibition came from a ‘festival’ model, inspired by the Edinburgh Festival, while the model for recruiting and training ‘Gospels Gamesmakers’ (volunteers and staff) for the exhibition was explicitly inspired by the London 2012 Olympics. It is clear from this example of the Lindisfarne Gospels, that links to other themes, combined with targeting specific age and interest groups can extend a topic: from heritage, art and religion across the curriculum to science, facilitating wider participation and engagement with religious heritage objects.

This chapter has analysed three promotions in the city of Durham, in North East England: first in 2003, with the release of a facsimile copy of the Lindisfarne Gospels, a religious heritage object with very strong regional and local connections; secondly in 2013, of a 3-month visit of the actual Gospels, for exhibition; and thirdly, in 2015, the visit of an important and well-known historical document, of national rather than regional importance. The strength of an explicitly regional connection appears to be more influential in encouraging engagement, than for an artefact of national significance. The religious element of the Lindisfarne Gospels does not appear to adversely impact on attendance – if anything it is the strength of the local connection that is a more compelling draw. Although the Magna Carta is an historically important, significant, and arguably better-known heritage object than the Lindisfarne Gospels, the evidence from these two displays indicate that the meaning carried by the Gospels in this region is a more powerful attraction, inspiring more content-­ related events and visitors. The increasing role of events in society through experiential marketing also connects into social and educational aspects of heritage and religious tourism. Introducing performance and experience beyond a one-off viewing requires new skills, new facilities and new processes, to bring such heritage alive. The eventization developed around the core of the Lindisfarne



Motivations to Visit Sacred Historical Objects

Gospels Exhibition, and the wide use of the exhibition’s Lindisfarne Gospels’ ‘cat’ logo, built on the awareness of the exhibition and of the Lindisfarne Gospels, throughout the region and beyond. The use of Ticketmaster for sales and ticket promotion facilitated a streamlined attendance to maximize throughput to capacity. According to Dowson et al. (2015), ‘the reality of events delivery generally, [is] split between those who are professionals doing a job, and those whose jobs or other interests cause them to choose or to have to run events’ (p. 200). It is further suggested that as the events industry professionalizes, it is time for associated cultural industries to join in. In addition to collaborating with other museums, there is potential to work alongside other organizations, such as the secular, pan-European, Future for Religious Heritage, in supporting heritage, religious and cultural institutions to thrive in Europe. This could be by: (i) enhancing the capacity of their members to stage and host events; (ii) providing greater financial sustainability; and (iii) enhancing civic participation and engagement in communities, in particular with religious cultural objects and in spaces of cultural and religious tourism significance.

Summary In summary, this chapter has examined the case of the Lindisfarne Gospels being released from its permanent home at the British Library, to a temporary exhibition space built especially to provide suitable environmental conditions for an ancient historical and religious document, in Durham. The historical ties to Durham are very strong, with many local residents and scholars arguing that the Gospels book should return permanently to the religious heritage site of St Cuthbert’s tomb at Durham Cathedral. These two significant objects travelled together for over 1000 miles around the North of England, the Scottish borders and the Irish Sea, before finding a safe haven in nearby Chester-le-Street and then in Durham Cathedral. The stakeholders included Durham Cathedral, Durham University and Durham County

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Council, working in collaboration with the British Library and with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, to develop and complete the project. The approach taken was unique at the time of the project in 2013, and took place in a context of the dramatic growth of the events industry, with the added impetus to the UK events sector of the London 2012 Olympics. The concept of eventization was adopted as a central feature of the planning for the Lindisfarne Gospels’ visit, and resulted in the development and delivery of over 1000 events associated with the Gospels, over a 3-month period. In addition, the core activity of promoting the exhibition took place through Ticketmaster, a leading events ticketing company, and resulted in sales of over 97,000 timed tickets. The learning from this experience was that the prevalence of events in UK cultural activity enabled engagement with a wider and larger audience, across the UK and beyond. However, successful management of religious tourism programmes such as this is clearly dependent on a range of factors, including:

• • • • •

the level of eventization in the cultural context; the range and breadth of associated events, based on a ‘festival’ model; the strength of the regional connection with the subject of the exhibition; the distinctive draw of a local historical religious heritage object being stronger than that of a national historical object; and that a secular historical exhibition was transformed into a sacred space by the presence of a religious heritage object.

Such learning is vital for future developments in the promotion of religious tourism.

Acknowledgements I would like to express my thanks to my interviewees, Keith Bartlett, Julie Biddlecombe-Brown, Sarah Price and Michael Sadgrove, for their time and for providing their insights into this important project.

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Ford, C. (2008) North’s Lindisfarne Gospels are not safe in the hands of the British Library. Newcastle Chronicle Live. Available at: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/norths-lindisfarnegospels-not-safe-1469691 (accessed 17 August 2018). Ford, C. (2013) Durham tourism businesses strike gold. The Journal [daily newspaper produced in Newcastle-upon-Tyne], 30 November, p.71 (Business section). Formula1.com (no date) Available at: http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/great_britain_872/ (accessed 11 July 2012). Gameson, R. (ed.) (2017) The Lindisfarne Gospels: New Perspectives. Brill, Leiden, the Netherlands. Lindisfarne Gospels (no date) Available at: www.lindisfarnegospels.com/lindisfarne-gospels-long-lastinglegacy (accessed 21 October 2013). London 2012 (2012) Available at: http://www.london2012.com/ (accessed 11 July 2012). Metcalfe, W. (2015) Magna Carta Exhibition Tickets Are Outselling Lindisfarne Gospels Show in Durham. 13 April 2015. Available at: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/magna-cartaexhibition-tickets-outselling-9027564 (accessed 25 July 2018). Olsen, D.H. (2008) Contesting identity, space and sacred site management at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. PhD thesis, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada. O’Neill, P. (2012) The Culture of Curating and the Curating of Culture(s). The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ozdemiroglu, E., Ferrini, S., Doku, A. and Gianferrara, E. (2014) Economic Valuation of Heritage: Final Report – for English Heritage. Economics for the Environment Consultancy Ltd, London. Available at: https://content.historicengland.org.uk/content/heritage-counts/pub/2190644/economicvaluation-of-heritage-report.pdf (accessed 25 July 2018). Park, H.Y. (2014) Heritage Tourism. Routledge, London. Pine, B.J., II and Gilmour, J.H. (2011) The Experience Economy, revised edn. Harvard Business Preview Press, Boston, Massachusetts. Reynolds, A. (2017) Taking Part Survey: April to September 2017 (Provisional). Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), London. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/ government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/655949/Taking_Part_Focus_on_Heritage. pdf (accessed 17 August 2018). Roche, M. (2009) Mega-events and Modernity: Olympics and Expos in the Growth of Global Culture. Routledge, London. Rogers, T. and Smith, R. (2018) UKCAMS Report, 2018. Available at: http://www.ukcams.org.uk (accessed 17 August 2018). Royal.uk (no date) Available at: http://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/TheQueenandspecialanniversaries/ TheQueensDiamondJubilee2012/TheQueensDiamondJubilee2012.aspx (accessed 11 July 2012). Sadgrove, M. (2013a) Blog: Lindisfarne Gospels: the Young Person’s Guide. Sunday, 15 September 2013. Available at: http://decanalwoolgatherer.blogspot.com/2013/09/lindisfarne-gospels-young-personsguide.html (accessed 30 September 2013). Sadgrove, M. (2013b) Blog: Farewell to the Lindisfarne Gospels. Monday, 30 September 2013 Available at: http://decanalwoolgatherer.blogspot.com/2013/09/farewell-to-lindisfarne-gospels.html (accessed 25 July 2018). Sadgrove, M. (2013c) Landscapes of Faith: the Christian Heritage of the North East. Third Millennium Publishing Limited, London. Smith, L. (2006) The Uses of Heritage. Routledge, London. The British Library (no date) The Magna Carta. Available at: https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta (accessed 17 August 2018). The Hindu (2017) Kumbh Mela Declared as India’s Cultural Heritage. 14 December 2017. Available at: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/kumbh-mela-declared-as-indias-culturalheritage/article21616989.ece (accessed 17 August 2018). Timothy, D.J. (2011) Cultural Heritage and Tourism: an Introduction. Channel View Publications, Bristol, UK. Timothy, D.J. and Boyd, S.W. (2003) Heritage Tourism. Prentice Hall, Harlow, UK. Urry, J. (1996) How societies remember the past. In: Macdonald, S. and Fyfe, G. (eds) Theorizing Museums. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, UK, pp. 45–68. Wakefield, G. and Rooms, N. (eds) (2016) Northern Gospel, Northern Church: Reflections on Identity and Mission. Sacristy Press, Durham, UK. Williams, F. (2013) BBC News: Lindisfarne Gospels: Should Durham or London Have Them? Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-22859403 (accessed 17 August 2018).

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Visiting with a Mission(ary) – Engaging with Stakeholders at New Zealand Heritage Sites Jane Legget* and Suzanne Histen New Zealand Tourism Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Introduction

homes, wooden churches, monuments – testify to pioneering Anglican, Catholic and Methodist Aotearoa New Zealand has granted heritage missionaries from 1814 working among both status to a number of historical sites related to Māori and new arrivals, mainly from Britain the arrival of Christianity which are now ‘heri- (Newman, 2010). Some of these sites are now tage attractions’; yet it lacks a tradition of cultural heritage attractions. In terms of New Christian religious tourism. This chapter will Zealand tourism, however, the natural landdiscuss identity issues related to managing scape and Māori culture were the dominant visexisting missionary heritage buildings in order itor attractions until late in the 20th century to serve visitors journeying with a sacred pur- (McClure, 2004), when the maturing tourism pose. Using a case-study approach to analyse sector broadened in scope to include more Euromissionary sites in Northland/Bay of Islands, we pean cultural heritage. In 1990, the 150th anconsider the importance of stakeholder rela- niversary commemorations for the Treaty of tionships between the indigenous Māori and Waitangi 1840 – widely acknowledged as New Pākehā (non-Māori), at a critical time in New Zealand’s founding document (Orange, 2011) – Zealand’s bicultural development - the ‘Post-­ turned the spotlight on the overlapping Māori and colonial heritage, including the significant Treaty Settlement era’. roles of missionaries (Middleton, 2014). The relationship between Māori and the Crown (now the New Zealand Government) has Christianity and Heritage always been complex, and continues to evolve as Attractions in New Zealand past breaches of the 1840 Treaty are addressed through a tribunal and settlement process initiThe history of contact between the indigenous ated in 1975 (Bell et al., 2017). Church hierMāori and early European settlers is intimately archies have acknowledged historic complicity bound with that of Christian missionaries of and church-owned land and property feature in various denominations. Together they shaped contemporary negotiations for redress. Reprethe emerging nation state (King, 2003). Many sentatives of iwi (Māori tribal groups) are inof the oldest European landmarks – missionaries’ creasingly involved in heritage management,

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Engaging with Stakeholders at New Zealand Heritage Sites

sometimes in leadership roles, through museums, national parks and Heritage New Zealand, as well as heading their own cultural centres and tourism operations. Tangata whenua (literally meaning people of the land) insist on recognition of their cultural links to their ancestral lands. Māori involvement is generating more nuanced interpretations of history and clearer recognition that there are at least two sides to every story. As Byrnes (2009, p. 123) has observed, ‘colonization is not a relic of the past or a phenomenon of history, but an on-going and continuing process’. While postcolonial critique is a live issue in New Zealand tourism studies (e.g. Whitford et al., 2017), it is however not the focus of this chapter. With its colonial past, New Zealand may have been regarded as a western Christian country, although it has never formally had an established church. In practice, it is increasingly perceived as secular or non-affiliated. In the 2013 census figures, more than two in five people (41.9%) reported they had no religion, predominantly among the younger generation (Stats NZ, 2013). Yet, in today’s culturally diverse population, churches are now important for highly Christianized immigrants (Butcher and Wieland, 2015) from South Korea and the Philippines, newcomers from China, and more established immigrants from the Pacific Islands. Many have developed strong ties and social obligations with communal activities, music, choirs and camps, especially the newer Pentecostal churches.

Christianity in the Tourism Context New Zealand heritage tourism has the potential to offer different dimensions of Christian content or experience. Some provide opportunities for prayer, reflection and spiritual refreshment, although these aspects are not widely promoted. Appreciation of church architecture and building styles is common (see Burgess, 2015; Mackay and Usher, 2015), with churches incorporating significant Māori designs (St Mary’s Church, Tikitiki) and master works by prominent New Zealand architects, such as Benjamin Mountfort (especially in Christchurch) and modernist John Scott (Futuna Chapel, Wellington). New Zealand’s most photographed building is reportedly

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the South Island’s picturesque Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo. Cathedrals old and new in Auckland, Wellington and Napier all have pulling power, as do Christchurch’s poignant earthquake-damaged Anglican cathedral, and its temporary successor, the ‘Cardboard Cathedral’. St Mary MacKillop worked with her order, the Sisters of St Joseph, in both New Zealand and Australia; since her 2010 canonization, places associated with her are gradually drawing the Catholic faithful (Sisters of St Josephs of the Sacred Heart, 2018). Less visited are the remote Christian settlements up the Whanganui River, such as Jerusalem. Māori denominations such as Rātana, with its distinctive symbols, and Ringatū, which worships on marae (traditional Māori meeting grounds), can only be visited by invitation. Despite the potential appeal of all these places it would be fair to say that religious tourism is as yet underdeveloped in New Zealand.

Missionary Heritage Attractions The cultural attractions where the Christian legacy comes to the fore are not regarded as sacred spaces. They are mainly domestic: former mission stations where missionaries lived with their families, providing hospitality to both Māori and Pākehā, sometimes operating ad hoc schools for both Māori and Pākehā children and serving as meeting points of two very different cultures. These are presented primarily as ‘historic house museums’ (Burgess, 2007). One exception is Pompallier, the Marist mission in Russell which operated a book bindery, printery and tannery to produce Christian texts in Māori (Fig. 12.1). Another is the Rangihoua Heritage Park, commemorating the earliest missionary activity. These sites interpret two principal themes:

•

Personalities – These include leading figures who fostered Christian beliefs and aspirations in Māori and settler populations such as Catholic Bishop Pompallier, Anglican Bishop Selwyn, Reverends Henry and William Williams of the Church Missionary Society (Rogers, 1998; Fitzgerald, 2011) and Reverend Samuel Marsden who gave the first Christian sermon in 1814 at Rangihoua.

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Fig. 12.1.  Pompallier Mission in Russell. (Copyright Suzanne Histen.)

•

Settler life – Missionary history is presented in mostly sparsely furnished period homes, where the features of the heritage architecture are highlighted as much as the 19th-century lifestyle. Visitors also learn about the intrepid women, including missionary wives (Fitzgerald, 2010), who are recognized for their own endeavours. They befriended Māori, raised families in unfamiliar environments, taught Māori and Pākehā in rudimentary classrooms and worked their gardens and fields. In Russell, there are hands-on demonstrations of 19th-century printing and book-binding techniques at Pompallier Mission.

There are also other dimensions to these sites, which expand the potential range of stakeholder interests, including those with religious, rather than solely heritage, interests. Who are these stakeholders and how can they affect the management of these sites as destinations for religious tourism?

Stakeholder Engagement Heritage sites can only operate successfully if they have the support of their key communities of interest. Stakeholders hold those managing heritage sites to account and, while often acting as ardent advocates, can also be highly critical and even actively obstructive. Managers of heritage sites must actively look to create and maintain a complex system of networks and remain open to discussions and collaboration with all interested parties. This is especially the case where history may be contested such as at New Zealand missionary sites. It is vital to identify stakeholders, and understand their expectations of a heritage site and its management.

Identifying Stakeholders – Relationships and Expectations For this heritage research, Freeman’s definition (Freeman, 1984, p. 46) was adapted thus:



Engaging with Stakeholders at New Zealand Heritage Sites

Heritage stakeholders are individuals or organizations who have an interest in, or influence on, a heritage site’s ability to achieve its objectives. To thrive, heritage attractions in New Zealand must be both sustainable and accountable. New Zealand’s accountability reporting has tended to focus on the requirements of governing bodies and management, yet many more groups potentially have active or passive interests in, or claims on, a heritage site (Legget, 2009). Many will have overlapping stakes as funders or in governance roles (local rate payers, government agencies), as supporters and operators (practitioners, advocates, friends), as users (researchers, teachers, tourism operators), as customers (domestic visitors, schools) and as suppliers (employees, volunteers, businesses). The more complex the history, the more communities of interests need to be considered by site managers. In New Zealand, all these stakeholders could be Māori or Pākehā or could claim both identities (Legget, 2018). Each stakeholder has different expectations, degrees of influence and levels of involvement, all of which can change according to external circumstances. Three main clusters of stakeholders have been identified for missionary heritage sites: (i) ‘funders’; (ii) ‘supporters’; and (iii) ‘community groups’. Outlined below are some examples of each type to show the challenges for site managers in balancing their various influence and interests.

Funders In New Zealand there are very limited public financial resources available for the sustainable operation and management of heritage

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attractions. Very few sites generate enough revenue from visitors alone and they must therefore seek other sources of funds. In Northland, several heritage organizations are competing in the same limited pool of trusts, foundations and other grant-giving bodies, both national and local, for heritage development funding. There is also strong competition from sports, arts and social services organizations. As key stakeholders, funders’ primary interests within the heritage sector are in financial accountability and good governance. Table 12.1 provides a list of actual and potential funder- stakeholders for the heritage sector with relevant examples. For central government, national heritage interests are mainly confined to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa), defence forces museums, Heritage New Zealand and the Department of Conservation, with no operational funding at a regional or local level (Butts and Abasa, 2014). Regional and local authorities also have no legislated mandate to operate or fund museums or heritage sites, focusing more on local-level services and infrastructure such as libraries, parks and reserves and roads. However, discretionary funding or services such as grounds maintenance or marketing are sometimes provided to sites operated by independent trusts or historical societies. The core role of governing bodies such as Heritage New Zealand, an arm’s length government agency, is to provide professional advice and act in an advocacy role, as opposed to directly funding projects in the heritage sector. However, there are Northland missionary sites among the limited number operated by Heritage New Zealand as ‘heritage destinations’, including Waimate Mission, Pompallier, Kerikeri Mission and

Table 12.1.  Stakeholder categories – funders. Funders – actual and potential

Examples

Central government

Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Ministry of Tourism, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga District Councils Regional Council Heritage New Zealand – heritage protection and advocacy Waitangi National Trust – operates Waitangi Treaty site Lottery Environment and Heritage, Foundation North, community trusts, sponsors, service organizations Limited opportunities locally and nationally

Local government Governing bodies Trusts and foundations Corporate sponsors

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Māngungu Methodist Mission. Other funding sources such as Lottery Environment and Heritage, Foundation North, and community trusts provide project-based grants on a contestable basis, but not operational funding. Grants awarded are governed by contractual obligations for the duration of the funding, with outputs and outcomes specified often including community engagement, schools participation and levels of visitation. These financial stakeholders expect acknowledgement after completion and full accountability in acquittal reports demonstrating efficient application of their funds to deliver the desired results.

Supporters Supporters of heritage sites play a different role and are crucial stakeholders in terms of their advocacy, contributions of time, labour and expertise, and support of the site, despite not contributing funds directly. Collectively they could be characterized as ‘non-financial shareholders’ – their investment may be more intellectual and emotional in nature. For instance, the staff and volunteers responsible for the daily management of the heritage sites may be viewed as having a very direct and personal stake. After all it is their workplace – with or without salary – a source of job satisfaction and professional and social

identity. Table 12.2 provides a list of these potential supporting stakeholders in the missionary heritage sector with relevant examples. Iwi are among the most important stakeholders in both the preservation and the interpretation of Māori associations with missionary heritage sites. Tangata whenua, the iwi in whose rohe (ancestral territory) the site is located, continue to exercise their traditional rights of kaitiakitanga (stewardship) and manaakitanga (hospitality). While legal ownership may have passed to other hands, tangata whenua retain strong spiritual connection to sites of special significance to tribal identity – sacred mountains, rivers, natural landmarks and urupa (burial grounds). There are close links with Māori Christian interests in Northland sites, for example the Rangihoua Heritage Park, where Samuel Marsden’s arrival is commemorated by a distinctive stone cross. In the 19th century Māori were regular visitors, guests and protectors of mission stations such as Kerikeri Mission Station and Pompallier Mission in Russell. In addition to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, Māngungu Mission is of major historical and political significance to Māori as the location for the largest Treaty signing – more than 70 chiefs attended (Orange, 2011). All church denominations, the Church Missionary Society and ecumenical foundations clearly have a stake in the content and interpretation of heritage sites related to Christianity or their missionary pioneers. Within the churches,

Table 12.2.  Stakeholder categories – supporters. Supporters

Examplesa

Site staff Iwi stakeholders

Heritage professionals Tangata whenua Māori Christian interests All church denominations, especially local parishes and dioceses Church Missionary Society Faith-based trusts and foundations Museums Aotearoa, regional museums associations, National Services Te Paerangi (support unit of the National Museum) Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga members Conservation groups Heritage architects Local heritage and sites museums DMOs, RTOs Various commercial and not-for-profit operations Friends of particular sites (e.g. Friends of Waitangi)

Faith-based organizations

Heritage sector organizations Heritage support groups and advocates Kindred institutions Industry organizations Local tourist attractions Friends organizations

DMOs, Destination management organizations; RTOs, regional tourism organizations.

a



Engaging with Stakeholders at New Zealand Heritage Sites

umbrella organizations, clerics, office holders, parishioners and supporters can also lobby on behalf of these heritage sites and support their management through fund-raising, volunteer assistance and referrals to potential visitors. These stakeholders would wish to be assured that visitors with a sacred mission are duly welcomed and respected, and have opportunities for peaceful reflection. However, they would also recognize that the majority of visitors would have other interests which must be catered for. Strong networks also exist within the professional heritage community with active involvement from Heritage New Zealand, Museums Aotearoa, National Services Te Paerangi and regional museums associations that all provide specialist support and advocacy, help in negotiating partnerships, and marketing collaborations. In addition to practical support, kindred institutions, heritage groups and heritage advocates all have a common interest in the sites’ management and the reputation of the heritage sector (Goulter, 2005). Heritage architects are particularly interested in the conservation of buildings and structural details which they use as reference points for their work (Pearson, 2007; ICOMOS, 2010). Within the tourism sector more broadly, stakeholders such as destination management organizations (DMOs) and regional tourism organizations (RTOs) showcase major heritage sites within their marketing portfolio along with other iconic local attractions to define their distinct brand. This is true for Northland. For example, missionary history is a crucial part of the national narrative for the Bay of Islands which promotes itself as the ‘Cradle of the Nation’ (Morita, 2014). Individual tourist operators can take an active role as stakeholders by collaborating to package a variety of products and services to attract a diversity of tourists to the destination.

Community Stakeholders For heritage sites, community stakeholders encompass three broad groups: (i) users; (ii) customers; and (iii) suppliers. These communities of interest also include both Māori and Pākehā, and the nature of their stakes will vary according to historical associations and commercial interests. Table 12.3 provides a list of these potential

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community stakeholders for the heritage sector and relevant examples. Users are both local and from further afield. The immediate community, especially those in close proximity to heritage sites, clearly have a greater stake in the management of the site and ongoing operations. They can be adversely affected by practical factors such as pressure on parking space. Equally they can be positive ambassadors and a source of loyal volunteers. Other groups may have dual ‘stakes’ as both supporters and community stakeholders, such as faith-based organizations, tourism organizations and local operators. The research community is also an important stakeholder which potentially provides a broader reach for the local heritage sites beyond a physical connection with it. The digital domain enables researchers to engage globally with missionary history. Their findings can contribute a richness to the interpretation and new insights to generate displays or public programmes. Family historians are most likely to have researched the heritage site in advance of following their forbearers’ tracks. As ‘purposeful visitors’ (McKercher, 2002) they may have developed a keen interest to explore specific themes and to experience a ‘personal connection’ to history as part of their identity (Falk, 2009). Customers, specifically visitors, are regarded as one of the most important stakeholders in the management of heritage assets in terms of keeping these sites both commercially viable and of relevance. Since the majority of tourists may only ever visit once, they could be viewed as having a weaker interest in the site. However, collectively they have a major stake in how the heritage site is presented and managed so that their expectations are met. Domestic and international visitors alike contribute by their paid admission fees, purchases, word-of-mouth marketing and promotion, especially so now when social media use is an element of most visitors’ experiences. Schools and tertiary institutions as customers also expect heritage sites to be well presented with creative methods of interpretation so that they continue to be accessible and relevant to their respective curricula. Teachers seek effective educational experiences for their students. Increased public concern with health and safety means that both schools and smaller

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Table 12.3.  Stakeholder categories – community. Community stakeholders

Examplesa

Users

Local residents and rate payers Local businesses Neighbouring property owners All church denominations, especially local parishes and dioceses Church Missionary Society Faith-based trusts and foundations Academics, independent researchers, church historians, local and family historians Missionary descendants – Pākehā and Māori Genealogy tourists Chamber of Commerce RTOs DMOs Complementary heritage operators General tourism operators Coach companies Cultural heritage tourists Faith-based visitors Casual tourists Cultural heritage tourists Faith-based visitors Casual tourists Cruise tourists Local history societies Special interest groups Civic trusts Primary and secondary schools Theological colleges Heritage professionals Local residents Branded products Local art works, pottery, etc. On-site hospitality

Immediate community

Faith-based organizations

Research community Family history visitors Business associations Tourism organizations Tourism operators

Customers

Domestic visitors

International visitors

Heritage groups

Suppliers

Schools Tertiary education institutions Employees Volunteers Merchandisers Local artists and craft people Caterers

DMOs, Destination management organizations; RTOs, regional tourism organizations.

a

heritage sites may find it difficult and expensive to comply with Ministry of Education requirements for field trips. The immediate community can also have a stake in the heritage site as suppliers of goods and services including operation and maintenance. Local communities are the source of both paid employees and volunteers to run the heritage sites, and they can contribute local knowledge and their professional and personal networks. All sites rely on local businesses for their basic supplies. The larger heritage sites may need to engage commercial suppliers to provide catering and merchandise for on-site souvenir purchases –

another aspect for consideration by managers seeking to generate more revenue. Showcasing products by local artists and craft people is one way that heritage sites contribute to the economy. As Tables 12.1–12.3 illustrate, the stakeholder categories are not exclusive with many communities of interest likely to have more than one kind of relationship with missionary heritage sites. Similarly some relationships will be strong and others more tenuous. The challenge for site managers is to acknowledge the different stakeholder interests and determine how best to accommodate them within their planning and day-to-day operation.



Engaging with Stakeholders at New Zealand Heritage Sites

Managing Diverse Stakeholder Interests Most small heritage sites in New Zealand struggle to attract enough revenue to do more than keep the doors open. Taking the time to consider who has a stake in their site and address the expectations and potential contributions of these stakeholders would inform strategic planning for further development to enhance their viability, including as destinations for religiously motivated tourism. They each have implications for managing these sites for visitors with a sacred purpose. This analysis of actual and potential stakeholders in missionary heritage sites highlights the fact that those with affiliations and interest in church and missionary history and those potentially seeking experiences in the nature of sacred journeys are a clear minority. Yet they present opportunities to develop new markets for these heritage attractions and contribute to their sustainability, especially by cooperating rather than competing for the same audience. Morita and Johnston (2018) noted the relatively low numbers of ‘purposeful cultural tourists’ in the Bay of Islands, where in New Zealand terms they are in fact ‘spoiled for choice’. The challenge here is to manage sites not generally regarded as religious destinations to meet the needs of visitors travelling with a religious purpose, without negatively affecting the existing modest pool of visitors. We suggest that involving a wider range of stakeholders in governance and management, including as volunteers, would produce benefits for all visitors, for the sites themselves and for the surrounding communities. However, negotiating the relationships constructively needs thought. It is important to recognize that relationships are two-way. Stakeholders have expectations of the sites and their management, which may not always coincide with the managers’ expectations of stakeholders. Heritage institutions in New Zealand all recognize the need to work closely with Māori, including at governance level (National Services Te Paerangi, 2004; McCarthy, 2011).This is doubly true for sites with a shared heritage in a post-settler nation. However, identifying and working with the appropriate iwi representatives involves patience. Once the iwi-sanctioned

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individuals engage with the heritage organization, their advice and input as Māori bring many benefits, especially where history may be contested. Māori in the community will have more confidence in a site’s management and respect for efforts to ensure a Māori perspective in the interpretation. Māori involvement supports staff and volunteers in managing relationships locally and ensuring that Māori protocols are followed on formal occasions. Mutual respect and trust can also lead to local Māori gaining employment at the sites – with their cultural knowledge they can enrich visitors’ experiences, especially for international tourists (Moscardo, 2010). The arrival of Christianity marks a key development in New Zealand history – for good or bad – and therefore there is a strong national interest in the interpretation provided. Government investment in bicultural aspects of heritage is evident in Te Papa and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the central premise is the equal weight given to Māori and non-Māori culture and history. Political pressure for consideration and involvement of Māori is likely to increase in the Post-Treaty Settlement era. While heritage managers are committed to working with Māori, in practice circumstances may mitigate against this. Māori have competing demands on their time. Leaders are often stretched and unable to devote time and energy to heritage, when social and economic development are priorities. This is especially the case in Northland where the Treaty Settlement process for the Ngāpuhi iwi is still under negotiation. Māori – both descendants of early converts and those current churchgoers – expect Māori engagement with the missionaries to be fairly represented. This is equally true of the Anglican Church, which itself has been a pioneer in bicultural governance and developed parallel governance structures to ensure Māori managed their own dioceses and congregants following their own protocols. For both these stakeholder groups, telling the story of the missionaries, their work, lives, families and Māori supporters is crucial. However, there are other Māori whose ancestors either did not become involved with the churches or actively resisted. These are likely to be vocal in the Treaty Settlement process, given that some land acquired by the churches continues to be contested. For some iwi stakeholders, the missionary presence may be perceived as

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having blighted their ancestral legacy and thus they might wish to have an alternative narrative provided as part of the interpretation. Māori are generally still under-represented among museum and heritage visitors (Davidson and Sibley, 2011; McCarthy, 2011, 2013) but they are always present in large numbers at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds each year on 6 February – Waitangi Day. This commemoration of the signing of the Treaty has become a traditional occasion for Māori from across Aotearoa New Zealand to challenge the ministers representing the government across a range of issues related to redress for past breaches. The missionaries played key roles in 1840: Anglican Reverend Henry Williams translated the contentious Treaty text into Māori, a source of constant negotiation. Churches later acquired land under a variety of arrangements some of which are now contested. On the positive side, Roman Catholic Bishop Pompallier (1802–1871) successfully advocated for freedom for all Christian denominations to follow their religious practices and for Māori to pursue their customary beliefs and practices. The so-called ‘fourth clause of the Treaty’ reads: ‘The Governor says the several faiths of England, of the Wesleyans, of Rome, and also Māori custom, shall be alike protected by him’ (Orange, 2011, p. 42). In 2002, Māori Catholics were responsible for bringing Pompallier’s remains from France to be laid to rest in Northland (Pompallier Hokianga Trust, 2018). St Mary’s Church in Motuti is now an emerging pilgrimage destination, where Pompallier’s casket is venerated with a service four times a year and special arrangements can be made for visiting groups. While some local Māori may also be involved with their churches, almost all will be actively concerned with Treaty issues. Hornblow and Boyack (2017) report on a hikoi (walk or march) of reconciliation, which involves groups of both churchgoers and secular people following a route on foot together, akin to a pilgrimage but with a focus on cross-cultural dialogue. With stops at churches, marae and other landmarks, they actively consider how the Treaty partners can be reconciled. These visits embody the Māori principles of kaitiakitanga and maanakitanga, and build mutual respect. For Māori, open engagement in dialogue is an important part of marae protocol. The shared experience of the hikoi offered insight, identity-building and fresh

understandings for secular participants, and pilgrim-like objectives for faith-based groups and individuals. Goals of reconciliation and transformation are welcome bonuses with social and political dimensions: With an Italian Catholic background, one participant in the hikoi of reconciliation testified to the power of historical enlightenment and a strengthened sense of connection … : ‘From this realisation it followed to understand that 200 years ago Christianity was brought to our land for all its inhabitants, not only the chosen few!’ (Hornblow and Boyack, 2017, p. 24)

The missionary theme resonates positively with faith-based stakeholders, and engaging with them also requires a considered approach. As well-connected organizations, with Māori, Pākehā and members from other cultures, churches can offer support and also drive more visitation through their networks. While visiting a missionary site is not a religious duty, faithbased visitors may anticipate an atmosphere of reverence. Seeking advice from these stakeholders could increase visitation through development of themed visits which incorporate opportunities for fellowship, peaceful reflection, prayer and even worship. To support such faithbased visitor experiences, the backing of a local church is likely to be vital. If in fact a new faithbased tourism product were to be developed then church networks become essential to marketing. Historic houses may not have all the practical facilities (meeting room, toilets, café) on site but partnerships with churches and church halls can resolve these and also contribute to the local economy (accommodation, catering). There is scope for thematic tourism packages in Northland, where the missionary heritage attractions are complemented by early churches (Fig. 12.2), memorials and other landmarks of the arrival of Christianity. However, success would depend on effective relationships with other stakeholders – potentially competing heritage sites, RTOs and tourist businesses. These must be persuaded to work together sensitively to build a new ‘Christian legacy’ tourism product which does not alienate non-Christians by making them ‘too religious’ nor radically change the region’s existing branding, in Northland’s case as the ‘Cradle of the Nation’ and a beach and water sports playground. Anecdotal



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Fig. 12.2.  Christchurch, Russell, built in 1835. (Copyright Suzanne Histen.)

evidence from Waimate Mission reported occasional group tours from American churches, and there is scope to develop this market through international channels. Furthermore, the urban churches re-energized by new immigrant congregations are a potential domestic market (Butcher and Wieland, 2015). These churches already provide Christian camps and outings, effectively reviving the Methodist group holiday traditions of last century (Field, 2015). Weekend trips offering insights into the arrival of Christianity in New Zealand could appeal especially to the new migrant churches, many of which now undertake their own missionary activity (Butcher and Wieland, 2015). New products and new markets make new demands on site managers. The staff and volunteers are arguably the people with the strongest stakes – as it affects their income and job satisfaction (especially if unpaid). Managers need to consider how welcoming faith-based visitors might require a different approach. Staff could benefit from training to be sensitive to these

visitors’ different needs and expectations. Creating a calm atmosphere offering restorative and spiritual benefits (Bond et al., 2015) at one part of the site while managing boisterous schoolchildren in another may require new skill sets. Engagement with community stakeholders and culturally diverse audiences are increasingly key criteria for grant applications to the government agencies, foundations and trusts. Other stakeholders can provide supporting references. Architects can testify to maintenance issues for heritage buildings applying for structural funding and suggest sensitive solutions which meet conservation standards; local school teachers can support educational grant applications for developments that enhance the curriculum for younger visitors. These examples indicate how stakeholder interests can be harnessed by managers at missionary heritage sites to foster constructive relationships. However, heritage stakeholders also present their own challenges, as Dame Cheryl Sotheran, founding Chief Executive

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Officer of Te Papa, observed well before the advent of social media: Stakeholders are ‘lobby groups like the art community’ and ‘the science communities and knowledge communities’. In sheer pragmatic terms, the difference is that ‘stakeholders don’t ever have to visit to have an opinion about it. They can have all the opinions in the world and exercise all kinds of pressures on you without ever going through the door, and a lot of them don’t’. On the other hand, ‘The good side of stakeholders is that they keep you totally honest and they ensure that you do your homework, they ensure that you observe all the transparencies and accountabilities that people expect of you. And the bad thing is that sometimes they don’t listen’. (Jackson and Parry, 2001, p. 187)

Reputational risk needs managing, and stakeholders can make or break this essential attribute of an attraction’s credibility and thus its viability, especially given the speed and spread of digital communications. Site managers need to be monitoring the social media presence, along with their other duties. Where a site’s history is contested, reputation can be particularly vulnerable.

Conclusion Understanding the nature and power of stakeholders is a vital task for site managers. In identifying stakeholders, the external operating environments must be monitored, as new

businesses or communities arrive and political and social shifts occur. Considering the relative levels of interest and influence of the stakeholders means first understanding the nature of their interests. Missionary heritage sites represent intersecting interests of Māori, religious organizations, the heritage sector, tourism industry and local residents, among many others. How to harness these various communities of interest means: (i) establishing and then fostering relationships; (ii) matching their interests to aspects of the site’s operation, interpretation, services and assets; (iii) balancing these interests; and (iv) building mutual respect through openness and accountability. The sustainability and reputation of missionary heritage may depend on these. Visitors on the early missionaries’ pathways in New Zealand are tracing significant encounters between Māori and Pākehā, starting points for the bicultural nation. Those missionary site managers committed to resilient bicultural development for Aotearoa New Zealand may wish to contribute to reconciliation through models such as hikoi routes pioneered by Hornblow and Boyack (2017). In the Post-Treaty Settlement era, deeper appreciation of national beginnings, acknowledgement of past misunderstandings involving the churches, positive acceptance of changing power relationships and willingness to partner are essential to an emerging ‘new normal’ (Kawharu, 2017). A Christian legacy dimension to New Zealand tourism utilizing missionary heritage sites could advance progress towards this ‘new normal’.

References Bell, R., Kawharu, M., Taylor, K., Belgrave, M. and Meihana, P. (eds) (2017) The Treaty on the Ground: Where We Are Headed and Why it Matters. Massey University Press, Auckland, New Zealand. Bond, N., Packer, J. and Ballantyne, R. (2015) Exploring visitor experiences, activities and benefits at three religious tourism sites. International Journal of Tourism Research 17(5), 471–481. https://doi. org/10.1002/jtr.2014 Burgess, L. (2007) Historic Houses: a Visitor’s Guide to 65 Early New Zealand Houses. Random House, Auckland, New Zealand. Burgess, L. (2015) Historic Churches: a Guide to Over 60 Early New Zealand Churches. Random House, Auckland, New Zealand. Butcher, A. and Wieland, G. (2015) The new Asian faces of Kiwi Christianity. In: Ghosh, G. and Leckie, J. (eds) Asians and the New Multiculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand. Otago University Press, Dunedin, New Zealand, pp. 193–216. Butts, D. and Abasa, S.F. (2014) Museums. In: Stone, L. (ed.) Informing New Zealand – He Puna Whakamōhio mō Aotearoa, 6th edn. Open Polytechnic, Wellington, pp. 153–164.



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Byrnes, G. (2009) Nation and migration – postcolonial perspectives. New Zealand Journal of History 43(2), 123–132. Davidson, L. and Sibley, P. (2011) Audiences at the ‘new’ museum: visitor commitment, diversity and leisure at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Visitor Studies 14(2), 176–194. https://doi. org/10.1080/10645578.2011.608009 Falk, J. (2009) Identity and the Museum Visitor. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California. Field, C. (2015) Fun, faith and fellowship: British Methodism and tourism in the twentieth century. Journal of Tourism History 7(1–2), 75–99. Fitzgerald, C. (2010) Letters from the Bay of Islands: the Story of Marianne Williams. Penguin, Auckland, New Zealand. Fitzgerald, C. (ed.) (2011) Te Wiremu – Henry Williams: Early Years in the North. Huia, Wellington. Freeman, R.E. (1984) Strategic Management: a Stakeholder Perspective. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Goulter, K. (2005) Northland Museums as Attractions: a Rich Tapestry of Experiences. Available at: http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/sitecollectiondocuments/tepapa/nationalservices/pdfs/events/ northlandmuseums.pdf (accessed 25 July 2018). Hornblow, J. and Boyack, J. (2017) Pilgrimages of transformation and reconciliation: Māori and Pakeha walking together in Aotearoa New Zealand. In: McIntosh, I. and Harman, D.H. (eds) The Many Voices of Pilgrimage and Reconciliation. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 19–30. International Council on Monuments and Sites New Zealand (ICOMOS) (2010) New Zealand Charter: for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Heritage Value. Available at: http://www.icomos.org.nz/docs/ NZ_Charter.pdf (accessed 27 July 2018). Jackson, B. and Parry, K. (2001) The Hero Manager: Learning from New Zealand’s Top Chief Executives. Penguin, Auckland, New Zealand. Kawharu, M. (2017) Measuring progress: reflections on the treaty on the ground. In: Bell, R., Kawharu, M., Taylor, K., Belgrave, M. and Meihana, P. (eds) The Treaty on the Ground: Where We are Headed and Why It Matters. Massey University Press, Auckland, New Zealand, pp. 297–310. King, M. (2003) History of New Zealand. Penguin, Auckland, New Zealand. Legget, J. (2009) Measuring what we treasure or treasuring what we measure? Investigating where community stakeholders locate the value in their museums. Museum Management and Curatorship 24, 213–232. https://doi.org/10.1080/09647770903073052 Legget, J. (2018) Shared heritage, shared authority, shared accountability? Co-generating museum performance criteria as a means of embedding ‘shared authority’. International Journal of Heritage Studies 24(7), 723–742. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2017.1413679 Mackay, B. and Usher, J. (2015) Worship – a History of New Zealand Church Design. Godwits, Auckland, New Zealand. McCarthy, C. (2011) Museums and Maori. Routledge, New York. McCarthy, C. (2013) The rules of (Maori) art: Bourdieu’s cultural sociology and Maori visitors in New Zealand museums. Journal of Sociology 49(2–3), 108–130. McClure, M. (2004) The Wonder Country: Making New Zealand Tourism. Auckland University Press, Auckland, New Zealand. McKercher, B. (2002) Towards a classification of cultural tourists. International Journal of Tourism Research 4(1), 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.346 Middleton, A. (2014) Pewhairangi: Bay of Islands Missions and Māori 1814–1845. Otago University Press, Dunedin, New Zealand. Morita, T. (2014) Spoiled for choice! Which sites shall we visit?: Destination choice of heritage attractions in New Zealand’s Bay of Islands. Master’s degree thesis, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. Morita, T. and Johnston, C.S. (2018) Are they all ‘serendipitous’? International Journal of Tourism Research 20, 378–387. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2189 Moscardo, G. (2010) The shaping of tourist experience: the importance of stories and themes. In: Morgan, M., Lugosi, P. and Ritchie, J.R.B. (eds) The Tourism and Leisure Experience: Consumer and Managerial Perspectives Aspects of Tourism. Channel View Publications, Buffalo, New York, pp. 43–58. National Services Te Paerangi (2004) He Rauemi Resource Guide: Bicultural Governance. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. Newman, K. (2010) Bible and Treaty: Missionaries Among the Māori – a New Perspective. Penguin, Auckland, New Zealand.

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Orange, C. (2011) The Treaty of Waitangi. Bridget Williams Books, Wellington. Pearson, D. (2007) The Retreat Pakaraka: a Conservation Plan and Condition Assessment 2007. Dave Pearson Architects Ltd, Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand. Pompallier Hokianga Trust (2018) Available at: https://hokiangapompallier.org.nz/ (accessed 25 October 2018). Rogers, L.M. (1998) Te Wiremu: a Biography of Henry Williams. Shoal Bay Press, Christchurch, New Zealand. Sisters of St Josephs of the Sacred Heart (2018) Available at: https://www.marymackillop.org.nz/ (accessed 25 October 2018). Stats NZ (2013) 2013 Census QuickStats about Culture and Identity – Religious Affiliation. Available at: http://archive.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-­cultureidentity/religion.aspx (accessed 18 August 2018). Whitford, M., Ruhanen, L. and Carr, A. (2017) Indigenous Tourism: Cases from Australia and New Zealand. Goodfellow Publishers, Oxford, UK.

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The Pilgrim Goes to the Festival: Changes in Daily Life Caused by the Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Abadia in Romaria, Brazil Luana Moreira Marques,1* Vicente de Paulo da Silva1 and Jean Carlos Vieira Santos2 1 Geography Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil; 2 State University of Goiás, Brazil

Introduction Men are social and sociable beings who live in a community and weave multiple relationships in the environment they inhabit. Part of these relationships comes from the action of religion on the social space. Religion dictates standards and delineates beliefs and practices that are made stronger by the idea of their sacredness. In this context, religious exercise, composed of rituals such as pilgrimages and religious festivals, has a direct impact on the places where they take place, on daily life, and on their subjects by modifying the way of seeing and living in the social space. Pilgrimages promote meetings, exchanges and movements that (re)create themselves through flows, and that change everyday life. In the act of moving in search of the sacred, the pilgrim seeks to find the time and space to become full and fulfilled. From this perspective religious practice seems to fill the gaps and to respond to many questions of various subjects. This motivates the pilgrim to traverse the paths, ritualizing their practices and aiming to conquer, even if temporarily, the myth of the sacred. Along the

way the pilgrim travels through a changing landscape and as he does so he transforms himself, engaging in a web of relationships, practices, places and people that are (re)built at every moment. This chapter explores the everyday changes motivated and mediated by pilgrimage to religious festivals, using as an example the festival in honour of Our Lady of the Abadia (Our Lady of the Abbey), held annually in the city of Romaria, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Religion and the Sacred The cult of what is considered sacred focuses directly on the social space and tends to be connected to a religion. To Durkheim (1995) all religions, from the ones considered to be the simplest like the Australian Aboriginal totem system to the most complex, present as their basis the following premise: the existence of a kind of divinity, the distinction between sacred and profane elements, the notion of soul/spirit, ascetic practices, and different kinds of rites.

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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Such characteristics contributed to the following concept of religion proposed by Durkheim (1995, p. 44): A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them. The second element thus holds a place in my definition that is no less essential than the first: in showing that the idea of religion is inseparable from the idea of a Church, it conveys the notion that religion must be an eminently collective thing.

In this perspective, Durkheim (1995) links religion to a system of sacred elements that influence collective social practices established by a church. In a similar line, Geertz (1993, p. 90) defines religion as: (1) a system of symbols (2) which acts to establish powerful, pervasive and long-lasting moods and motivations in men (3) by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.

Geertz’s proposal comes fragmented into five major parts. The first fragment of the concept involves the term symbol that for the author can mean:

• • • •

anything that means something or another to someone. For example, a charged cloud means rain about to fall; explicitly conventional signs of one kind or another, for example, a red flag is a symbol of danger, while the white flag means peace; something that expresses in an oblique and figurative way what cannot be said directly and literally; and any object, act, event, quality or relationship that serves as a link to a design.

Therefore, Geertz believes that the symbols or symbolic elements ‘are tangible formulations of notions, abstractions from experience fixed in perceptible forms, concrete embodiments of ideas, attitudes, judgments, longings, or beliefs’ (Geertz, 1993, p. 91). In the face of Geertz’s (1993) proposition that sees the formation of the religious system from a set of sacred symbols ordered between

each other, order that must be known to its supporters, Rosendahl (2005, p. 193) defines religion as ‘a system of sacred symbols and their values, involving the production, the consumption, the power, the locations and flows, and the social actors in their economic, political and place dimensions’. Although the leading authors Durkheim (1995), Geertz (1993) and Rosendahl (2005) have different scientific backgrounds and lived in different times, there is some convergence in their proposals. From them religion can be synthesized as a system connected to sacred elements or symbols that act directly in the design and modelling of a society. Therefore, religion is a social element and it is present in the formation of said society, reflecting its aspects, from the most agreeable to the vilest. There is no religion or religiosity without the presence of the sacred or sacredness. Men, as beings linked to the spiritual, search in the sacred the connection to an entity that has the power to overcome the limits of the physical body and of human possibilities. In this sense, Galimberti (2003) highlights the divine and separate dimension of the sacred when it refers to its concept: ‘Sacred’ is an Indo-European word meaning ‘separate’. The sacredness is therefore not a spiritual or moral condition, but an inherent quality to what has a relationship and contact with powers men, not being able to dominate, perceive as higher than themselves, and as such, attributable to a dimension then called ‘divine’ considered ‘separate’ and ‘other’ with respect to the human world. Men tend to keep away from the sacred, as always happens before that that is feared and at the same time attracts, as can be with respect to the origin of what one day we emancipated from. (Galimberti, 2003, p. 11)

Berger (1985) points out that the sacred is something that ‘jumps out’ of the routine, something that is extraordinary. Although separated from men, as pointed out by him as well as by Galimberti (2003), it refers and relates to the individual unlike other non-human phenomena, particularly the non-sacred. This interrelationship while transcending also includes men, who understand the sacred as a highly powerful element that is distinct and separate from themselves. However, it is to the sacred that men direct



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themselves and what endows their lives with meaning, ordering it according to their needs. The sacred is sacred only from the perspective of the other. It does not become divine by itself. Indeed, becoming sacred comes from the recognition of the profane. Understood as different, the element made sacred is separated from the ordinary and starts to exercise its power on the groups that recognize it as such. A rock can be sacred to certain communities, as well as a kind of animal to another. The idea of the sacred is therefore universal, but its practical recognition is given by specifics and locations. Durkheim (1995, p. 34) points out: ‘Sacred things are not simply those personal beings that are called gods or spirits. A rock, a tree, a spring, a pebble, a piece of wood, a house, in a word anything can be sacred.’ To him, sacred objects cannot be definitively determined because their extensions have infinite variations that occur within each religion. Thus, each individual carries a concept and a practice of sacred that is connected to their belief system, which in its turn is driven by the social group they are inserted in. Galimberti (2003) also states that for contact with the sacred world different people, spaces and times are designated to mark a distinction between the sacred and the profane. The people would be characterized as consecrated priests and separated from the general community (marked by profane imperfection). The spaces should be set apart from the others and have some kind of power such as mountains, rivers, springs and, afterwards, temples. Finally, sacred times should differentiate themselves and be called festive, that is, times that are outside of daily work and prohibitions. The three pillars, people, spaces and times, would bring a very clear differentiation of what is sacred as opposed to the profane world.

The Pilgrimage as a Way of Reaching the Sacred Pilgrimage is one of the ways of seeking the sacred. Although its origins date back to antiquity, it is still present in modern times. Many of the features of contemporary pilgrimages, such as travel marked by difficulties, by physical suffering and by the obstinacy to reach the desired

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place, originated in the ancient world. In The Odyssey by Homer, for example, one can see the story of Odysseus as a potent symbol for inner spiritual journey in the search of home (Coleman and Elsner, 1995). Odysseus (or Ulysses in Roman mythology) was the king of Ithaca, a Greek island, from which he leaves to fight in many wars. After the conquest of Troy, Odysseus undertakes a strenuous and dangerous 10-year journey back to Ithaca, his land, depriving himself of material pleasures while determined to find Penelope, his faithful wife, and his son, Telemachus. For Coleman and Elsner (1995) the story of Odysseus was taken as a religious allegory of resignation of material pleasures in favour of transcendence, just as on pilgrimages. On the link between pilgrimages of the ancient world in relation to those practised by religions that began in the Near East, especially Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Coleman and Elsner (1995, p. 29) note: In some respects, pilgrimage in the ancient world was remarkably similar to pilgrimage in the world religions that began in the Near East – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In many formal and social aspects, it was their historical ancestor. It emphasized ritualized travel, frequently modifying the normal activities of everyday life, to sacred centers often far away from where the pilgrim lived. It brought the pilgrim healing, miracles and contact with the divine forces of the other world. Like Christian and Muslim pilgrimage, it helped to build and reinforce the identity of devotees, initiates and believers through shared rituals and experience.

In the Middle Ages pilgrimage found a movement towards nature. Common people such as pilgrims and lay penitents abandoned cities and became hermits in the deserts or in the wildernesses. Some of these places later became shrines and Catholic pilgrimage centres, especially between the 16th and 18th century in Europe. The same period was marked by several appearances and discoveries of miraculous images that effervesced the population’s imagination and initiated various cults and pilgrimages (Steil, 1996). In relation to the paths taken by the traveller in the Middle Ages, García de Cortazar (1994) highlights the dualism of the pilgrimage that covers both the outward journey and the interior one. According to this author, pilgrimage

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during the period had at the same time a sense of external movement of the subject on the space and it led to an internal incursion (inside oneself) that sought to reaffirm and strengthen their own beliefs. Pilgrimage, in this sense, doesn’t represent solely the mechanical movement between places, but also the way to heaven. In post-modernity pilgrimage is part of a movement that seeks the experience of the sacred, but not necessarily with the mediation of the institution of the church. This is the case of hundreds of pilgrims who travel the Way of Saint James, but are not devotees of this religious icon (Steil, 2003). They undertake the journey seeking self-knowledge and internal illumination. The search for the sacred is no longer on the other but allocated in oneself. The traveller is fulfilled on the way and raises his own sense of sacred in roaming. The physical effort and the difficulty of the path are still a way to connect the profane world with the purity of the sacred. In this context, suffering and sacrifice redeem the sins of men – a thought that for centuries was widespread in the Roman Catholic Church and is preserved in the current pilgrim practices. Just as in the Middle Ages, contemporary pilgrimages continue to break away from the ordinary routine of individuals and transport them to the time–space of the itinerant, of the path. This is something ephemeral and fleeting, but full of meaning. The pilgrim of the 21st century has new scenarios, values, techniques and technologies. The movement continues to be done, but it has adapted. The search for the sacred remains, but it is accompanied by new practices and sceneries. Today’s traveller has a wealth of information via the internet, books, journals, etc., and often has profane spaces to exercise consumerism. It is possible, for example, to light virtual candles through the internet or even ‘take a stroll’ through the Sistine Chapel. However, these online practices and movements do not replace the reality of matter. Admiring Michelangelo’s work on a computer screen and experiencing it in the Vatican bring different feelings, because the environment is not the same. Therefore, the fluidity of time and experiences modify the surroundings and the landscape of the traveller, but in its essence the restlessness and the search to walk the paths of life, figuratively or literally, remain.

Therefore, pilgrimage reflects a diversity of historical, cultural, social, religious, political and economic contexts, reflecting in the present past practice and giving way to a meeting of different times, experiences, actions and subjects. It is a motion of time and space. Pilgrimage is, consequently, diverse spaces and times. It adds on to itself a multitude of people, beliefs, practices and values. It is a democratic ritual that protects itself in the search of the sacred, carrying with it a strong social, cultural, economic and political dimension.

The Socio-spatial Changes Resulting from the Devotion to Our Lady of the Abadia Devotion to Our Lady of the Abadia began in the 12th century with the discovery of an image of the Virgin Mary between a rock outcrop in a valley bottom located in Freguesia do Bouro Santa Maria, in the parish of Amares, Braga District, in north Portugal. On colonizing and immigrating to Brazil, the Portuguese brought with them their practices and religiousness, among them the cult of Our Lady of the Abadia. This devotion spread throughout the interior of Brazil, especially in the municipalities of Muquém, located in the state of Goiás, and Romaria, located in the state of Minas Gerais. Romaria is known as the main Catholic devotional centre in the region and it is home to the festival in Praise of Our Lady of the Abadia, an event that attracts thousands of people to the destination annually. Romaria has an estimated population of 3657 inhabitants (IBGE, 2015) and it is mainly an agricultural city. Vieira (2001) points out that the pilgrimages started with the arrival, from Portugal, of the image of Our Lady of the Abadia in Romaria, first in the makeshift chapel and later moving to the main church. From 1916, with the work of Canon Primo Maria Vieira, pilgrimages grew considerably, reaching about 45,000 devotees in 1919. These individuals came from several cities in both the surrounding areas and other regions. With the growth of devotion to the saint in Romaria, plus the work of Padre Eustaquio Van Lieshout, a new sanctuary began to be built. Construction lasted 49 years, starting in 1926



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and finishing in May 1975 (Santuário de Nossa Senhora d’Abadia, 2011). Every August the city transforms itself due to the festival in honour of the patron saint, held annually on the 15th of this month. The festival in Romaria generates a kind of collective catharsis, big enough to change the urban spatial dynamics and the daily lives of those involved in the pilgrimages. Overall, the changes that are made in the festive period are undone at the end of the event for the return of everyday life. But this return is not complete, because the festival, somehow, even if infinitesimally, changes the subject and its space year after year. It is noteworthy that a festival is a human action in space that starts with the pilgrim’s beliefs and desires. It is materialized by the meeting of people and practices that moves and transforms places, landscapes and territories, and that even promotes new regionalization. The festival is permeated by movement, coexistences and flows that are (re)made in everyday life. To Marques (2011): A party [festival] is construction of the subject, a realization of the human. It is a network of pleasure, generosity, donation, friendship, exchanges, relations ... It is an instrument of mediation, communication, integration ... And in it there is also power, transgression, opposition, irreverence, humanities ... Ultimately, a party [festival] is an event of meeting and movement that (re)creates itself daily. (Marques, 2011, p. 51)

In this direction, a festival becomes a place of establishment of relationships lived in time and space. These relationships happen in daily life and they bind themselves to the global through connections and networks. It is worth noting that everyday life can reveal more than routine practices. From an analytical point of view, social, economic and cultural relations entangled in collective and individual actions can be unravelled. From this perspective, Lefebvre (1991) states that daily life serves as a guiding principle for understanding the society, since ‘it is in everyday life that true creations, ideas, values, and customs happen. Feelings are expressed in everyday life. It is in daily life that one is happy or suffers’ (Lefebvre, 1991, p. 27). Everyday life is, in this perspective, the time and the intangible space of actions, of experiences.

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It’s in it that relationships occur, which in turn form the social. In other words, everyday life is not something formed by a temporal linearity, it overcomes the barrier of the visible present and establishes itself by a set of actions, conflicts, contradictions and changes that occur over time and lie in the paths of history. Thus, the obviousness of what is revealed to be the routine at first glance is partial; it goes much further, because it is woven by complex and invisible networks that are there, making the stage for the reproduction of the individual and its social skills. According to Brandão (1974), a festival settles in a strip of everyday life. It changes what is considered routine, but not only for the resident or those ‘established’ in the place, using the terminology proposed by Elias and Scotson (2000). Instead, a festival is complex and, overcoming the one-sided view and watching it systemically, it changes the daily lives of many subjects as well as social elements. It is in a context of movement and flow that in the first half of August the city of Romaria receives thousands of pilgrims who arrive to fulfil promises, give thanks and renew their faith in the patron saint. In the early days of the month, several stalls are set up on the pavements of the houses around the churches. Over the days the movement increases reaching its peak on 15 August, the patron saint’s day and a local holiday in several of the neighboring cities. According to a survey carried out by the police, on the day of the festival around 300,000 people go through the city – a number that although seems to be an overestimate, indicates a sharp increase in the city’s population. Romaria does not have the basic or touristic infrastructure to receive this influx of visitors. What is done is done in a temporary and informal way. Trade is conducted mainly by pedlars who travel through major events (usually religious) across Brazil. Tourists and stallholders stay in houses or rooms rented specifically for the festive period, or in the few hotels and lodgings found in the city, or even in camps raised in vacant lots. Preparations for the festival begin weeks earlier. A whole infrastructure for receiving the faithful is set up, although this is still insufficient. When the calendar of the festival is released, the pilgrims take to the road. In the city, speakers are installed so that the local radio can

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broadcast information, dozens of chemical toilets are made available, and there’s also an increase in the numbers of police and health professionals ready to assist the visitors. The festival modifies the daily life of Romaria’s residents as well as the everyday life of other subjects, like those who go on the pilgrimage, those who settle in road points to assist pilgrims, and those who remain in their place of origin waiting for the return of their peers who undertook the pilgrimage. Broadly, there are also changes in the space in its multiple dimensions – place, landscape, territory and region – which are reconfigured or simply modified so they can handle different situations and the increase in numbers of people. Finally, there are changes to the practices of public, private and religious institutions, such as local government, trade and church. All these individuals, institutions and spaces are permeated by everyday life relationships. They weave networks and new forms of (re)production in the space, during and outside the festival. The high flow of people has an impact on the access roads to the city. People arrive by car

and bus, on foot, in the back of trucks, on horseback, by motorcycles, on bicycles and even oxcarts (although the latter are not used for day-to-day transport). Pilgrims come from all around the neighbouring cities as well as from other regions of the country. During this period they rent houses, stay in hotels, camp near the church, or return to their place of origin on the same day. This has an impact on the roads, which are crammed with pilgrims sharing space with assistance booths and various types of vehicles. On the road the pilgrims establish new social relationships with individuals who share the same symbolic values. Between the cities of Uberlandia and Romaria, for example, several tents are installed to serve as points of support for the devotees who travel the 88 km between the city and the Shrine of Our Lady of the Abadia on foot (Fig. 13.1). The tents are manned by several volunteers and health workers, who distribute food, bandage and massage the feet of walkers, and help in any way possible to minimize their discomfort and pain. Usually these support points work only between 1 and 15 August, a time during which thousands of devotees

Fig. 13.1.  Support tent for pilgrims set up between the cities of Uberlandia and Romaria, Brazil. (Photograph by Luana Moreira Marques, August 2014.)



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perform the annual pilgrimage. After the festival, everything is dismantled and the routine of pilgrims, volunteers, nurses and all the public involved in the event tends to return to normal. With the festival’s approach the landscape of the city of Romaria starts to be occupied by new elements and subjects. Thousands of people take to the streets of Romaria, consuming, trading, loitering and praying. It is a mixture of devotion (Fig. 13.2) and fun that completely changes the (re)production of the everyday life of the place. And the place, as affective space, is reached by visitors who have it as a destination of devotion. Many make the pilgrimage because they want to fulfil a promise, ask for holy intervention or even honour the saint. Along with the pilgrims, hundreds of informal traders arrive in the city, who settle in the vicinity of the church and on the busiest streets to sell religious items, food, clothing, household items, electronics and souvenirs. Although fleeting, this movement promotes large flows that mobilize the city of Romaria and the population of the surrounding areas. Traders install themselves on the pavements of Romaria’s residents and pay fees to ‘rent’ the space. They also pay a fee to the city council authorizing their temporary establishment in the public space. The amount they pay varies according to the pavement’s location relative to the shrine and also the size of the plot taken: the closer to the temple and the greater the size of the plot, the higher the municipal and rental fees. The informal trade directly affects the town’s local market. The competitive prices offered

(a)

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in the tents make the local population and the visitors await the arrival of the festival to shop. Romaria’s stores go through temporary financial decline and stop their activities on the busiest days of the festival. Furthermore, employees accustomed to a population of just over 3000 people could not cope with the increased flow. The loss of income of local workers has been compensated with the use of their labour in other types of work – also informal and temporary. This makes a saleswoman, for example, become a manager of the makeshift parking lot in the backyard of her home or help in the assistance of the pilgrims in the church’s gift shop on festival days. The arrival of itinerant traders not only changes the private institutions of the place, but also causes changes in the daily lives of the locals, of the pilgrims and the formal workers of Romaria, among others. There are effects also on the landscape of the city, in the struggle for territory, among many other changes in daily life brought about by the festival. Many of the residents have the habit of renting out spaces in their own homes, such as bathrooms and garages or even the whole house, to groups of pilgrims during the period of the festival. To do this and collect the extra income, the residents become guests in the homes of relatives or friends, or even settle for staying in a single room of their own homes. They sometimes get some extra income by working in the event as small informal traders, usually selling food or any other easy-to-handle products. Some locals take on the role of real-estate broker,

(b)

Fig. 13.2.  Landscape of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Abadia outside the time of the festival (a) and during the festival of the patron saint (b). (Photograph by Luana Moreira Marques, June and August 2012, respectively.)

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intermediating the temporary leasing of real estate (during the festival period) between owners and visitors. The rent varies according to the quality of the residence, the size, structure and the presence of furniture, which is welcomed because it spares the lodger the effort of bringing furniture from their home cities. The extra income received during the period of the festival contributes temporarily to the family’s support that afterwards relies only on the wages from their work in the city or in the fields, since Romaria is a city that survives, in general, on agricultural production. This extra capital allows the acquisition and maintenance of consumer goods that are beyond the possibility of these families’ regular income. The school calendar is also changed during the festival period. Both state and municipal schools change their vacation period and take a break in the period prior to the event. As well as educational institutions, the health centre closes its activities of routine care and works only with preventions and emergencies. Also noteworthy is the considerable increase in the flow of beggars, mostly leprosy patients. There are also carriers of serious illnesses, physical disabilities, blind people led by children, and ailing people who use their exposed wounds as a way to move passers-by into offering them alms. They are considered to be ‘professional festival beggars’ because they migrate from event to event collecting donations. In the Romaria festival the sacred and the profane coexist in a complementary way. The discourse of the religious institution in a way condemns the profane, however, it also knows that it helps to generate income. The collection for the church takes place mainly through cash donations, gifts to be auctioned during the festive period and the sale of religious items in the sanctuary store. Farmers across the region donate cattle, calves, horses, foals, pigs and other animals to be auctioned off in what is now known locally as ‘the saint’s pen’ whose income is administered by the church. This shows that in addition to faith and belief in something sacred, the devotion is also used by many – the local population, traders, church, etc. – as a way to raise funds. Not even the most humble pilgrims arrive at the holy image without having something to donate to the church, just as it is unlikely that visitors do not

consume any goods or services during their passage through the city, changing, even temporarily, the economic dynamics of the destination. One observes that all the highlighted changes affect the daily lives of individuals, spaces and institutions. They are interconnected therefore they generate and suffer mutual and simultaneous interference that alter both the space and the daily life of the subjects, from the pilgrims, to the trader, to the local population. From this perspective, when it comes to everyday social life, there are no linear patterns or even disconnected elements but instead integrated movements that delineate the space and change it constantly.

Conclusion Pilgrimage is one of the ways used by man to seek the sacred. By relying on the shift in space, it transforms individuals and places. The act of pilgrimage alters not only the routine of the residents of the destinations where they are held, but also those who participate in the event as tourists, vow-fulfillers, merchants, etc. It is salutary to remember that even the people who do not undertake the pilgrimage, or who are not directly involved in the event, can be impacted by the religious manifestation, because they remain waiting and missing the one who left for the devotional journey. A multiplicity of subjects, concerns and practices cause the pilgrimage to aggregate the sacred and the profane. On pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Abadia in Romaria, both the sacred and the profane do not have rigid boundaries that determine their performances. Rather, both move between times, spaces and subjects, depending on the circumstances of the  story of devotion and faith that surrounds the city. In other words, often the sacred and the profane are mixed in the same destination, complementing each other in their complexities and nuances. Facing the dynamics outlined in this chapter it is observed that the essence of space and of everyday practices in Romaria is voraciously changed during the 15 days of the festival in devotion to their patron saint. The end of the festive time marks the re-establishment of the



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routine. Naturally, subjects and institutions return to their everyday practices and gain once more possession of their city. Every year this movement is repeated, bringing with it new opportunities for trade, gains, losses and streams of visitors that act directly on the space of the city and its subjects. It is important to note that during the year the community does not live their daily lives driven by the worship and pilgrimage to the patron saint. However, this does not mean a break with the social relations imprinted by the existence of the sanctuary, once it is loaded with

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social and cultural value for residents. This scenario strengthens the bond of Romaria to the cult of Our Lady, making it unlikely to think of the city without considering its religious vocation.

Acknowledgements We thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for supporting this research through scholarships.

References Berger, P. (1985) O Dossel Sagrado. Paulus, São Paulo, Brazil. Brandão, C. (1974) Cavalhadas de Pirenópolis. Goiânia, Oriente, Brazil. Coleman, S. and Elsner, J. (1995) Pilgrimage. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Durkheim, E. (1995) The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. Free Press, New York. Elias, N. and Scotson, J. (2000) Os Estabelecidos e os Outsiders. Jorge Zahar, Rio de Janeiro. Galimberti, U. (2003) Rastros do Sagrado. Paulus, São Paulo, Brazil. García de Cortazar, J.A. (1994) El hombre medieval como ‘Homo Viator’: peregrinos y viajeros. In: IV Semana de Estudios Medievales, Nájera 1993. Available at: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/ articulo?codigo=554277 (accessed 16 May 2016). Geertz, C. (1993) The Interpretation of Cultures. Fontana Press, London, pp. 87–125. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) (2015) Romaria. Available at: http://cod.ibge.gov.br/ BH8 (accessed 20 May 2016). Lefebvre, H. (1991) A Vida Cotidiana no Mundo Moderno. Ática, São Paulo, Brazil. Marques, L. (2011) A festa em nós. Master’s degree thesis, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. Rosendahl, Z. (2005) Território e territorialidade: uma perspectiva geográfica para o estudo da religião. In: Rosendahl, Z. and Roberto Lobato, C. (eds) Geografia: Temas Sobre Cultura e Espaço. EdUERJ, Rio de Janeiro. Santuário de Nossa Senhora d’Abadia (2011) Galeria. Available at: http://www.senhoradabadia.com.br/galeria/albumgal.php?cod=54 (accessed 20 August 2011). Steil, C. (1996) O Sertão das Romarias. Vozes, Petrópolis, Brazil. Steil, C. (2003) Peregrinação, romaria e turismo religioso. In: Abumanssur, E. (ed.) Turismo Religioso. Papirus, Campinas, Brazil. Vieira, M. (2001) Nossa Senhora d’Abadia. Academia Senhora da Abadia, Romaria, Brazil.

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Managing Catholic Churches and Sacred Sites for Protestant Visitors to Malta

Dane Munro* Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture, University of Malta, Malta

Introduction to Malta as a Sacred Island As a consequence of a conference on faith-based tourism to Malta, held on 19–21 October 2017, the niche market for faith-based tourism was officially launched and its existence immediately acknowledged and recognized by the Minister for Tourism of Malta. A working group was formed in order to give shape to this market and to deliver practical solutions, with regard to programmes, content, interpretation and management, including earning models. Malta has seen a growth in recent years in faith-based travel and pilgrimage, some of it caused by the attraction of Malta’s religio-cultural heritage, while other motivations were fear of travelling to destinations which are deemed to have become unsafe. The issue is now to transform this growth based on involuntary opportunism to a conscious resourcefulness, resulting in a sustainable and durable niche market for faith-based tourism. Many people have, throughout the ages, considered tiny Malta as a sacred island, a home of many religions and a palimpsest of divinities. A long sequence of famous divinities (including those of the Neolithic and Classical periods) and saints can be observed in Malta through their tangible remains (Renfrew, 1990, 2004; Trump,

2002; Rountree, 2003; Bonanno, 2005). These divinities range from the Mater Magna, via Isis and Astarte to the Virgin Mary, besides a long catalogue of male divinities. The resonance and vestige of both tangible and intangible aspects of Malta’s past gave way to this idea of Malta as a sacred island, possibly as a reaction to Themistocles Zammit’s (1930) idea of naming Malta ‘the holy island of Neolithic Faith’. The first signs of a Christian culture in Malta perhaps need some more explanation. Christianity’s advent in Malta is thought to be connected to the providential shipwreck of the later apostolic St Paul in the year ad 60 on the island of Melite, as narrated in the Acts of the Apostles 27 and 28 of the New Testament. The missionary zeal of St Paul introduced Christianity far beyond its Judaic birthplace and boundaries. Obviously, at that time Christianity was still spread by word of mouth, as the New Testament had not been compiled and edited yet. The shipwreck of St Paul is seen by many Maltese as the birth of their Latin European identity as Maltese, and accordingly, Malta as a sacred island. Mainstream Christianity, this time with its Holy Book and accompanied by the Marian cult, were introduced to Malta during the 4th century, when Christianity arrived on the islands on

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a large scale through the Romans (Buhagiar, 1988). During the era of the Order of St John (1530–1798), a large number of chapels, churches and cathedrals were built, dedicated to a plethora of patron saints. The Order also commissioned an enormous amount of religious art, which at present still can be enjoyed in places of worship and in other edifices and spaces. Together with the Jesuits, the Order developed a serious pilgrimage industry centred on the cult of St Paul (Azzopardi and Blondy, 2012), woven around the Grand Tour of young upper-class men and women visiting Europe (Freller, 1995, 2009). A large segment in the recent growth of faith-based tourism to Malta is represented by Protestant visitors. The majority arrive in Malta to discover the places where St Paul has left traces, while a much smaller number visits with the purpose of reconnecting with the Marian traditions which were discarded by Protestantism. One of the current issues is that there is an urgent need to provide a variation of interpretations of Maltese Roman Catholic churches and traditions in order to reach out and connect to the Protestant visitors and to make Malta’s religio-­ cultural heritage relevant to them. This issue is also acknowledged by the local incoming tour operators, who have realized that Protestant visitors from Northern Europe have different needs from the Catholic visitors from Southern Europe.

Pilgrimage the Protestant Way Martin Luther’s Reformation idea was that the only pilgrimage one would need was an inner one, through reading the Scriptures. The outer journey could be discarded, and from the comfort of their homes, Christians were now able to follow the inner journey and absorb themselves in introspection, prayer and meditation through the Word of God alone (Dawn, 2011). Luther’s argument that a pilgrimage could be made from an armchair while reading the Bible has not withstood the test of time. Protestant travellers enjoy being at Biblical sites and reading the corresponding Bible passages there and then. Davidson and Gitlitz (2002) also suggest that the physical, outer journey is as important as the

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spiritual, inner journey or inner pilgrimage, facilitating change and enlightenment. Merton (1967, p. 72), a Trappist monk, adds a touch of Zen philosophy to the idea that only the outer, physical journey makes possible the inner journey. He holds that ‘[T]he geographical pilgrimage is the symbolic acting out of an inner journey. The inner journey is the interpolation of the meanings and signs of the outer pilgrimage.’ In addition, for the last 20 years or so it has become evident that many people make the outer journey to facilitate a whole new range of inner journeys, not necessarily for the religious side of the matter only, but for the spiritual side of the walk itself, such as those who set out for the Camino (Dawn, 2011, p. 34). As it appears from interviews held with a number of Protestant faith-based tourists to Malta and from literature, the word pilgrimage carries in some circles the same taboo as the Virgin Mary, being too close to Roman Catholicism for comfort (Gaventa and Rigby, 2002; Karlsaune, 2002; Perry, 2006). Hence, Protestants who go on a pilgrimage may call it faith-­ travel instead, in order not to be suspected of conforming to certain Roman Catholic principles such as salvation or damnation. As a global idea, the yearning for pilgrimage over the millennia remains undiminished, even in some parts of the Protestant world where pilgrimage has been banished. Protestants come to Malta for a ‘cultural’ journey. It can be inferred that such a cultural holiday to Malta to visit, for example, the sites of St Paul, is all but a pilgrimage in name. Their goal is to have a living experience of the Scriptures to deepen their faith and to acquire a more intensive understanding of the Scriptures on the spot, far away from their armchairs and the comfort of their homes. None of the above arguments against pilgrimage has ever stopped religious people going on a pilgrimage, even if they call this faith-travel (Maraval, 2002). However, neither salvation nor Catholicism defines the concept of pilgrimage; it is in this respect just an additional element to the kaleidoscope of possibilities pilgrimage has to offer. Protestants may have decided to reject Roman Catholic elements of Christianity, but they cannot place themselves outside the millennia-old human tradition of travelling for religious purposes, which travel also allows for time at leisure. Protestants are part of the human

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tradition and St Augustine gives a very good motivation for travelling and learning about religions (St Augustine of Hippo, 2012, Book VII, Chapter 32 of The City of God) when he writes that paganism is a precursor of Christianity and that Christianity is the fulfilment of paganism. In this respect, the faith-travel of Protestants is as much a pilgrimage as any other pilgrimage. In this respect, many Protestants think that Luther threw away too many traditions too soon. Religious traditions are millennia old, and through the process of assimilation, elements of the past find their way into new religions. Many of these traditions were understood and deemed so obvious by contemporaries that they were not written down when the New Testament was composed. To then scrap those traditions because they did not find their way into writing (but remained in art), is a tall order for many modern Protestants.

In the Footsteps of St Paul Where does this leave the Protestant who is following the footsteps of St Paul in Malta? Wherever it is known where St Paul travelled, pilgrim routes have been set up, which justifies that in Malta a national St Paul’s pilgrims’ route should be designed. When one listens carefully, there are signals coming from the local tourism sector that there is a need for a number of different routes for various purposes within tourism, making available more churches and places of worship for their character, spirit of place and authenticity. The latter has become a topic on its own within faith-based tourism and authenticity, or the lack of it, may be a more important matter for a pilgrim than for the average tourist. Timothy (2011, pp. 107–108) remarks that under the constructivist umbrella, there exist many stakeholders who are engaged in creating religious sites and experiences, all having a different idea of authenticity and how it must be interpreted. Besides authenticity, the industry is also referring here to the phenomenon of ‘spirit of place’, one of those qualities which is hard to describe, but its absence is instantly felt. Any physical place created to be a meaningful social space for people, including that of religious or spiritual significance, is regarded as a cultural construct (Ivakiv, 2003), and the spirit of such a

place, its identity and its interpretation are important factors which may influence the mood of the visitors (Shackley, 1998, 2001). From interviews with and the observation of Protestant visitors to baroque churches in Malta, one may notice generally one of two reactions: an immediate rejection of the spirit of place, or a careful and considered approach towards it. A positive reaction can result in further tangible experiences. St Paul’s Grotto in Rabat, Malta, is a rather small site, where there is in the grotto itself a statue of St Paul, by the school of Bernini. The grotto is open as part of a museum to all visitors, but is during museum opening hours also visited by religious groups to celebrate Holy Mass or have a spiritual moment in the presence of St Paul. The dynamics of the shared space and how differently the spirit of place can be created or perceived may be illustrated here. A group of Polish Roman Catholic pilgrims entered the grotto, making a circle, holding hands, whereby the statue of St Paul becomes part of the circle, as a tangible object and a participant in the handholding exercise. They sang those typical melancholic Polish hymns and had a truly deep religious and spiritual experience, filling the grotto with a spirit of place, leading to great fulfilment. They were at a place where many people had prayed before, including recent popes, a place where they literally could connect to St Paul, their object of veneration, in a place mentioned in the Scriptures. The next group, an evangelical group from the Netherlands, was already waiting in an adjacent cave, looking in bewilderment at this highly emotional happening. When the Polish group left, part of the spirit of place left with them, leaving the next group in its residue. When it was their turn, the Dutch group entered the grotto and the group leader, their vicar, said a few careful words regarding the shipwreck of St Paul, and led the group into prayer. This lasted less than a few minutes and the group left the grotto, seemingly untouched by the experience and not able to create its own spirit of place. A few members of this group lingered and waited until their vicar was out of sight. They shuffled forwards, touching the statue of St Paul, holding his hands and had their photographs taken, clearly enjoying a forbidden ‘Catholic’ moment of fulfilment. When I asked them why they had to ‘steal’ this moment of enjoyment, they whispered that



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their vicar was very strict and would not allow any form of idolatry. He visited the grotto with his flock because it was a Scriptural matter, but he detested the statue, which he found an absolute distraction from the Word, as many Protestants simply prefer the Christ-centred Scriptural approach to religion. For this reason they call St Paul simply Paul, and Our Lady simply Mary, to strip the divine aspect away and to emphasize their humanity rather than their divinity.

Madonna, a Superstar Our Lady is a national patron saint of Malta and dedication to Her is far and wide (Borg, 1983a, b). In agreement with Hermkens et al. (2009), the Marian sites are regarded to be among the most significant pilgrim sites in the world, including Malta. This importance is not only a consequence of globalization of religion and increased accessibility to inexpensive flights, but it is also argued that Marian pilgrimages are resistant to the aspect of modernity and secularization, and therefore of great importance to faith-based tourism. Many Roman Catholic pilgrimages to Malta have a point of gravity centring around Our Lady. This is not only typical for Malta but it is in conformity with the abovementioned worldwide growth of the phenomenon. Hermkens et al. (2009) comment that notwithstanding trends of secularization and un-churching in the Western world, Mary, Mother of God, has reached the status of superstar. Old and new sites dedicated to Mary are receiving increasing numbers of visitors, in Europe and the USA. Our Lady has been venerated in Malta for centuries and there are dozens of places and sites dedicated to Her. From personal observation, the older shrines seem to attract a new and varied public: the traditionally devout, the elderly and the sick seeking spiritual or physical healing, are getting company from tourists, migrants and activists. It remains a mystery why there is such a renewed and growing interest in Our Lady and in related pilgrimages. Within this phenomenon of veneration of Our Lady by Roman Catholics, there are also a number of other trends visible in Malta. The most remarkable trend in recent years is of progressive Protestant women who want to get re-acquainted with Our Lady.

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Protestants Seeking Our Lady Many Roman Catholics would have some degree of reverence for Our Lady and a sense of continuity, linked to an emphasis on the value of the female role in religion. For Maltese women, Holy Mary is a sample of strength and a source of identity and empowerment. This appears to be much less the case with the adherents of Protestantism, where the role of the female is not as strong. In some Protestant academic literature (Gaventa and Rigby, 2002; Perry, 2006) a trend is noticed of reconciliation with Roman Catholicism, which is no longer regarded as the theological enemy. Within this debate, it is argued to stop seeing Mary at the centre of theological disunity and develop a new relationship with the critical topic of Our Lady. Perry (2006) says the Evangelicals are rather nervous when it comes to Our Lady and the longstanding prejudice to Roman Catholic idolatry is difficult to defeat. Although Our Lady is prominently present in the Scriptures, she is also prominently ignored from the pulpit. As Gaventa and Rigby (2002, p. 1) suggest, it is time for the Protestants to ‘[j]oin in the blessing of Mary’. After all, in Luke 1: 48 Mary is allowed to make a grand and unforgettable entry with the Magnificat – ‘[f]rom now on all generations will call me blessed’. Among the Protestant adherents, there are also some open-minded modern spirits who want to get more acquainted with Mary and the female empowerment. One of the reasons for this phenomenon, according to the research of Miller-McLemore (2002), is that the Protestant experience of Mary is one of absence. Mary is absent in her role as mediatrix, which is highly valued in Catholicism, and she is overshadowed by the eclipsed role of women and mothers, so religiously and publicly valued in Protestantism. Although Mary has a restricted appearance in the Bible and much about Her is not known, it appears, that the Scriptures ‘[l]eft plenty of room for invention’ (Miller-McLemore, 2002, pp. 110–111). Since Mary knew Jesus first and best, it allows inroads to the complexity of Mary’s motherhood, to enrich Protestant thinking about good motherhood at present. After all, nobody knew Jesus better than Mary. Migliore (2002) cites Mary Hines, who says that Mary

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ought to be freed from her Protestant interpretations of the past and that a rethinking is needed regarding the importance of Mary for Protestant women. The latter are interested in the way the Maltese deal with Mary, since in the eyes of some Protestants, Mary has become a ‘[m]odel for motherhood and the archetype of the ideal woman’. Mary has also become an empowering model for female spirituality, a call to Ministry and solidarity with the poor. In this context, a group of eight Dutch modern Protestant women, who were open to new impulses, were intrigued by the way the Maltese went about Mary, even envious about the freedom and empowerment it offered. They agreed that their world could use a bit more Mary rather than strict male dominance. In their world, Mary existed only as a miniature figure in the manger setting, placed beneath the Christmas tree. One of this group remarked that the way the Maltese go about Mary, many aspects of feminism have been already answered. The idea of a caring and understanding, warm Mother of all has a wide appeal to modern Protestants. Those who have an open mind, and when a fitting interpretation is provided, may look with a new kind of insight at the many Marian statues available, without losing their Protestantism. Under such conditions, even such a difficult and complex matter as the ex-voto rooms of Ta’ Pinu, the national pilgrims’ shrine at Gozo, can yield surprising results. One lady, from the Netherlands, had a kind of epiphany at Ta’ Pinu, caused by a sudden, overwhelming liberating feeling. To make a long story short, some time ago her daughter had become pregnant and the doctors had detected a terribly deformed foetus, with no chance of life. Abortion was recommended. The young parents, also devoted Protestants, refused. Resisting the pressure of the medical professionals, the pregnancy was carried out to full term under stressful circumstances. To everyone’s surprise, the baby was born healthy. The family prayed to God and Jesus, thanking them for this healthy child. And that was it, life carried on, with a grandchild. When this lady arrived in the back of the Ta’ Pinu church, where hundreds of ex-votos are placed as gratitude for the graces received from Our Lady, she became rather emotional. Her travel companions became concerned and asked what the matter was. She cried, ‘I finally know

where I can go with my gratitude.’ As she explained, in terms of emotional discharge, her Protestant environment, still very much male dominated, was rather restricting and it had choked and repressed the expression of her emotions after that 9-months-long pregnancy ordeal. Seeing the freedom of expression of emotions in the Maltese Catholic Marian setting made her realize that she wanted to shout her happiness and gratitude from the roofs, rather than in a standard formulated prayer. The mother-tomother connection was rediscovered as a channel for emotional closure. One Protestant group is not like the other. On one occasion, an extended family of 11 people from a very closed and strict Reformist community of a small village in Switzerland, who took their Bible only literally, were disgusted with the way the Maltese went about Mary. They disliked the local veneration to Mary and all Her statues and came with Scriptural arguments against the Marian traditions. They only liked the Ta’ Pinu because it was not a baroque church and therefore not so richly decorated with paintings (Ta’ Pinu is built in a neo-Romantic style). Likewise, an Evangelical lady from Germany said that, although Luther had a great devotion for Mary, they, the Evangelicals, have moved away from Luther and had acquired a more individualistic understanding, not necessarily more liberal, but more Sola Scriptura, that continuity is in the Scriptures only. Consequently, Sola Fides, faith alone, cuts out the need for good works and they rely on Christ and God only. To her understanding, Catholics contribute to their salvation and redemption by good works and asking the intercession of Mary and all the saints. Protestants leave it all to God, blind faith. She finds Sola Scriptura to be of extreme importance but also realized that the Virgin Mary is undervalued. There is much more about Her in the Scriptures than what is preached. This is possibly a reaction against the Roman Catholics in overdoing it. Of all the churches she had seen, she loved the ones of Mosta and Ta’ Pinu, because they are simple and more appealing to her taste. All that baroque, Sola Pictura, is not for Evangelicals, she receives her fulfilment from reading the Bible and discussing with others about its meaning. Her artistic expression lies mostly in singing and sacred music. She came to Malta for St Paul, because he is important to her as a teacher. All the



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saints she regards as important, respecting and learning from them, but not in an intercessory manner; as a Protestant, she does not need any intermediaries between God and herself. In contrast, the opulence of the Maltese churches was usually seen as un-Protestant, while the great devotion to St Paul and Our Lady were felt to be too much, although others understood this art as a continuous renewal of the message of St Paul which is focused on Jesus.

Perspectives: Catholics Catering for the Protestants In view of the above, how can Catholic Malta cater for this increased interest from the Protestant side? There are a number of matters which need to be considered in product development, management and education.

Product development Since tourism justifies and demands site preservation (Levi and Kocher, 2009), this presents an opportunity to select a number of sites which fit the objectives of a pilgrims’ trail and are in need of preservation. Religious sites often need the tourists’ income to survive and too many of such places have deteriorated beyond saving precisely because the people in charge did not seek alternative funds through tourism activities, being afraid that their religion would be too much influenced by the visitors (Shackley, 2001, pp. 1–10). In Catholic Malta there is no real fear of many Protestant visitors changing religious views in Malta. Protestantism never took root there and Catholicism is still very much embedded in the fibre of society. To take this even a step further, there is no attempt in churches to engage tourists through interpretation, meaning that any cultural visitor entering a Maltese church comes out none the wiser. Malta has a wealth of art and symbols in churches which cry out to be explained. This is in great contrast to the UK, where whole libraries have been filled with books about, for example, the green man. There are equally intriguing matters to be found in Malta, but remain undiscoverable as such. For Protestants in the footsteps of St Paul or on a

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pilgrimage of rediscovering Our Lady, having access to the deeper meaning behind the art in Maltese churches, would provide them with an extra dimension. Creating Pauline or Marian pilgrims’ routes have been suggested by the tourism sector for many years, also in the context of a European Union (EU) programme on connecting narratives throughout Europe (Munro, 2017). Many of the initiatives stumbled over the complex matter a pilgrims’ route entails. There are many studies available on the topic of creating routes, and the structure offered by Buhalis (2000), the six A’s framework for Analysis of Tourism Destinations, can be applied and adopted to fit pilgrims’ routes in Malta. In summary, the six A’s framework consists of six conditions which are deemed as minimal requirements to set up a functional route. A pilgrims’ route needs attractions (the natural beauty of a route, the sense of connection a route has with the destination or purpose of the route, the heritage related to the route, recurring rituals, ceremonies and special events) and one needs to consider all options regarding accessibility (means of transport, routes, stations, signposting, public relations, promotion). The question of amenities is crucial (priests available for Holy Mass, catering facilities, retailing, souvenirs, public toilets, tourist guides, site interpretation, spiritual services and any other auxiliary tourist or religious services as required). In order to arrive at a first earning model to fund preservation, interpretation and staff, the sites of the pilgrims’ route need to be available in packages (pre-arranged and pre-booked packages by tour operators, agents). When that is achieved, and the sites and routes gain in popularity, one may start thinking of individual availability for the sites, through individually sold tours made available in the media and digital media. Vital is also what visitors can do at a site, the activities. Is it purely passive (just viewing) or active (entering, engaging, eventization, all available passive and active undertakings)? Finally, the availability of ancillary services in a wider sense of tourism (among others – banks, teller machines, wifi, post, restaurants, health services) will need to fit in a route within the existing infrastructure necessary to maintain tourism. Besides these basics, there are other critical factors, such as the cooperation of the stakeholders. A wide network

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of contributors is essential for the survival of the route. Promotion of the pilgrims’ routes must be on an international scale, through, for instance, the usual channels of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and its offices and agents abroad. Malta’s tourism infrastructure is solid and diverse and could easily handle the requirements. The biggest stumbling blocks are usually the initial funding and the protection and maintenance of the environment. It may be a small thing, but frequent littering of a route with plastic bottles and discarded food wrappers can totally destroy the spirit of place and therefore reduce a route’s value to nil.

It was also concluded that an entrance fee did not have a negative impact on the willingness to visit, as long as the site warranted it (i.e. provided value for money) – something the research of Hughes et al. (2013) also supports. For sacred sites and routes, the surrounding environment and landscape are of great importance. Some tour operators, both local and foreign, have expressed their worries that the current building boom, producing extraordinarily ugly buildings, is a threat to tourism in general. They fear that the lack of aesthetically pleasing buildings will in the end disqualify Malta as an eligible high-quality tourism destination, let alone a faith-based tourism one.

Management Sacred sites do not entertain, but regularly provide a strong element of education, worth paying for. Pricing a visit to a sacred site is an emotive issue and worshippers may feel insulted when charged to enter a church for prayer, when the church doubles as a museum. None the less, visitors do not mind paying an entrance fee to experience the cultural heritage of a religion other than their own (Hughes et al., 2013). It should be assumed that visitors will realize that maintenance of a site and staff cost money. The introduction of a ‘Pay or Pray’ principle becomes a serious issue. When most of the visitors enter a church for the enjoyment of the cultural heritage rather than using the intended religious product, they become a net cost to the site. In Malta, in order to accommodate worshippers, such visitors are allowed to enter for prayer on a complementary ticket and are directed to a designated chapel. This system has been introduced in four of the 590 places of worship in Malta and Gozo, namely at St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, the Cathedral in Mdina, the Cathedral at the Cittadella, Victoria, Gozo and the Rotunda Church of Mosta, since these sites are also treated as museums and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Protestant visitors may be or become an incidental user of the intended product. Visitor numbers of St John’s and the Mdina Cathedral reveal that the majority of visitors entered these two sites as a tourist and not as a worshipper, therefore, asking an entrance fee to cover the significant cost to keep the church open does not seem unreasonable.

Education Those who professionally are engaged in site interpretation, such as tourist guides and custodians, should be offered the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills through dedicated professional development programmes, made-to-measure for each segment of the niche of faith-based tourism. It is maintained that the core product of a religious site is the anticipated and perceived spiritual benefit. However, that intangibility is supported by an array of tangible services, to satisfy all the other needs of visitors (Shackley, 2001, p. 77). In this scenario, the Roman Catholic environment, and the related values cherished in Malta, have to be made relevant and comprehensible to Protestant visitors, who are also cultural tourists. Interpretations which expose various dimensions of a site are key to educate and inform visitors. Making a site understood is not an easy task but can be achieved by means of captions, signage, guides, books, videos, websites, apps or even souvenirs. Site managers, especially when they have made a contract with a company providing audio guides, are often reluctant to invest in more and diverse audio tracks. Each interpretation must be written, translated into a number of languages and recorded, which are costs the site owners are not convinced they will recover. This suggests that there is a need for a national approach for a number of pilgrims’ routes, as writing interpretations and creating routes is a specialist’s job.



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Conclusion Fieldwork has suggested that a better organisation of a St Paul’s pilgrims’ route should be undertaken. This needs close cooperation between the MTA, Heritage Malta, the Church, local councils, academia, all stakeholders and private owners of sites to make it work. Since this can only work when there is an earning model with an equity key of dividing income, an alternative form of ‘Pray and Pay’ must be introduced in one form or another, such as a carnet which could be stamped at each station and then in the end a

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personalized certificate can be issued. Tasteful merchandise may contribute in a not inconsiderable manner. In a following step of development, this local St  Paul’s route can be linked to others abroad, making it part of a global and Mediterranean product. A national Marian interpretation centre should be set up, where the feminine divine is central, covering all periods of the Maltese cultural heritage. This interpretation centre would offer many perspectives, embedded in art and architecture, with the aim of informing the wide range of faith-based travellers to Malta.

References Azzopardi, J. and Blondy, A. (2012) Marc’Antonio Haxac and Malta’s Devotion to St Paul. Fondation de Malte, Valletta. Bonanno, A. (2005) Malta: Phoenician, Punic, and Roman. Midsea Books, Santa Venera, Malta. Borg. V. (1983a) Marian Devotions in the Islands of St Paul, 1600–1800. The Malta Historical Society, Valletta. Borg, V. (1983b) Marian devotions in Malta. In: Borg, V. (ed.) Marian Devotions in the Islands of Saint Paul, 1600–1800. The Malta Historical Society, Valletta, pp. 200–202. Buhagiar, M. (1988) The Iconography of the Maltese Islands 1400–1900. Progress Press, Valletta. Buhalis, D. (2000) Marketing: the competitive destination of the future. Tourism Management 21(1), 97–116. Davidson, L. and Gitlitz, D. (2002) Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland: an Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, California, p. xvii. Dawn, M. (2011) The Accidental Pilgrim. Hodder & Stoughton, London. Freller, T. (1995) St Paul’s Grotto and its Visitors: Pilgrims, Knights, Scholars and Sceptics. Valletta Publishing Ltd, Valletta. Freller, T. (2009) Malta and the Grand Tour. Midsea Books, Santa Venera, Malta. Gaventa, B.R. and Rigby, C.L. (eds) (2002) Blessed One. Protestant Perspectives on Mary. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky. Hermkens, A.K., Jansen, W. and Notermans, C. (2009) Moved by Mary. Ashgate, Farnham, UK. Hughes, K., Bond, N. and Ballantyne, R. (2013) Designing and managing interpretive experiences at religious sites: visitors’ perceptions of Canterbury Cathedral. Tourism Management 36, 210–220. Ivakiv, A. (2003) Orchestrating sacred space: beyond the ‘social construction’ of space. Ecotheology 8(1), 11–29. Karlsaune, G.E.G. (2002) Secular Protestant – and pilgrims? Paper presented at the 16th Nordic Conference in Sociology of Religion (NCSR) ‘Religion Voluntarism and Globalisation’, 22–25 August 2002, Uppsala, Sweden. Department of Religious Studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Levi, D. and Kocher, S. (2009) Understanding tourism at heritage religious sites. Focus 6(1), article 6. Maraval, P. (2002) The earliest phase of Christian pilgrimage in the Near East (before the 7th century). Dumbarton Oaks Papers 56, 63–74. Merton, T. (1967) Mystics and Zen Masters. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York. Migliore, D.L. (2002) Women of faith: toward a reformed understanding of Mary. In: Gaventa, B.R. and Rigby, C.L. (eds) Blessed One. Protestant Perspectives on Mary. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, pp. 117–130. Miller-McLemore, B.J. (2002) Pondering all these things: Mary and motherhood. In: Gaventa, B.R. and Rigby, C.L. (eds) Blessed One. Protestant Perspectives on Mary. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, pp. 97–114.

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Munro, D. (2017) El Rastro del Santo Grial en Malta. Une interpretación fantástica (The Holy Grail Trail in Malta, a fantastic interpretation). In: Rubio Gil, Á. and Sanagustin Fons, V. (eds) TURISMO RELIGIOSO El Camino Europeo del Santo Grial y otras Rutas Culturales para el Desarrollo (RELIGIOUS TOURISM The European Way of the Holy Grail, Routes for Development), Spanish/English edn. Lulu Press, Morrisville, North Carolina, pp. 181–188. Perry, T. (2006) Mary for Evangelicals. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois. Renfrew, C. (1990) Before Civilization. The Radiocarbon Revolution and Prehistoric Europe. Penguin, London. Renfrew, C. (2004) ‘Foreword.’ In: Cilia, D. (ed.) Malta Before History: the World’s Oldest Freestanding Stone Architecture. Miranda Publishers, Sliema, Malta, pp. 10–11. Rountree, K. (2003) The case of the missing goddess: plurality, power, and prejudice in reconstructions of Malta’s Neolithic past. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 19(2), 25–43. Shackley, M. (ed.) (1998) Visitor Management. Case Studies from World Heritage Sites. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK. Shackley, M. (ed.) (2001) Managing Sacred Sites. Thomson, London. St Augustine of Hippo (2012) [413–26 ce] The City of God. Edited by Paul A. Böer Sr. Veritas Splendor Publications, Dublin. Timothy, D.J. (2011) Cultural Heritage and Tourism: an Introduction. Channel View Publications, Bristol, UK. Trump, D.H. (2002) Malta, Prehistory and Temples. Midsea Books, Santa Venera, Malta. Zammit, T. (1930) Prehistoric Malta: the Tarxien Temples. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

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The Ancient Wisdom and Motivation of Shams-i Tabrezi or Analogy of Contemporary Systems Science and Shams-i Tabrezi Ancient Wisdom Tadeja Jere Jakulin* University of Primorska, Portorož, Slovenia

Introduction Ancient wisdom is often hidden from scientific eyes, especially if it comes to the wisdom of a man such as Shams-i Tabrezi, who was not so popular as his famous disciple Jalal al-Din Rumi, the 13th-century Persian poet and Islamic scholar. Ancient wisdom is rarely explained in the language of science. This chapter will uncover some of Shams-i Tabrezi’s wise words from the systems point of view, using systems thinking and modelling as two of the systems methods for the analogy. These methods expose Shams’s wisdom and give it a place in contemporary science and society. To understand the analogy of systems science and ancient wisdom, one must first understand systems theory, which came to modern society with Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s manifesto General System Theory (Bertalanffy, 1968). Bertalanffy was a biologist and the first one who described the importance of interconnections and interdependencies among systems, elements of living systems, nature and the universe. This was a milestone for systems thinking in science and 20th-century society. Later, in all areas, such as social, natural and technical sciences and the humanities, scientists appeared who started to point out interconnections, interdependencies,

feedback information and positions of the elements of the systems in their relation to the wholes (Mead, 2001; Bateson, 2002). Systems thinking became more widely known with Peter Senge (1990), Donella Meadows (2008), Peter Checkland (2001) and Virginia Anderson and Lauren Johnson (1997). Systems thinking is thinking in accordance with nature and natural systems and it is of crucial importance to understand evolution as the evolution of systems. Ancient civilizations respected and treated nature, together with the universe, as an important system. Tribal communities and later civilizations had wise men and women, who translated the language of natural systems into the language of people. These wise people, shamans and healers of nature, were those who helped to find the equilibrium of a man whenever he could not reach it by himself. Homeostasis is a feature of every natural system including the human system. It is brought about by a natural resistance to change in optimal conditions (Martin, 2008) and equilibrium is maintained by many regulatory mechanisms. The wisdom of Shams-i Tabrezi presents the systems thinking of ancient history, which helped Rumi in his transformation to a poet and Anatolian mystic. It is significant that what systems

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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science recognizes, its statements about life and living systems, confirm what Shams-i Tabrezi’s wisdom brought to this world. This chapter ­reviews the words and wisdom of Shams-i Tabrezi and presents them in the language and diagrams of modern systems thinking.

Analytical and Systems Approach to the World The analytical approach to science and life has been present for the past 400 years (Jere Jakulin, 2010). Russell Ackoff posed a question as to why analytical thought has been the main mode of thinking in Western science for the last few centuries (Kirby, 2003). This was just a path of the evolution of thinking in science. This linearity was necessary for researching basic matter and the environment on the earth. Newtonian physics through time led linear-oriented science to its opposite: to synthesis. As soon as quantum physics came to the particles, quantum physicists realized that there is only energy left, which cannot be divided further (Jere Jakulin, 2011b). Concerning the integration of the analytical and systems approach, General System Theory tried to achieve unity on an abstract level of valid analogy building based on structural similarities between diverse kinds of real world systems. Bertalanffy comes closer to the unity as appeared in Shams’s work by claiming ‘that the world (i.e. the total of observable phenomena) shows a structural uniformity, manifesting itself by isomorphic traces of order in its different levels or realms’ (­Bertalanffy, 1968). According to Capra (1997) the only way to fully understand why a problem or element occurs and persists is to understand the part in relation to the whole. Sufi wisdom presents the importance of systems thinking as a modern approach and wisdom in the words of Rumi’s teacher Shams-i Tabrezi. It is the writings of such masters that reveal the inner beauty, the diamond of Shams, while offering to observers the most profound insights in their quests for delivery from the narrow confines of the material world (Baldick, 2012) of analytical thinking (what can be seen). When thinking of setting boundaries too narrowly, the system creates surprises (Meadows, 2008) in a form of feedback effect.

At this point, systems science started with its synthesis. Since Ludwig von Bertalanffy published his manifesto on General System Theory (Bertalanffy, 1968) and Norbert Wiener his on cybernetics (Wiener, 1948), the holistic way of thinking in science has become important, and the systems approach has slowly become a scientific view in many areas. It was Bertalanffy who said that humanity is forced to deal with complexities, with ‘wholes’ or ‘systems’ in all fields of knowledge, and that this implies a basic reorientation in scientific thinking. This was a recognition that systems thinking became a new mode of thinking. Consequently, there appeared scientists who started to search for solutions through system dynamics, which represented changes in a system (Forrester, 1961; Ackoff, 1999; Sterman, 2000). All these 20th-century discoveries and ideas of systems theory and the systems approach to life were present in ancient Shams-i-Tabrezi wisdom, which was known centuries ago. This is evidence that wisdom from the past does not have time limits. Furthermore, it repeats itself in the present and if ignored or not recognized it badly affects the future. To understand this statement, one must start to differentiate between systems and linear or dual approaches and how they affect society. When one starts to see the world from a view of a whole, nothing becomes impossible. One sees connections, interconnections, interdependencies and synergy among elements of a system as a harmonic structure of a system, which evolves only if it goes along with its change.

Wisdom of Shams-i Tabrezi’s Holism and Systems Thinking: a Marriage of Ancient Thoughts and Modern Definitions Eastern philosophy has had an holistic approach throughout the centuries, whether written or told in the I Ching, Vedanta, Buddhism or old Phoenician scripture, by ancient philosophers, in the Bible or the Koran, or by ancient Mayan civilization calendars (Jere Jakulin, 2010), or by Shams-i Tabrezi and many others. This philosophy today we call the wisdom of life or the mystics’ view of life, but we can refer to it as a systems



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approach to life. It unites all points of view – spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual. The systems approach and Shams’s wisdom together create a ‘marriage of the ancient thoughts to modern definitions’, it unites the East and the West. They place and answer questions considering turbulence in the contemporary global societal systems, which demand flexibility and fast reaction time from the entire humanity and all economic systems. Present time affects people in many ways. The quantity of information, modern technology and fast reactions to it all cause superficiality and decisions frequently reflecting opposing interests, linear thinking ­ and acting, decisions being made solely based upon the ­influential immediate surroundings. In systems thinking, people are treated as living systems but also parts of soft systems (­Checkland, 2001). The synonyms for soft systems present organizations (people) with their problems – emotional sensitivity, vulnerability, security, chaotic behaviour and insecurity. A broader approach or worldview of these problems is therefore urgently needed, such as the world consists of matter, energy and information (Boulding, 1966). Systems thinking and an awareness of interdependence is the answer to this sense of helplessness that many feel as humanity faces changes. A systems approach looks at a system from the top down rather than from the bottom up (Skyttner, 2007). An analytical approach presents duality and looks at a system’s elements instead of the system as a whole. Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing the ‘structures’ that underlie complex situations, and for discerning high from low leverage change. That is, by seeing wholes we learn how to foster health. To do so, systems thinking offers a language that begins by ­restructuring how we think (Senge, 1990). The systems approach and way of thinking are collected and presented with the ancient Sufi wisdom in Shams-i Tabrezi’s teachings. The connections among elements of the whole (people, situations, relationships) have often been invisible and thus not understood. In the world of complex systems, especially when we think of society as a complex system, we talk about interdependent elements of the whole, where the surroundings influence the system at the same time as the system and its elements influence the surroundings.

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Analogy of Shams-i Tabrezi’s Thoughts and Contemporary Systems Scientists’ Definitions Shams-i Tabrezi represents not only a Sufi and a teacher of Jalal al-Din Rumi but also a wise man, whose wisdom survived centuries of linear (straight line) thinking and finally reached reciprocity with systems thinking, which is a mode of thinking from the point of view of a whole or so-called holistic thinking. His sayings can be explained as systems (holistic) wisdom, as a comparison of his sayings with those of contemporary systems scientists demonstrate.

Shams-i Tabrezi and Fritjof Capra about the whole Shams-i Tabrezi: While the parts change, the whole always remains the same. For every thief who departs this world, a new one is born. And every decent person who passes away is replaced by a new one. In this way not only does nothing remain the same but also nothing ever really changes. For every Sufi who dies, another is born somewhere. (Shafak, 2010, p. 343)

Fritjof Capra: Systems thinking is a framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system will act differently when the systems relationships are removed, and it is viewed in isolation. The only way to fully understand why a problem or element occurs and persists is to understand the part in relation to the whole. (Capra, 1997, p. 273)

Shams-i Tabrezi, Virginia Anderson and Lauren Johnson about interconnections Shams-i Tabrezi: The universe is one being. Everything and everyone is interconnected through an invisible web of stories. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are all in a silent conversation. Do no harm. Practice compassion. And do not gossip behind anyone’s back—not even a seemingly innocent remark! The words that come out of

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our mouths do not vanish but are perpetually stored in infinite space, and they will come back to us in due time. One man’s pain will hurt us all. One man’s joy will make everyone smile. (Shafak, 2010, pp. 207–208)

Interdependence is a need of all elements of a system. According to Virginia Anderson and Lauren Johnson, ‘A system is a group of interacting, interconnected, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole’ (Anderson and Johnson, 1997, p. 2). Almost everything is always defined with respect to a specific purpose within a larger system. For example, a person is a system that has a purpose in the context of the society. When you look at the world systemically, it becomes clear that everything is dynamic, complex and interdependent.

Shams-i Tabrezi, Virginia Anderson and Lauren Johnson about the balancing process Shams-i Tabrezi: Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighbourhood of despair. Even when all doors remained closed, God will open up a new path only for you. Be thankful! It is easy to be thankful when all is well. A Sufi is thankful not only for what he has been given but also for all that he has been denied. (Shafak, 2010, p. 73)

Virginia Anderson and Lauren Johnson: Combined with reinforcing loops, balancing processes form the building blocks of dynamic systems. Balancing processes seek equilibrium: They try to bring things to a desired state and keep them there. They also limit and constrain change generated by reinforcing processes. A balancing loop in a causal loop diagram depicts a balancing process. (Anderson and Johnson, 1997, p. 127)

And all the opposites in the universe are present within each and every one of us. Therefore, the believer needs to meet the unbeliever residing within. And the nonbeliever should get to know the silent faithful in him. Until the day one reaches the stage of Insan-i Kâmil, the perfect human being, faith is a gradual process and one that necessitates its seeming opposite: disbelief. (Shafak, 2010, p. 309)

Jamshid Gharajedaghi: The principle of multidimensionality maintains that the opposing tendencies not only coexist and interact, but also form a complementary relationship. The complementary relationship is not confined to pairs. More than two variables may form complementary relationships, as the trio of freedom, justice and security demonstrates. (Gharajedaghi, 2006, p. 39)

Shams-i Tabrezi, Virginia Anderson and Lauren Johnson about understanding of life’s system Shams-i Tabrezi: Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come? (Shafak, 2010, p. 101)

Virginia Anderson and Lauren Johnson: Understanding how these systems work lets us function more effectively and proactively within them. The more we build our understanding of system behaviour, the more we can anticipate that behaviour and work with the system to shape the quality of our lives. (Anderson and Johnson, 1997, p. 1)

Shams-i Tabrezi and Kenneth Boulding about anticipation Shams-i Tabrezi:

Shams-i Tabrezi and Jamshid ­Gharajedaghi about multidimensionality Shams-i Tabrezi: In this world, it is not similarities or regularities that take us a step forward, but blunt opposites.

Patience means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process. What does patience mean? It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn. Impatience means to be so shortsighted as to not be able to see the outcome. (Shafak, 2010, p. 74)



The Ancient Wisdom and Motivation of Shams-i Tabrezi

The Analogy in Diagrams

Kenneth Boulding: A system is a big black box of which we can’t unlock the locks, and all we can find out about is what goes in and what comes out. Perceiving input-output pairs, related by parameters, permits us, sometimes, to relate an input, output and a state. If this relation’s good and stable then to predict we may be able, but if this fails us—heaven forbid! We’ll be compelled to force the lid! (Boulding, 1964 cited in Meadows, 2008, pp. 87–88)

Causal loop diagram and reciprocity Shams-i Tabrezi: This world is like a mountain. Your echo depends on you. If you scream good things, the world will give it back. If you scream bad things, the world will give it back. Even if someone says badly about you, speak well about him. Change your heart to change the world. This world is erected upon the principle of reciprocity. Neither a drop of kindness nor a speck of evil will remain unreciprocated. Fear not the plots, deceptions, or tricks of other people. If somebody is setting a trap, remember, so is God. He is the biggest plotter. Not even a leaf stirs outside God’s knowledge. Simply and fully believe in that. Whatever God does, He does it beautifully. (Shafak, 2010, p. 211)

Shams-i Tabrezi, Virginia Anderson and Lauren Johnson about feedback loops Shams-i Tabrezi: Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighbourhood of despair. Even when all doors remained closed, God will open up a new path only for you. Be thankful! It is easy to be thankful when all is well. A Sufi is thankful not only for what he has been given but also for all that he has been denied. Do not worry about tricks and cheaters. If some people are trying to trap and hurt you, Allah is also trapping them. Hole diggers will always fall in their holes. No bad remains unpunished, and no good remains without being awarded, so have faith in justice and let the rest be. (Shafak, 2010, p. 73)

Virginia Anderson and Lauren Johnson: Every feedback loop depicts either a reinforcing process or a balancing process. In fact, these two kinds of loops are the building blocks of any dynamic system structure, and they combine in an infinite variety of ways to produce the complex systems at work within and around us. (Anderson and Johnson, 1997, p. 54)

All thoughts explained above, represent the thought with a ‘fil rouge’: holism or systems ­approach. At the same time, these thoughts show the unity of contemporary scientific thought of the West and ancient wisdom of the East. The analogy can also be presented in the form of diagrams which will be discussed in the next section, including a causal loop diagram, a diagram of the systems model and a pyramid of consciousness.

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The above written saying can be presented in a systems causal loop diagram (Türkmen, 2013). The analogy of contemporary science and ancient wisdom goes even deeper when we research systems feedback and systems reciprocity. Using systems methodology, we usually have in mind 11 steps in the process of defining the problem from a systems point of view. These steps (Kljajić, 1994) are as follows:

• • • • • • • • • • •

identifying the problem – defining boundaries; developing a dynamic hypothesis; explaining the cause of the problem; creating the basic structure of a causal ­diagram; augmenting the causal diagram with more information; converting the augmented causal diagram into a systems dynamics flow diagram; translating the system dynamics flow diagram into equations; structuring the problem; understanding the causal loops and feedback; modelling the dynamic relationships, using scenarios to plan and model effects of actions taken; and implementing and sharing the findings with the organization, and creating the whole systems dynamics process.

One key element of systems dynamics is the search to identify closed, causal feedback loops,

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fall in environmental area attractiveness. Crowding causes detours, traffic standstills, drivers’ nervousness, accidents and regrets for deciding to visit this of area (–), so this will self-regulate the number of visitors. From these qualitative descriptions one can see what must be taken as a concern. The feedback initially causes ripples through a chain of causation ultimately to readjust itself. We can explain it as reciprocity. When we discuss reciprocity, we can say that in the long run, reciprocity equals the results of the feedback we observe between a vision and the current state of an observer.

which represent the ninth step in the 11-step process of problem solving in the system approach. Simple cause and effect relationships among the elements rarely exist and instead a very little stimulus may cause unpredictably large effects or no effect at all (Baggio, 2008). Understanding the causal loops and feedback described above from a systems science viewpoint is similar to Shams’s wisdom about reciprocity. This can be shown with a causal loop model in Fig. 15.1, where quantities have a positive reinforcing effect on each other so long as balance is maintained between the various interdependent factors, but if the balance is upset then negative effects will be brought into play for regulation, to readjust and reset the balance. The positive effects are shown with plus (+) signs and ­readjustment with minus (–) signs, the (+) represent reinforcement loops and the (–) regulation loops. Causal loop diagrams are wonderfully useful in many situations. They are well suited to represent interdependencies and feedback processes (Sterman, 2000). The diagram shown in Fig. 15.1 can be described as follows: society development and well-being have a (+) influence on pilgrimage area attractiveness, which has a (+) influence upon the number of visitors; the number of visitors influences growth of investments into infrastructure and culture consciousness (+). On the other hand, there comes a point when the increase in visitor numbers (+) cause environmental damage (–), which is a reason for a

Society well-being

+

+ Environmental + area’s attractiveness

Systems or holistic model A man, who is happy when troubles come, is a man, who can foresee a happy end. Actually, patience means to cast an eye on the end and impatience is the opposite. The first lines remain for those, who can see the end. (Türkmen, 2013, p. 76)

Spirituality is the missing element in the observer’s decision-making process in science. It represents the observer’s awareness of his inner environment (or path), which enables him to discover the essence and the deepest values and meanings by which people live (Sheldrake, 2007). Spiritual activities (e.g. meditation) develop the observer’s inner life; this leads to an experience

+

– Crowding

Infrastructure, culture consciousness

+

+ +

Investments

+

Number of visitors

Fig. 15.1.  Causal loop diagram of a pilgrimage area showing the dependence of the attractiveness of an environmental area on society’s well-being, the number of visitors and investment in infrastructure (see text for explanation). (From Tadeja Jere Jakulin.)



The Ancient Wisdom and Motivation of Shams-i Tabrezi

of connectedness with a larger reality (the system’s ‘big picture’ or broader consciousness), yielding a more comprehensive self; with other people or the human community; with nature or the cosmos (Burkhardt and Nagai Jacobson, 2001). Spirituality is often experienced as a source of inspiration or orientation in life (Waaijman, 2002). While the observer shifts the perception from an analytical (duality) approach to a systems (holistic) approach, he uses a model that describes the observed situation and provides ‘the big picture viewpoint’. This is shown in Fig. 15.2. The results (vision) in the model are achieved with a different perception of thinking. The systems approach as a holistic approach requires that the observer must first ask himself what is his vision (i.e. the future he wants to achieve). This is symbolized by ‘A’. The second question (‘B’) he must ask himself is how to achieve the desired vision. The answer lies in feedback information, either positive or negative. If the feedback is positive, it gives him the input that no adjustment is necessary to reach his vision. If the feedback is negative, it indicates that the system is deviating from a prescribed course and must be adjusted or the desired outcomes will not be achieved (Haines, 2005). Because of feedback delays within complex systems, by the time a problem becomes apparent it may be unnecessarily difficult to solve (Meadows, 2008). The ‘C’ or the current situation also represents the ­observer, who creates strategies, scenarios and pictures of the present situation to close the gap from C to A. ‘D’ represents the system, the process that is going on according to the observer’s C. Inputs

scenarios. To map the dynamic behaviour of a system is to capture the interaction of positive and negative feedback loops (Gharajedaghi, 2006). ‘E’ represents the most important element, which is not included in the analytical approach: the environment. It represents the possibility of change in the future environment. According to wholeness ideas, the observer makes a model of the system to achieve results that are optimal for the vision that was stated in the mind of the local or global community. The observer usually works with a team of experts and together they co-create the vision, which benefits the society. Shams-i Tabrezi: Each and every reader comprehends the Holy Qur’an on a different level in tandem with the depth of his understanding. There are four levels of insight. The first level is the outer meaning and it is the one that the majority of the people are content with. Next is the Batm—the inner level. Third, there is the inner of the inner. And the fourth level is so deep it cannot be put into words and is therefore bound to remain indescribable. (Shafak, 2010, p. 50)

Pyramid of consciousness Figure 15.3 shows the pyramid of consciousness where systems science as well as Shams-i Tabrezi concentrate on the second, third, and especially on the fourth levels of the pyramid. The first level represents the visible, superficial part of the pyramid, the events that anyone can be aware of. All the other levels represent the invisible part

D. Process

Observer

System

A. Outputs Vision (results)

B. Feedback information

E. Environment

159

Feedback loop

E. Environment

Fig. 15.2.  A systems or holistic model (see text for explanation). (From Tadeja Jere Jakulin.)

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1. Events Visible Reactions Fast changes 2. Patterns, processes below the surface Observing patterns Mid-term changes 3. Deep base, structure Diamond Thinking in terms of causal connections Long-term changes

4. Culture and consciousness Lasting changes

Fig. 15.3.  Pyramid of consciousness (see text for explanation). (From Tadeja Jere Jakulin.)

below the surface. The society should consider the two levels below the surface, the processes and structure levels of the pyramid, as these can support the growth of an individual’s thinking and consciousness, which finally causes the lasting changes in culture and civilization (this is systems thinking consciousness, that what is invisible to the eye matters). An optimal path, which causes a change for the better, depends on good processes and structures. This way the change of societal culture and consciousness follows. To foresee and see what in fact is under the visible level enables us to create an optimal path to the change of culture and consciousness. In systems language we can name this skill as seeing the ‘big picture’. If we cite Shams-i Tabrezi we see that West and East meet again: If anyone wraps up a diamond in a black handkerchief and covers it with ten coverings and then hides it under the sleeves of his robe, it becomes invisible to many, which is not a matter of surprise. The diamond may be covered up, yet it has such a strong light that leaks out. Those who are perfect in vision can detect it; and it is no matter of surprise. However, it is a matter of surprise if someone fails to see the diamond when it is exposed on the palm. Such a person will not

understand the teaching of Socrates, Akhwan-i, Safa and other philosophers. The same person will not understand Muhammad or his followers (who are like children); and God’s presence. (cited in Türkmen, 2013, p. 28)

System science’s structure represents consciousness as well as Shams’s diamond represents the level of knowledge, which is not visible to superficial people, those who only see the events at the top of the pyramid and read only sentences without understanding their deeper meaning. Thinking at the level of structure means knowing the patterns and thinking in terms of causal connections (Anderson and Johnson, 1997). Thinking at the structural level leads to the lasting change in culture and consciousness from analytical to systems. Chittick (2004) suggests that systems thinking is a rope and states ‘This rope is for people to come out of the well, not for them to go from this well into that well’.

Conclusion This chapter presents the analogy of Western science and Eastern wisdom. Shams-i Tabrezi’s



The Ancient Wisdom and Motivation of Shams-i Tabrezi

wisdom reflects itself in scientific methodology in the form of the systems science approach. The implementation of Shams-i Tabrezi wisdom through systems thinking enhances learning processes (Anderson and Richardson, 1997) as is indicated in the examples given. In all of this, the understanding of systems thinking in society increases. What is most important in this process is the fact that people, who become aware of the systems approach, which is a synonym for a holistic approach, systemically connect, cooperate, share ideas and co-create the results that benefit local and global communities. Systems thinking represents one’s awareness of being a part of a whole, a part of a planet interconnected with other people in a mutual co-creation process. The big picture is a ‘view from space’, which clearly shows the interconnections among all elements of our planet. It explains systems thinking and the world with all its living and non-­ living organisms. It is important that every single person has an awareness of being a part of a huge family called a nation, civilization, humanity. With this awareness, man follows a natural path of evolution and his views of freedom, beauty,

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harmony and confidence rise (Jere Jakulin, 2011a). With self- and world-understanding, he becomes detached from the uncertain external world, yet he positively influences it with his inner peace. Living with the consciousness of connectivity and co-creativity, an individual in a team achieves optimal results for himself and for mankind. The approach enriched with Eastern wisdom seems to be appropriate methodology for the future of synthesis, the environment and universal consciousness, where plus and minus are a whole composed from parts, which influence each other all the time and feedback from one affects the other. This is an ancient wisdom of Shams-i Tabrezi’s words: The microcosm is concealed in the creation of man, and the macrocosm is the outer space that surrounds us. For prophets it is the just opposite: the outer universe is the microcosm, and the macrocosm is hidden in them. (Türkmen, 2011, p. 102)

With this consciousness, he enriches cooperation with higher thoughts of co-creation of strong local and global teams for a future that is already here.

References Ackoff, R.L. (1999) Ackoff’s Best. His Classic Writings on Management. Wiley, New York. Anderson, V. and Johnson, L. (1997) Systems Thinking Basics: From Concepts to Causal Loops. Pegasus Communications, Waltham, Massachusetts. Andersen, D.F. and Richardson, G.P. (1997) Scripts for group model building. System Dynamics Review 13(2), 107–129. Baggio, R. (2008) Symptoms of complexity in a tourism system. Tourism Analysis 13, 1–20. Baldick, J. (2012) Mystical Islam: an Introduction to Sufism. I.B.Tauris & Co., New York. Bateson, G. (2002) Mind and Nature: a Necessary Unity (Advances in Systems Theory, Complexity, and the Human Sciences). Hampton Press, New York. Bertalanffy, L.V. (1968) General System Theory. Foundations, Development, Applications. Brazziler, New York. Boulding, K. (1964) General system as a point of view. In: Mesarović, M.D. (ed.) Views on General System Theory. Proceedings of the Second Systems Symposium, Case Institute of Technology, Cleveland, Ohio, April 1963. Wiley, New York. Boulding, K. (1966) The economics of the coming spaceship earth. In: Jarrett, H. (ed.) Environmental Quality in a Growing Economy: Essays from the Sixth Resources for the Future Forum. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, pp. 11–12. Burkhardt, M.A. and Nagai Jacobson, M.G. (2001) Spirituality: Living our Connectedness. Delmar Cengage Learning, London. Capra, F. (1997) The Web of Life: a New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems, 2nd edn. Anchor Books, New York, Checkland, P.B. (2001) Soft systems methodology. In: Rosenhead, J. and Mingers, J. (eds) Rational Analysis for a Problematic World Revisited. Wiley, Chichester, UK. Chittick, W.C. (2004) Me and Rumi: the Autobiography of Shams-i Tabrezi. Fons Vitae, Louisville, Kentucky.

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Forrester, J.W. (1961) Industrial Dynamics. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Gharajedaghi, J. (2006) Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos and Complexity. Butterworth-Heinemann, Burlington, Massachusetts. Haines, S. (2005) Pearls of Wisdom. Haines Centre International, San Diego, California. Jere Jakulin, T. (2010) Systems thinking: ancient Maya’s evolution of consciousness and contemporary systems thinking. In: Dubois, D.M. (ed.) Computing Anticipatory Systems: CASYS ’09 – Ninth American Institute of Physics (AIP) International Conference, 3–8 August 2009, Liège, Belgium. (AIP conference proceedings, vol. 1303). AIP, Melville, New York, pp. 289–296. Jere Jakulin, T. (2011a) Systems thinking as a path to personal and spiritual development. In: Lasker, G.E. and Hiwaki, K. (eds) Personal and Spiritual Development in the World of Cultural Diversity, Vol. VIII. International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics, Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada, pp. 55–59. Jere Jakulin, T. (2011b) Systems approach to science and spirituality. In: Lasker, G.E. and Hiwaki, K. (eds) Sustainable Development and Global Community. Vol. XII: Social Time–Space Constraints and Sustainable Development. International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics, Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada, pp. 45–50. Kirby, M.W. (2003) The intellectual journey of Russell Ackoff: from OR apostle to OR apostate. The Journal of the Operational Research Society 54(11), 1127–1140. Kljajić, M. (1994) Teorija Sistemov (Systems Theory). Moderna Organizacija, Kranj, Slovenia. Martin, E. (2008) A Dictionary of Biology, 6th edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Mead, M. (2001) Coming of Age in Samoa. HarperCollins, Perennial Classics, New York. Meadows, D. (2008) Thinking in Systems: a Primer. Chelsea Green Publishing Sustainability Institute, White River Junction, Vermont. Senge, P. (1990) The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Doubleday October, New York. Shafak, E. (2010) The Forty Rules of Love: a Novel of Rumi. Penguin Books, London. Sheldrake, P. (2007) A Brief History of Spirituality. Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, New Jersey, pp. 1–2. Skyttner, L. (2007) General Systems Theory: Problems, Perspectives, Practice. World Scientific Publishing, Singapore. Sterman, J.D. (2000) Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World. McGraw-Hill, Boston, Massachusetts. Türkmen, E. (2011) Besinnung Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi’s Schönste Verse. Nüve Centre of Culture Publications NKM, Konya, Turkey. Türkmen, E. (2013) Teachings of Shams-i Tabrezi (Rumi’s Master). Nüve Centre of Culture Publications NKM, Konya, Turkey. Waaijman, K. (2002) Spirituality: Forms, Foundations, Methods. Peeters, Leuwen, Belgium. Wiener, N. (1948) Cybernetics: or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Wiley, New York.

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Inbound and Outbound Religious Tourism in Turkey Onur Akbulut1* and Yakin Ekin2 Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Fethiye, Mugla, Turkey; 2 Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey

1

Introduction All over the world, billions of individuals lead their life connected to the guidelines of diverse social structures as their systems of belief. These systems hallow superior origins of power and ruling. Such origins encompass a creator, god, goddess, deities of myths, earth itself, the sun, the moon, a redeemer, a prophet, or else an undefined origin of endless capability. According to the majority of devotees, religion helps them with their individual exploration of trying to understand the reasons for their existence and why they were created; it offers feelings of meaning, purpose and transcendence. As a means of substantially increasing their quest of faith, many human beings read divine books and religious scripts, exercise, adopt a definite diet, invoke, recite and make journeys to faith-oriented destinations. Billions of believers regard these principles as a component of greater faith systems. These principles ensure the guidelines of their way of living. Moreover, these acts turn into a fundamental element of their personal or common social identity (Timothy and Olsen, 2006). King Arthur’s knights’ visits to the Grail castle and their quest after that Holy Grail are the famous literary example for the phenomenon above. Visiting places associated with religious beliefs are as old as the history of humanity.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary religion is defined as ‘the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power especially a personal God or gods’ (Oxford Dictionaries, 2017). According to the anthropologist Geertz (1973, p. 90) it is defined as ‘(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence’. There are approximately 4200 religions in the world and the most popular are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism (Paraszthy, 2015, p. 4).

Religion and Religious Tourism The prophets of Islam, Christianity and Buddhism aroused diverse actions of pilgrimage as a component of their religion. Numerous pilgrims make journeys to specified destinations to achieve their goals in respect of their faith. Among such destinations, the renowned ones are: (i) Mecca in Saudi Arabia – the sacred home of Islam where Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven; (ii) Jerusalem – the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Islamic Al-Aqsa Mosque and sacred Solomon’s Temple (in ancient Jerusalem) of Judaism; (iii) Bethlehem – home of King David of ancient Israel for Judaism and the Church of the Nativity;

*[email protected] © CAB International 2019. Spiritual and Religious Tourism (eds R. Dowson et al.)

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and (iv) the Vatican – the centre of the Catholic religion (Raj and Morpeth, 2007). The location to choose, the reason for the journey, and actions in the course of the journey are totally influenced by the instructions and restrictions of the religion being followed (Kelly, 1982, p. 53; Cohen, 1998; Mattila et al., 2001). From the earliest times, people have been visiting sacred places such as shrines located near to or far from their resident areas in order to venerate superior powers or to pursue different religious practices (Raj and Morpeth, 2007). Religion can also play a role in the functioning of tourism in different places of attractions, influencing: (i) the appeal of the destination from the point of view of the visitors; (ii) the attitudes of locals, who may come from a different religion, towards the visitors; (iii) human resources planning of tourism operations; and (iv) the site interpretation (Cohen, 1998; Huntley and Barnes-Reid, 2003). Religious tourism is perceived as a special type of travel since visitors at religious heritage sites have different behavioural patterns and motivations influenced by the religious/heritage values at the site, and by their religious and cultural characteristics, which are sensitive aspects for many people (Digance, 2003; Blackwell, 2007). In some cases religious tourism is referred to as spiritual tourism. It can be defined as the provision of customized leisure and recreational experience demanded by the spiritual interest of individuals and groups. It should be noted that spirituality in this study is oriented towards the Divine concept and the relationship with God Almighty or the High Supreme Spirit (Kale, 2004). Religious tourism is the pioneer form of tourism which began almost with the dawn of humanity. From ancient times religious destinations were not only a part of the cultural landscape but also they became a vital factor in local marketing and primary parts of the economy of hosted destinations. Some of the religious places such as Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Fatima in Portugal and Lourdes in France attract millions of religious tourists, charity workers, missionaries and humanitarians creating huge financial transactions in the destination. Religious tourism is a growing industry that has captured the will of political, economic, religious and cultural institutions, which increasingly see the value and importance of this type of activity as a fruitful, even necessary, alternative or

complement to other forms of tourism and religious practice. Although reliable, scientifically produced data regarding this issue is particularly difficult to access (when it exists at all), some sources reveal an increasing (dual) movement, feeding the popularity of such sites and the industries that surround it. More than 300 million international visitors worldwide travel annually specifically for religious reasons to places imbued with religious and spiritual meanings, where they engage with religious traditions and doctrines, people and ideas (UNWTO, 2017). Religious tourism is emerging with a force, especially in Europe where the tourist infrastructure is well laid out, well maintained and widely advertised. Even in the emerging economies of Eastern Europe, this movement is being followed by the incentives of institutions eager to capitalize on their cultural heritage and thus profit from the tourism generated by their numerous religious sites (Stamenković et al., 2010). Religious tourism, which has been increasingly popular both across the world and in Turkey (the focus of this chapter), is defined as ‘travelling and sightseeing for the purpose of visiting the centres of faith to realize their religious and other beliefs outside the usual environment where people constantly reside, work and meet their everyday needs’ (TÜRSAB, 2017). When considering religious tourism it is possible to understand trips both to the country (i.e. inbound) and from the country of origin (i.e. outbound) in terms of religious places.

Pilgrim and Religious Tourist The primary focus of research and debate among scholars examining religious travel has been the tourist and the pilgrim as the main players in the relationship between religion and tourism (Cohen, 1998). Tourism and pilgrimage appear to be utterly distinct social happenings, however, both tourism and pilgrimage indicate a sort of travel for specific purposes. Further, one might well concede that visitors with the purpose of tourism and pilgrims might live similar experiences, and share the same reasons to start the journey (Norman, 2004, pp. 17–18). Pilgrimage continuously transcends boundaries, not only between the types of individual people and between different groups who



Inbound and Outbound Religious Tourism in Turkey

of actual pilgrims may be indicated on a scale, ranging from secular versus spiritual, and tourism versus pilgrimage (Vijayanand, 2012, p. 329). Hence, as shown in Fig. 16.1, it has been proposed that pilgrims and tourists should not be classified as two unlike groups but as a continuum encompassing both terms (Smith, 1992, p. 4).

undertake a pilgrimage, but also of time itself. Pilgrimages existed at the time when history was yet to be written. Tribes were formed and, like dunes in deserts, shifted with the wind from place to place. Tribes gave way to kingdoms, and kingdoms gave way to empires and when those gave way to nations, pilgrimages were still being performed and are still performed now. Today we speak of the heritage of the places of pilgrimage while attempting to protect them, to reframe them, to own them and reappraise their value. Probably the most popular of all forms of tourism is the pilgrimage to a sacred place; however, it is little understood (Singh, 2011, p. 307). Desire and faith are the fundamental features of travel for religious purposes such as pilgrimage. The desire or motivation to travel may be to find the answer for various internal human issues, while faith is the belief that in a place outside the limits of earth there is a force that can overcome all obstacles which seem incurable and unmanageable ((Morinis, 1992, p. 1). From a tourism viewpoint, it has been argued that travel has become increasingly secularized. For example, Cohen (1979) cited Lowenthal’s (1962) discussion of the thermalists who traditionally felt that the healing powers of thermal waters were created by supernatural forces. Now, tourists still believe thermal waters offer recuperative value, but they generally view this from a secular viewpoint (Willson, 2010, p. 12). No matter what the reason for pilgrimage is, whether it is based on faith or it is fundamentally secular, pilgrimages still take place today throughout the world. Motivations, actions and tourism-­ focused effects of the pilgrimage are the key issues. Visitors undertaking a pilgrimage range across a wide spectrum from those who are very religious orthodox pilgrims, through ‘traditional’ pilgrim tourists to secular tourists. The characteristics Pilgrimage (Pilgrim)

A

Sacred

Inbound and Outbound Religious Tourism Facts and Figures in Turkey According to United Nations World Tourism Organization figures, the number of international visitors worldwide was recorded to be 1235 million in 2016 (UNWTO, 2017). About 300 million of these visitors were estimated to include ‘faith’ or ‘religion’ in their vacation. The income generated from growing religious tourism throughout the world has approached nearly US$20 billion. Taking Turkey as an outbound religious tourism case, Turkish citizens spent US$1.1 billion in 2014 for pilgrimage (Hajj and Umrah) (TÜRSAB, 2017), which is approximately 5% of the total religious tourism visitor expenditure in the world. Furthermore, in view of comments suggested by TÜRSAB (the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies) about the inbound religious tourism capacity, Turkey with its potential and resources should aim to host at least 250,000 visitors a year as the target number (TÜRSAB, 2017). Despite this target, outbound religious tourism in Turkey is expected to continue to exceed the inbound religious tourism numbers. Although there is not much data recorded about religious tourism in Turkey there is some, as shown in Table 16.1 (data updated and adapted ̇ from TÜRSAB and Türkiye Istatistik Kurumu (TUIK; the Turkish Statistical Institute) websites).

Religious tourism (Religious tourist)

B

165

C

Tourism (Tourist)

D

Knowledge-based (faith/profane)

Fig. 16.1.  Classification of pilgrims and tourists. (Adapted from Smith, 1992, p. 4.)

E

Secular

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Table 16.1.  Facts and figures about inbound and outbound religious tourism in Turkey. (Updated and adapted from TÜRSAB and TUIK websites.) Inbound

Outbound

Visitors with a religious purpose – 59,073 Umrah 443,487 (2016) (2013) Attractions in 43 out of 81 provinces Hajj 57,041 (2016) More than 300 million visitors travel for Hajj Organization 22,231 by agencies, 39,069 by Presidency religious reasons out of a total of over of Religious Affairs (2014) 1.24 billion tourists worldwide. Of these, 59,073 travel to Turkey for religious reasons but the target is 250,000 religious tourists. 8,000 Turkish citizens from the European Union (EU) and other countries organized by Presidency of Religious Affairs (2014) Females made up 53% of outbound religious tourists in 2014, a value that rose to 54.5% in 2016 Umrah and Hajj 2.3 billion Turkish lira expenditure by Turkish citizens (2014) ~ US$1.1 billion ~ €845 million Each year there are on average 100,000 Hajj applications Least amount paid for Hajj €2,780 for Turkish citizens

The total number of people who travelled to Turkey in 2013 for religious purposes was recorded as 59,073. Despite this, as already mentioned, the target has been set at least 250,000 as a threshold, because there are places to travel to within the context of religious tourism in 43 out of the 81 provinces in Turkey. Some statistics regarding visits to Hajj and Umrah may be listed as the prominent case for outbound religious tourism in Turkey. In 2016, 443,487 people participated in outbound religious tourism with the purpose of Umrah as well as 57,041 people for the Hajj. While hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens visit Saudi Arabia for religious purposes, a ‘faith’ focus in terms of Turkish inbound tourism has become more considerable year by year. The number of religious travellers who visited Turkey, where the three great religions are ­located, was calculated as 147,000 in 2007, when it reached its peak. However, in the following years, in the neighbourhood of Turkey, in Syria and Iraq, the increasing tension with Israel reduced this number to 59,000 in 2013. In the first 6 months of 2014, the number of religious trips to Turkey reached 55,000, suggesting that tensions in the neighbouring countries were still continuing, indicating that it is currently difficult to reach the 2007 figures.

Inbound Religious Tourism in Turkey In Turkey, early studies on religious tourism commenced with a survey conducted by the Turkish Republic Prime Ministry State Institute of Statistics in 1965 and then the results were shared publicly, both nationally and internationally, by creating a map of religious tourism destinations. Increasing number of visitors from throughout the world to the symbol destinations of different beliefs each year indicated that religious tourism was following a rising trend. Within the framework of the studies initiated in 1993, works, sites and the places of worship of the three great religions dating back thousands of years were listed as a religious tourism inventory of Turkey. Such an inventory study was conducted by collecting opinions from governorships, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the General Directorate of Foundations, the Presidency of Religious Affairs and various universities. Many attractions associated with religious tourism were determined. Within the scope of this project, a committee composed of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and various public institutions and organizations was established under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this context, the



Inbound and Outbound Religious Tourism in Turkey

committee identified nine specific centres located in Turkey which are of importance, eight for Christians and one for Jews. The centres and the provinces where they are located are listed as follows:

• • • • • • • • •

St Pierre Church – Hatay (Christian); ̇ Tarsus (Christian); St Paul Church – Içel ̇ House of Virgin Mary – I zmir Selçuk (Christian); St Nicolas Church – Antalya Demre (Christian); Ancient Synagogue of Sardis – Manisa Sard (Jewish); Philadelphia St Jean Church – Manisa Alaşehir (Christian); Pisidia Antiocheia Ancient City – Isparta Yalvaç (Christian); Orthodox Church – Nevşehir Derinkuyu (Christian); and Laodicea Ancient City – Denizli Pamukkale (Christian).

As seen in Table 16.2 according to the statistics of the Turkish Statistical Institute TUIK, the number of visitors coming to Turkey for ‘purposes of religion’ is very low. In 2003, the number of people who travelled to Turkey for the purposes of religion was 64,548. Over the next few years, numbers of inbound religious tourism visitors increased year on year, reaching their peak with 143,969 visitors in 2007. There has been a sharp decline since 2011, and the records hit the

Table 16.2.  Arrivals in Turkey with the purpose of religious tourism. (Updated and adapted from TÜRSAB and TUIK websites.) Year

Number of visitors

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

64,548 65,778 112,308 125,503 143,969 99,041 127,815 114,340 106,743 66,401 59,076 95,540 75,908

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lowest figure of 59,076 visitors in 2013. The reason was the effect of events taking place in the neighbourhood, especially in Syria and Iraq. The tension with Israel also severely reduced the number of Israelites from the Tigris–Euphrates region and Harran, which were mentioned in the Torah. The number of tourists travelling to Turkey with the purpose of religion in 2014 was recorded to be 95,540. Still this is far below the targeted threshold of 250,000 visitors. This target was believed to be achievable because Turkey has a lot of destinations associated with religious tourism. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Turkey hosts sacred places in 43 provinces out of 81. In other words one out of two provinces in Turkey has a religious tourism destination. These are as follows: Adana, Adıyaman, Ağrı, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Artvin, Bitlis, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Gümüşhane, ̇ ̇ Hatay, Isparta, Mersin, Istanbul, Izmir, Karaman, Kars, Kayseri, Kırklareli, Kırşehir, Konya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Muğla, Nevsehir, Niğde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Siirt, Sivas, Şanlıurfa, Tokat, Trabzon, Van and Zonguldak. Of the ten most visited religious tourism destinations in the world, five are Japanese, and the total number of annual visitors to these Japanese destinations was 104.5 million in 2011 (TÜRSAB, 2017). Turkey has no religious tourism destination in this top-ten list. The Blue Mosque ranked in 20th place and Hagia Sofia in 29th place. These rankings do not reflect the substantial potential of the Anatolian peninsula, also known as ‘Asia Minor’. In the top-ten rankings of the most visited sacred sites in the world, the first place is taken by the Meiji Shrine and Sensoji Temple in Tokyo, which hosts 30 million people each year (TÜRSAB, 2017). Second in the list is the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in India with 21.9 million visitors and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico is third with 20 million visitors. As mentioned above, listed in 20th place on the list, is the Blue Mosque in Istanbul as the most visited religious attraction in Turkey. The annual number of visitors to the Blue Mosque is approximately 5 million people. Also listed in 29th place is Hagia Sophia, which with 3.2 million visitors a year is the second most visited religious centre in Turkey.1

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Outbound Religious Tourism in Turkey As stated in the Holy Quran, Muslims who have the financial and physical capability should make the annual pilgrimage of Hajj to Mecca, once in their lifetime. The Hajj is regarded as the pinnacle of each believer of Islam’s duties and aspirations (Raj and Bozonelos, 2015, p. 38). The roots of the word mean ‘to circle, to go around’. Mecca hosts the biggest gathering in the course of the month of Dhu al-Hijja. More than 3 million believers of Islam coming from diverse locations throughout the world meet there so as to accomplish one of the requirements of their faith. They wear white clothes for their specific rituals. Additionally, they stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder, in order to indicate that all of them are equal before God, irrespective of their social class. Hajj and Umrah might be considered as one of the first organized forms of religious travel. Islam has five pillars for its believers. These are stated as follows:

• • • • •

Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith; Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day; Zakat: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy; Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan; and Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca.

Carrying out these obligations provides the framework of a Muslim’s life, and weaves their everyday activities and their beliefs into a single cloth of religious devotion. No matter how sincerely a person may believe, Islam regards it as pointless to live life without putting that faith into action and practice (WAMCF, 2011). Hajj is required for each adult believer of Islam. In addition, this pilgrimage is to be realized at least once in the course of a lifetime as the fifth pillar of Islam. The traditions and ceremonies of rituals which belong to Hajj pilgrimage are permanent. Such rites have been passed down through the ages. Each member of the population of believers of Islam must accomplish the necessary actions. Hence, Hajj unites the believers of Islam throughout the world. This community is called Umma.

This pilgrimage brings about a remarkable change to the members of Umma in terms of the social style in which they pursue their lives and also it reinforces their faith. Umrah, another ritual in Muslims’ lives, is also a visit to Mecca. However, unlike Hajj, this ritual is not mandatory and it might be realized on any date. Umrah visitors select an Umrah package which they can afford from travel intermediaries. Umrah performed in the course of the month of Ramadan is regarded as more valuable. Nevertheless, performing Umrah during Ramadan is not a substitute for Hajj, the performance of which is mandatory (fard) for all Muslims at least once in a lifetime, if they are physically and financially able. As seen in Table 16.3, more than 12.7 million people (of which roughly 7 million are Saudis, the rest are non-Saudis) realized Umrah visit in 2016. According to research by the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs, 99.2% of Turkey’s population is Muslim (2012, p. 3). As a consequence, the main outbound religious tourism type of Turkey is Hajj and Umrah tourism. According to TÜRSAB’s Religious Tourism 2014 Report (prepared within the framework of the figures of the Presidency of Religious Affairs), 61,300 pilgrims visited the Holy Land and fulfilled the annual pilgrimage of Hajj (TÜRSAB, 2017). As shown in Table 16.4, the number of people who participated in Umrah in 2014 was 400,526. Of the 400,526 Umrah visitors in 2014, agencies organized 290,612 people’s visits, while the Presidency of Religious Affairs organized a total of 109,914 people’s visits to the Holy Land. The majority (62.8%) of those who went through the organization of the Presidency of Religious Affairs were female participants. Today there is still a huge demand especially for Hajj. However, numbers are restricted by the country quota which is set by the Saudi government for various countries to keep pilgrim numbers at a manageable level and limit numbers while there is ongoing construction. As shown in Table 16.5, in 2014 most visitors who participated in Umrah were over 60 years old, with a total of 164,319 people attending. The second largest age group of Umrah pilgrims were 56–60-year-old citizens (50,592 visitors), and the third largest age group were 51–55 years old (49,980 people). A total of 25,608 people under the age of 20 were recorded.



All pilgrims

Non-Saudi

Saudi

Age group

Total

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

0–9 10–19 20–29 30–39 40–49 50–59 60–69 70+ Total

1,515,426 1,631,556 2,190,522 2,905,351 2,513,288 1,269,229 495,868 182,557 12,703,797

735,105 798,352 950,947 1,046,812 814,832 383,435 176,706 75,849 4,982,038

780,321 833,204 1,239,575 1,858,539 1,698,456 885,794 319,162 106,708 7,721,759

538,472 509,940 778,962 1,578,093 1,473,699 610,069 187,416 46,303 5,722,954

257,278 250,456 285,182 418,307 330,973 81,117 33,011 14,064 1,670,388

281,194 259,484 493,780 1,159,786 1,142,726 528,952 154,405 32,239 4,052,566

976,954 1,121,616 1,411,560 1,327,258 1,039,589 659,160 308,452 136,254 6,980,843

477,827 547,896 665,765 628,505 483,859 302,318 143,695 61,785 3,311,650

499,127 573,720 745,795 698,753 555,730 356,842 164,757 74,469 3,669,193

Mu’tamir means ‘one who is performing the minor pilgrimage to Mecca out of Hajj periods’.

a

Inbound and Outbound Religious Tourism in Turkey

Table 16.3.  Mu’tamirsa by gender, age group and nationality (Saudi/non-Saudi). (From Umrah Survey 2016 General Authority for Statistics, updated and adapted from TÜRSAB and TUIK websites.)

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According to figures from the travel agencies and the Presidency of Religious Affairs, in 2014 on average the Hajj visitor spent in the order of €4000 (more if they stayed in a hotel). As seen in Table 16.6, the lowest amount paid for the pilgrimage started at €2780 and the highest amount was €17,000. The number of visitors from Turkey for Hajj and Umrah has been constantly increasing. The increasing number of buses and hotels invested in by Turkey in Saudi Arabia, as well as the rise in the number of available flights from Turkey, has made the prices cheaper and more accessible each year. Agencies expect the number of visitors to increase further with the completion of the renovations around the Kaaba. As shown in Table 16.6 and Table 16.7, ­according to information received from the member agencies of TÜRSAB and the Presidency of Religious Affairs, pilgrim candidates (of Hajj) spend an average of €4000 during this trip, while the average figure for Umrah is around €1500. Table 16.4.  Number of visitors (Hajj and Umrah). (Updated and adapted from TÜRSAB and TUIK websites.) Year

Umrah visitors

Hajj visitors

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

411,495 381,881 391,500 400,526 399,621 443,487

89,033 75,607 60,892 61,300 74,000 57,041

According to the statements made by the Presidency of Religious Affairs, in 2014 Umrah had Turkish visitors from 81 provinces throughout Turkey. All cities were fully represented in the visits. Most Turkish visitors were from Istanbul (15,000 people) followed by Ankara (10,425 people), Bursa (5467 people), Konya (3954 ̇ people) and Izmir (3867 people).

Conclusion The concept of religious tourism gained importance in Turkey after 1995. However, it is difficult to say whether the existing potential for religious tourism in the country has been achieved. There are still many steps that need to be taken in order to ensure diversity of tourism in Turkey, from sea-sun-sand tourism towards developing alternative tourism. There are sites and places that fall into the standards of religious tourism both in terms of quality and quantity. Throughout Turkey, 43 provinces out of 81 possess such kind of attractions. None the less, the issue of accommodation and some infrastructure problems have not been overcome yet. That is why hotel investments along the routes of religious tourism should be encouraged by the government and there should be some incentives for such investment. There has been an accumulation of investments along the coastline, so that certain destinations have excessive bed capacity and the high number of overnight stays along the shores keeps

Table 16.5.  Number of visitors (Hajj and Umrah) in 2014 by age group and gender (outbound). (Updated and adapted from TÜRSAB and TUIK websites.) Hajj

Umrah

Age group

Total

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

–20 21–25 26–30 31–35 36–40 41–45 46–50 51–55 56–60 61+ Total

268 120 328 864 2,017 3,139 4,192 7,457 9,413 29,243 57,041

148 53 134 379 965 1,476 1,836 3,158 4,189 13,622 25,960

120 67 194 485 1,052 1,663 2,356 4,299 5,224 15,621 31,081

25,608 12,828 17,381 23,026 29,823 33,484 36,446 49,980 50,592 164,319 443,487

13,191 5,793 8,385 12,379 15,461 16,212 15,269 18,402 17,978 65,586 188,656

12,417 7,035 8,996 10,647 14,362 17,272 21,177 31,578 32,614 98,733 254,831



Inbound and Outbound Religious Tourism in Turkey

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Table 16.6.  Average cost of Hajja for Turkish citizens. (Updated and adapted from TÜRSAB and TUIK websites.) Organized by Presidency of Religious Affairs Year

Budget (€)

Standard (€)

Organized by agency

Hotel (€)

Budget (€)

2012 2,730–2,850 3,950–4,990 5,750 and over (12,000) 2013 2,730–3,100 4,000–5,000 5,750 and over 2014 2,780 4,060–4,680 5,470 and over

Standard (€)

Hotel (€)

Deluxe hotel (€)

2,730

3,900–4,900 5,750–11,500

N/Ab

2,700 2,780

4,100–4,600 8,400–9,350 4,180–4,680 5,630–5,830

N/A 10,200–17,000

This includes cost of travel, accommodation and full board. NA, Not available.

a

b 

Table 16.7.  Average cost of Umrah accommodation for Turkish citizens. (Updated and adapted from TÜRSAB and TUIK websites.) Accommodation cost (€) Organized by Presidency of Religious Affairs Umrah – 7 nights Agency Umrah – 12 nights

Budget

Standard

Hotel

895–950

995–1050

1245–1470

975–2400

on increasing. Yet, other non-coastal destinations have an ongoing problem of accommodation quality and quantity. It is necessary to emphasize overseas campaigns and promotions regarding the wealth of Turkey as a destination for religious tourism. Turkey had a population of 79.51 million people according to population census results in 2016 (Worldometers, 2016). The vast majority of Turkey’s population is Muslim (99.2%) and as Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, Turkey’s principal outbound religious tourism destination is Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umrah. Moreover, by its very nature, such sorts of religious tourism supply presented to Turkish pilgrim candidates do not require public relations, promotion and

advertisement at all. That is why, as a religious tourism activity Hajj and Umrah possess unique characteristics in terms of destination appeal. The number of Turkish citizens who registered for Hajj in 2017 was over 2 million while only 80,000 prospective pilgrims were selected among the registered candidates due to the restrictions imposed by the country’s quota (Haberler.com, 2017). Another prominent characteristic is that competition and quest for quality do not exist among accommodation services in the destination due to the consolidated and intensive demand. Ultimately, in both the short and the long term, it is expected that the rise in the number of outbound religious tourists from Turkey will be sustained to a large extent.

Note   In Turkey, the number of visits with the purpose of religious tourism and the number of religious centre visits (e.g. to a church, synagogue or mosque) differ from each other. This is because international visitors who come to Turkey with the purpose of travelling, and decide to make a religious centre visit secondarily are not included in the ‘religious purpose or religious tourism’ category. In other words, to be counted as religious tourists, they should state that their primary goal and motivation is to visit the centres of religion. This is one of the reasons why the total number of religious tourists is so few.

1

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References Blackwell, R. (2007) Motivations for religious tourism, pilgrimage, festivals and events. In: Raj, R. and Morpeth, N.D. (eds) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Festivals Management: an International Perspective. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 35–47. Cohen, E. (1979) A phenomenology of tourist experiences. Sociology 13(2), 179–201. Cohen, E. (1998) Tourism and religion: a comparative perspective. Pacific Tourism Review 2, 1–10. Digance, J. (2003) Pilgrimage at contested sites. Annals of Tourism Research 30(1), 143–159. Geertz, C. (1973) Religion as a cultural system (Chapter 4). In: The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays. Basic Books, New York, pp. 87–125. Haberler.com (2017) Available at: https://www.haberler.com/hac-icin-bekleyen-kisi-sayisi-2-milyon-100bine-11123853-haberi/ (accessed 22 November 2017). Huntley, E. and Barnes-Reid, C. (2003) The feasibility of Sabbath-keeping in the Caribbean hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 15(3), 172–175. Kale, S.H. (2004) Spirituality, Religion, and Globalization. Journal of Macromarketing 24(2), 92. Kelly, J.R. (1982) Leisure. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Lowenthal, D. (1962) Tourists and thermalists. Geographical Review 52(1), 124–127. Mattila, A.S., Apostolopoulos, Y., Sonmez, S., Yu, L. and Sasidharan, V. (2001) The impact of gender and religion on college students ‘spring break’. Journal of Travel Research 40, 193–200. Morinis, A. (1992) Introduction: the territory of the anthropology of pilgrimage. In: Morinis, A. (ed.) Sacred Journeys: the Anthopology of Pilgrimage. Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, pp. 1–30. Norman, A. (2004) Spiritual tourism: religion and spirituality in contemporary travel. BA dissertation, University of Sydney, Australia. Oxford Dictionaries (2017) Oxford English Dictionary. Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/ (accessed 21 November 2017). Paraszthy, L. (2015) Spirituality as a hidden tourist attraction. Bachelor in Tourism and Hotel Management dissertation, Budapest Business School, College of Commerce, Catering and Tourism and Hotel Management, Hungary. Presidency of Religious Affairs (2012) Religious Life in Turkey Research. Available at: http://www2.diyanet. gov.tr/StratejiGelistirme/Afisalanlari/dinihayat.pdf (accessed 22 November 2017). Raj, R. and Bozonelos, D. (2015) Pilgrimage experience and consumption of travel to the city of Makkah for Hajj ritual. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage 3(1), Article 6. Available at: https:// arrow.dit.ie/ijrtp/vol3/iss1/6 (accessed 2 April 2019). Raj, R. and Morpeth, N.D. (2007) Introduction: establishing linkages between religious travel and tourism. In: Raj, R. and Morpeth, N.D. (eds) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Festivals Management: an International Perspective. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 98–109. Singh, R.P.B. (2011) Pilgrimage and religious tourism in India: countering contestation and seduction. In: Singh, R.P.B. (ed.) Holy Places and Pilgrimages: Essays on India. Planet Earth and Cultural Understanding Series, Pub. 8. Shubhi Publications, New Delhi, pp. 307–334. Smith, V.L. (1992) Introduction: the quest in guest. Annals of Tourism Research 19(1), 1–17. Stamenković, I., Džigurski, A.L. and Vujičić, M. (2010) The new era/age of orthodox religious/faith tourism at the Balkans – event management and animation of pilgrimers at spiritual journeys. In: Radisavljević-­ Ciparizović, D. (ed.) Pilgrimages, Cult Places and Religious Tourism. Proceedings of the Annual International Yugoslav Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (YSSSR) Conference, Niš, Serbia, pp. 79–94. Timothy, D.J. and Olsen, D.H. (2006) Whither religious tourism. In: Timothy, D.J. and Olsen, D.H. (eds) Tourism, Religion and Spiritual Journeys. Routledge, London, pp. 271–278. TUIK (Turkish Statistical Institute) (no date) Available at: www.tuik.gov.tr (accessed 24 September 2016). TÜRSAB (Association of Turkish Travel Agencies) (2017) Available at: https://www.tursab.org.tr/haberler/ tursab-inanc-turizmi-raporu_11333 (accessed 26 September 2017). United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2017) Available at: https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/ pdf/10.18111/9789284419029 (accessed 8 April 2019). Vijayanand, S. (2012) Socio-economic impacts in pilgrimage tourism. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research 2(1), 329–343.



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Willson, G.B. (2010) Exploring travel and spirituality: the role of travel in facilitating life purpose and meaning within the lives of individuals. PhD dissertation, Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Windsor & Maidenhead Community Forum (WAMCF) (2011) Islam. Available at: http://www.wamcf.org/ community/islam/ (accessed 2 April 2019). Worldometers (2016) Turkey Population. Available at: http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ turkey-population/ (accessed 24 September 2016).

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Walking the Way of St James: Spiritual Journeys to the Cathedrals of Sport Richard Keith Wright* Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

Introduction Macfarlane’s (2012) concludes his paper, Rites of way: behind the pilgrimage revival, by claiming that ‘pilgrimage has gone cult – it has gone kitsch’. He acknowledges an increasing desire to ‘reconnect’ and ‘make sense’ of our natural surroundings, driven by the consequences of dematerialization and the disembodiment of virtualized existence. Similarly, in 2015, Kavanagh proposed that pilgrimages can be fun, inspiring, challenging and rewarding for all, not just the religious. She admits that the best ones will inevitably involve a bit of discomfort, but concludes that the memories made as a consequence can more than make up for it (Kavanagh, 2015). Despite its spiritual lineage, the ‘Camino de Santiago’ was listed as one of seven life-­ changing secular pilgrimages (Kavanagh, 2015). ‘Camino de Santiago’, also known as ‘The Way of St James’, is the name given to any route that leads pilgrims to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, northern Spain, where the apostle St James (‘the Greater’) is believed to be buried (Kavanagh, 2015). In 2010, over 270,000 pilgrims received the certificate of completion, known as ‘la autentica’, at the end of their ‘Camino de Santiago’ experience (in 1985, it was only 2491) (Macfarlane, 2012). St James the Greater, the Patron Saint of Spain, should not be confused

with St James the Less (‘the Lesser’ or ‘the Just’), who is believed to have been the brother of Jesus (Eisenman, 1996). The lesser St James has English stadiums named after him in Exeter (Devon), Brackley (Northamptonshire) and Newcastle (Northumberland), all of which have been visited by many thousands of sports pilgrims over the course of the last century. The emergence of the modern-day pilgrim, looking for something more than spiritual guidance or gratification, is an area deemed worthy of further exploration, both within and outside the realms of pilgrimage tourism. Neither Macfarlane nor Kavanagh, for example, acknowledge the thousands of secular pilgrims who regularly choose to swap one English urban landscape for another, typically on a Saturday afternoon between the months of August and May. This chapter explores the emergence of the serious leisure-­ inspired English football pilgrim. An evocative autoethnographic vignette (Ellis, 2000; Smith and Weed, 2007; Dashper, 2015) inspired by childhood trips to the Cathedral of Football and St James Park is shared in the hope of increasing social awareness and cultural acceptance of Inglis’ (1996) notion of ‘Stadiumitis’. I finish things off with a conclusion and four soul-searching questions for you to answer (see Discussion Questions, this volume).

*[email protected] 174

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Spiritual Journeys to the Cathedrals of Sport

Secular Pilgrimages from a Serious Leisure Perspective (SLP) Surprisingly, the links between serious leisure hobbyists and secular pilgrims appear to have been missed in the current literature, although religion is widely acknowledged as a method of establishing a social identity within one’s local community (Jones, 2000). The SLP is essentially built on the premise that individuals seek social acceptance and a sense of belonging to a special community of likeminded others, all of whom help sustain a unique ethos governed by predetermined, although often unwritten, rules and rituals (Stebbins, 2015). ‘Serious leisure’ is defined as: the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer core activity that is highly substantial, interesting, and fulfilling and where, in the typical case, participants find a career in acquiring and expressing a combination of its special skills, knowledge, and experience. (Stebbins, 1992, p. 3)

Since the turn of the century, scholars have both observed and interacted with the producers of amateur sport-related serious leisure, helping establish an extensive library of individual case studies. The connection between serious leisure, social identity and sports tourism has been made on several occasions, including the rituals and routines of those who follow Luton Town Football Club (Jones, 2000; Jones and Green, 2006). A pilgrimage is a sociological, psychological and physiological journey through time and space (Turner, 1973; Turner and Turner, 1978). Pilgrims traditionally seek personal enlightenment/enrichment from the journey as well as the end destination (Bauman, 1996). Ambrósio (2007) referred to a pilgrimage as a sacred and spiritual form of travel built upon an ancient lineage of socially constructed tradition and site-­specific ritual. According to Davidson and Gitlitz (2002, p. 582), ‘Secular pilgrimages are considered pilgrimages because they involved a personal commitment to travel to a site that offers the potential to affect the pilgrim on a spiritual plane’. They also acknowledge the difficulty faced by those trying to spot a secular pilgrim, noting that ‘a secular pilgrimage may appear to be a mere tourist jaunt … [only] the visitors know when the experience passes from the realm of tourism to that of pilgrimage’ (2002, p. 582).

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Berry (1970) was one of the first to separate the movement and motivations of the secular pilgrim from that of the more traditionally accepted spiritual wayfarer, looking at journeys inspired by nature and poetry. A decade later, Moore (1980) discussed the rituals observed among those travelling to Disneyland. Belk and Wallendorf ’s (1989) observation that many ‘ordinary elements’ of life that have over time been awarded sacred meaning was more recently supported by Hede and Hall (2012), who argue that both religious and secular pilgrimages have capacity to evoke spiritual experiences, including the global movements of the sport event tourists who ‘have been likened to the pilgrims of the historic religious pilgrimages, deriving spiritual experiences from the sport itself ’ (p. 50). Davidson and Gitlitz (2002) provide a typology based on motivation (i.e. why they travel) and movement (i.e. where they travel). They suggest that the most common reasons for secular pilgrims to embark upon a special journey to an equally special destination are either: (i) personal (e.g. the desire to travel to a place connected to their ancestors, in an attempt to strengthen one’s sense of belonging, or identity to a particular ethnicity); (ii) political (e.g. a desire to commemorate and pay tribute to sacrifice and loss suffered by others, for the sake of others, at a historically significant site/landmark); or (iii) popular (e.g. a desire to travel to a site hallowed for its unique association with an icon or legend of a particular subculture) (Davidson and Gitlitz, 2002). Digance (2006) introduces three overlapping ‘archetypes’ of both a sacred and secular pilgrimage, these being the quest, the journey, and sacred places, suggesting that the importance of the travel component of a pilgrimage, once a non-negotiable core ingredient, has been noticeably diminished over time. She supports Macfarlane’s view that the arrival of an online, virtual world has significantly decreased the need for people to leave the comforts of one’s everyday surroundings in order to be enlightened or experience a serious transformative encounter (Digance, 2006; Macfarlane, 2012). Hede and Hall (2012, p. 46) also note that, ‘as many western societies are experiencing secularization, the notion of pilgrimage is emerging as a contemporary form of tourism’. A decade earlier, Davidson and Gitlitz (2002) acknowledged

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the motorsport Meccas of Indianapolis and Le Mans as being two of many sport tourism destinations that annually attracted millions of secular pilgrims from all over the world, adding that: whether such a journey is a pilgrimage or a tourist outing depends upon the individual’s personal reaction to the experience … for diehard sports fans, the spiritual impact of the journey to see their team play is often couched in terms of pilgrimage. (Davidson and Gitlitz, 2002, p. 583)

Gammon, a pioneer in the study of heritage sport tourism, also referred to the two journeys that exist in nostalgically driven sport tourism; ‘the journey made to the attraction or event and the imagined journey that takes place once there’ (Gammon, 2002, p. 65). Having introduced some of the existing literature on the subject of pilgrimage, spiritual and secular, the remaining sections of this chapter will focus on the connections to topophilia and nostalgia-driven heritage sport tourism.

The Concept and Consequence of ‘Stadiumitus’ Topophilia is the term coined to explain the deeply emotional sense of attachment that some people have to the material environment (Tuan, 1974). In 1989, Bale applied the concept to emphasize the emotional attachment that can exists between sports fans and a site of sporting significance, citing that all stadiums have the potential to develop ‘a sufficient mystique’ which, given time, may enable them to become ‘attractions in their own right’ (p. 120). Bale (1993) called for stadia to be viewed and valued as ‘architectural repositories of history, acting as clear sources of continuity between different generations of fans and players’ (cited in Wood, 2010, p. 188). Inglis (1996, p. 8) defined ‘stadiumitis’ as the consequence of ‘that heart-fluttering sense of anticipation’ and ‘heightened sense of elation’ experienced by sports pilgrims as they approach their final destination. Gammon (2004) refers to the development of a sport pilgrimage continuum that separates the tourist from the pilgrim, based on their primary reason for travel (their motivation) and the activities experienced as a visitor (their behaviour). The pious pilgrim (i.e. the religious traveller)

is placed at one end and the secular tourist (i.e. the holidaying vacationer) at the other, although he notes the possibility of people being ‘part pilgrim, part tourist’, the degree of which is dependent upon the primary motivation for travel (2004, p. 32). He provides several examples to support his conclusions, citing how a ‘visit to Manchester is not complete without experiencing old Trafford, in the same way as the Olympic attractions situated on the Montjuic mountainside are an integral part of the Barcelona experience’ (p. 41). On the subject of sport and/as religion, Gammon (2004) acknowledges a number of scholars who have written on the matter, concluding that: Like tourism, sport too has been equated to a religion; either as a substitute to religion, or as a phenomenon that generates a quasi-religious experience, or indeed as an entirely new form of religion (Coakley 1998; Hoffman, 1992; Leonard, 1998; Novak, 1976) … Sport is clearly an integral part of our lives, a point that is reinforced constantly through the media. Players take on the mantle of hero, super hero or ‘saviour’, and are in some cases mythologized in order to protect a special moment or a special age … For the highly identified fan or the connoisseur, some sport sites (whatever the category) will provoke intense feelings of awe and wonderment, similar to those experienced by pilgrims at religious shrines (Redmond, 1973; Sydner, 1991). (Gammon, 2004, pp. 35–41)

Wood (2007) referred to sports heritage as a developing area of activity for tourism. In 2010, Wood also acknowledged the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who undertake the journey to Manchester United’s Old Trafford Stadium every year, before offering a critical assessment of the lack of protection and preservation provided to sites of sporting significance. He argues that ‘surviving historic grounds, and the sites of former stadiums, have the potential to recapture place, memory and meaning, to create new interest in history and heritage and to generate new tourism markets and destinations’ and questions the ‘decades of under-appreciation’ and ‘lack of protection’ that he felt had ‘taken their toll, resulting in a loss of, damage to, some famous and popular landmarks’ (Wood, 2010, p. 198). To date, most heritage sport tourism studies have focused on the consumption of nostalgia-­ fuelled stadia tours and memorabilia-filled museums and halls of fame, many of which provide



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a highly subjective version of the site’s history before finishing up at the souvenir shop (see, for example, Gammon, 2002; John, 2002; Fairley and Gammon, 2005; Gammon and Fear, 2007; Ramshaw and Gammon, 2010; Wright, 2012). Fairley and Gammon (2005), for example, call for sport and tourism promoters to ‘use nostalgic appeals’ to encourage individuals to visit a sport-­ related place or artefact and participate in sport experiences. What follows is an evocative autoethnographic vignette (Ellis, 2000; Dashper, 2015) inspired by the author’s private recollections of his first pilgrimages to the old Wembley Stadium (demolished and replaced at the start of the century) and to a small local West Country football stadium called St James Park.

Walking the Way of St James It’s 03:52 a.m. here in Auckland, New Zealand, and I can hear my daughter tossing and turning in the room next door. In my head, I am praying she re-settles without me or my wife having to leave the sanctity of our warm and comfortable cocoon. It is still Easter Monday over 11,000 miles away in England and my first love, Cambridge United Football Club (Cambridge), are playing host to Exeter City Football Club. My mother and my 95-year-old grandmother are both about to welcome two teams of professional footballers onto the hallowed turf field of the Abbey Stadium (the Abbey), a ritual they have performed in unison with thousands of others for nearly three decades. I spent 12 years standing shoulder to shoulder with them, doing exactly the same. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, the one thing I miss most about the life I left behind in 2004. It is now 03.58 a.m. and I find myself more awake than asleep. I am thinking about my only pilgrimage to Exeter City’s Saint James Park. Much to my annoyance, I am struggling to recall the exact date, or even the final score of that game. I can remember it being an afternoon Football Association (FA) Cup game, which allows me to narrow it down to a 4-month period in either late 1990 or early 1991. Either way, that’s over a quarter of a century in the past and several years before many of my current crop of students were born. My wife would have only been 4 or 5 years old at the time. I would have been 10.

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It’s 04.00 a.m. and a part of me wants me to give up on my attempts to sleep and listen to the game (God bless the digital age). My conscience quickly reminds me that any serious movement is likely to wake my wife and my 9-month-old daughter and the best compromise I can think of is to tune in to the live updates posted on the club’s website. Back in 1990, my bedtime reading would have been a copy of that week’s Match magazine. Fast forward 27 years and the paper next to my bed is a copy of Robert Macfarlane’s article about the growth in secular pilgrims, including those walking the ‘Way of St James’. I had never heard of the ‘Camino de Santiago’ until my best man decided to include it as a part of his honeymoon the previous year. It seems somewhat appropriate however, considering the home of the team Cambridge is now playing at the Abbey. It’s 04.03 a.m. and my imagination transports me away from the present day, on a journey back in time to my first ever sports-inspired pilgrimage. I am daydreaming when I should really be dreaming. The destination is Wembley. The date is Saturday 26 May 1990. It is 10 days after my tenth birthday, and 9 days since I had watched Bryan Robson lift the FA Cup trophy aloft for the third time, following Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace (the team that I had seen beat Cambridge 1-0 at the Abbey in the quarter-finals). I had watched several other FA Cup finals, but that was the first one that featured a team of players who I had actually seen play at a sold-out game at the Abbey a couple of months earlier. It was also the first final since Wembley had become an all-seater stadium. I recall wanting to go on one of the supporters’ coaches, but my grandfather thought it would be easier to drive. He took me, my grandmother and my mother in his old blue Renault Four. I remember us getting lost. I can see the famous twin towers in the distance, but we appear to be in a housing estate having taken a wrong turn somewhere. Within a flash, however, I am now outside the famous venue, standing on a crowded concrete concourse, surrounded by more people than I had ever seen in my life. Both sets of fans are together. Everyone is talking. There are queues for everything: the food, the programmes, the special scarves and hats, the toilets. I can taste the cheeseburger with onions and ketchup that I was allowed before the game.

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I can smell the male toilets, which like the Abbey consisted largely of a wall and a drain. The pitch looked bigger, but was much further away than it was at the Abbey and I am struggling to see what is going on at the other end. The noise of the crowd rings in my ears. The Abbey can only accommodate 9000 home and away supporters and the average home crowd for that season had been around 4000, and yet I find myself looking down on myself and my family, surrounded by 16,000 Cambridge followers, all wearing our colours of yellow and black. I see our reaction to the winning goal, scored by Dion Dublin with around 15 minutes to go. It is a moment in time that I have replayed and recreated many times in my life. It is a moment that changed my life. It changed his life too. Within 2 years he was scoring goals for Manchester United. It is 04.12 a.m. and I am now sitting next to my grandfather on a Cambridge supporters’ coach. I guess that our destination is St James Park, although it is not clear at that moment. We travelled together a lot at the start, before I was deemed old enough to travel alone. We stop at a motorway service station to give the driver a break. The distance between the Abbey and St James Park is just under 200 miles (over 300 km), meaning that it was a very early start. I hadn’t slept much that week. I was too excited. The anticipation was almost too much to take. I was going to my first ever away FA Cup fixture. It was my first long-distance away trip, and my first as a newly signed up Junior U. The Junior Us was, and still is, the Cambridge supporters’ club for children under the age of 16. We had our own coach and our own seated area at the game. We also got to play matches against other junior supporters’ team and to meet the Cambridge players on a regular basis. We were a part of the club’s family, and it is as a member of this private group that my serious leisure career began and my stadiumitis first emerged. I was the only member from my school. To the best of my knowledge, I was the only member from my entire village. I can hear the songs we sung as we left the Abbey at 7.00 a.m. that morning. The singing was even louder as we finally arrived at St James Park. We continue singing in the stadium, and never stopped. The older kids would lead the way, and the rest of us would follow. I had heard them all the season before so was able to join in

from the outset. I had been practising at home and on my walk to school the week before. I  wanted to be accepted into the group more than anything in the world. I had never felt more awake. I had never felt more alive. I had found my raison d’être. It was to be the first of over 50 trips taken as a Junior U over the next 5-year seasons. By 1995, I was one of the elders occupying the seats at the back of the coach, helping to initiate the new pilgrims sitting in the middle. The adults always sat at the front. Something has happened at the Abbey. It’s 04.27 a.m. and my phone lights up underneath my pillow. A goal has been scored. It’s 3.27 p.m. in England, and it’s 1-0 to the home team. I can picture the smile on my grandmother’s face. Right on cue, I feel the nerves start to arrive in my stomach. I have suffered the heartbreak of seeing Cambridge lose too many times so know that there is still a long way to go before we are given the three points from this fixture. To try and make the time go quicker, I start counting down the days until the 2017/18 fixture list is announced at the end of June. I can’t wait to see where I will be going during the 10 days in September that I will be in England. I want a midweek home game and a weekend away game, preferably at a stadium that I have never visited. I start listing the many possibilities in my head, based on who is in our league this year, and who may be in our league next year. Next, I start to list all the places I have already been. It is now 07.18 a.m. in Auckland and I am reading the match report on the Cambridge United website. I’m not sure when I fell asleep exactly, but it must have been between 04:30 and 04:44 a.m. as I have no memory of seeing the update telling me that the first half was finally over. There were no more goals in the game and the 1-0 win means that we are now only a point and a place outside of the promotion play-offs (a fifth trip to the Cathedral of Football is a real possibility). I open another website, hoping to confirm when we played Exeter City in the 1990/91 FA Cup; www.11vs11.com was added to my favourites list in 2015, and has become my ‘go to’ site anytime I suspect my memory is playing tricks on me, or I encounter a football-related question that I cannot automatically answer. It claims to be ‘the official site of the Association of Football Statisticians’ and promotes itself as ‘a community hub for those interested in football history and statistics’



Spiritual Journeys to the Cathedrals of Sport

(International Football History and Statistics, 2017). On this occasion, the site informs me that the win I remember took place on Saturday 17 November 1990, the score was 2-1 to Cambridge United and that Cambridge United played Exeter three other times that season, ­including two more trips to St James Park (International Football History and Statistics, 2017). We won the league that year, and reached a second successive FA Cup quarter-final. Sadly, there were no more trips to Wembley however, until 18 May 2008, by which time I was living on the other side of the world and unable to justify the cost of travelling half way around the world to watch a 90-minute game of football. We lost on that occasion, just as we did again at the same venue in the same final the following season. The team that beat us in 2008 was Exeter City. They won 1-0.

Conclusion Autoethnography encourages the author to look inward and explore the deeper meanings attached to their own lived experiences (Ellis, 2000). My physical distance from the Abbey has only increased my emotional attachment to a local club that will forever mean the world to me. Trips ‘home’ will never be complete without a visit to the stadium that occupies my mind on a daily basis (day and night). I wanted to showcase the many serious leisure pilgrimages, undertaken by secular pilgrims of various ages and genders, whose sense of being and belonging is a direct consequence of the socio-cultural rituals and beliefs passed down by their elders. I wanted to present a quest that can emerge at any hour of the day or night. Some people count sheep, some count stadiums.

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While most of the secular pilgrimage literature has focused on the physical journey and the mystique of the destination, I wanted to explore the emotional component of the experience. Gammon (2004, p. 36) concludes that sites of sporting significance ‘will undoubtedly engender varying degrees of meaning to the visitor, the extent of which will depend on a myriad of personal, social and situational circumstances’, adding that ‘the qualification of a fan is not entirely dependent upon where they reside and the regularity of the attendance’. As noted earlier, a pilgrimage is a journey through time and space, that has an impact on the traveller’s physical and emotional being (Turner and Turner, 1978). It involves a quest, a journey, and the arrival at a sacred place (Digance, 2006). Macfarlane (2012) suggests that, on a pilgrimage, people think ‘with’ and ‘about’ their surroundings. My personal narrative is designed to get you thinking about your past lived experiences, including the many personal pilgrimages that you have no doubt replayed in your mind as you lay in bed trying to sleep (or as daydreams). To me, the quest represents the ‘why’, the journey is the ‘how’ and the destination is the ‘what’. It is possible to observe the latter two from the outside, but the ‘why’ can often be hidden from view. The motives for embarking upon a sacred journey can vary from one moment to the next. My goal was to create something easy to understand. First and foremost, however, it has to be believable (Ellis, 2000; Smith and Weed, 2007). The strength of this contribution lies in its ability to attract, access and activate your deeper sociological imagination (Holt, 2003; Dashper, 2015).

References Ambrósio, V. (2007) Sacred pilgrimage and tourism in secular pilgrimage. In: Raj, R. and Morpeth, N.D. (eds) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management: an International Perspective. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 78–88. Bale, J. (1989) Sports Geography. Spon, London. Bale, J. (1993) Sport Space and the City. Routledge, London. Bauman, Z. (1996) From pilgrim to tourist – or a short history of identity. In: Hall, S. and Du Gay, P. (eds) Questions of Cultural Identity. SAGE Publishing, London, pp. 18–36. Belk, R. and Wallendorf, M. (1989) The sacred and the profane in consumer behaviour: theodicy on the Odyssey. Journal of Consumer Research 16(1), 1–38. Berry, W. (1970) A secular pilgrimage. The Hudson Review 23(3), 401–424.

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Coakley, J.J. (1998) Sport in Society, Issues and Controversies. McGraw-Hill, New York. Dashper, K. (2015) Revise, resubmit and reveal? An autoethnographer’s story of facing the challenges of revealing the self through publication. Current Sociology 1, 1–17. Davidson, L.K. and Gitlitz, D.M. (2002) Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland: an Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO Inc., Santa Barbara, California. Digance, J. (2006) Religious and secular pilgrimage: journey redolent with meaning. Tourism, Religion and Spiritual Journeys 1, 36–48. Eisenman, R. (1996) James the Brother of Jesus: the Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Viking, New York. Ellis, C. (2000) Creating criteria: an autoethnographic short story. Qualitative Inquiry 6, 273–277. Fairley, S. and Gammon, S. (2005) Something lived, something learned: nostalgia’s expanding role in sport tourism. Sport in Society 2(8), 182–197. Gammon, S. (2002) Fantasy, nostalgia and the pursuit of what never was. In: Gammon, S. and Kurtzman, J. (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice. LSA Publications, Eastbourne, UK, pp. 61–72. Gammon, S. (2004) Secular pilgrimage and sports tourism. In: Ritchie, B. and Adair, D. (eds) Sport Tourism: Interrelationships, Impacts and Issues. Channel View, Clevedon, UK, pp. 30–45. Gammon, S. and Fear, V. (2007) Stadia tour and the power of the backstage. In: Gammon, S. and Ramshaw, G. (eds) Heritage, Sport and Tourism: Sporting Pasts – Tourist Futures. Routledge, London, pp. 23–32. Hede, A.-M. and Hall, J. (2012) Evoked emotions: textual analysis within the context of pilgrimage tourism to Gallipoli. Advances in Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research 6, 45–60. Hoffman, S. (1992) Sport and Religion. Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois. Holt, N.J. (2003) Representation, legitimation and autoethnography: an autoethnographic writing story. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 2(1), 18–28. Inglis, S. (1996) Football Grounds of Britain. Collins Willow, London. International Football History and Statistics (2017) Cambridge United. Available at: https://www.11v11.com/ teams/cambridge-united/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Exeter%20City/ (accessed 6 August 2017). John, G. (2002) Stadia and tourism. In: Gammon, S. and Kurtzman J. (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice. LSA Publications, Eastbourne, UK, pp. 53–60. Jones, I. (2000) A model of serious leisure identification: the case of football fandom. Leisure Studies 19(4), 283–298. Jones, I. and Green, C. (2006) Serious leisure, social identity and sport tourism. In: Gibson, H. (ed.) Sport Tourism: Concepts and Theories. Routledge, London, pp. 164–181. Kavanagh, M. (2015) Seven secular pilgrimages that will change your world. CNN Stories. Available at: https:// edition.cnn.com/travel/article/non-religious-pilgrimages-treks/index.html (accessed 2 April 2017). Leonard, W.M. (1998) A Sociological Perspective of Sport. Allyn Bacon, London. Macfarlane, R. (2012) Rites of way: behind the pilgrimage revival. The Guardian.co.uk, Friday 15 June. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/15/rites-of-way-pilgrimage-walks?CMP=share_ btn_link (accessed 2 April 2017). Moore, A. (1980) Walt Disney World: bounded ritual space and the playful pilgrimage centre. Anthropological Quarterly 53(4), 207–218. Novak, M. (1976) The Joy of Sports. Basic Books, New York. Ramshaw, G. and Gammon, S. (2010) On home ground? Twickenham Stadium Tours and the construction of sport heritage. Journal of Heritage Tourism 5(2), 87–102. Redmond, G. (1973) A plethora of shrines: sport in the museum and the hall of fame. Quest 19, 41–48. Smith, B. and Weed, M. (2007) The potential of narrative research in sports tourism. Journal of Sport & Tourism 12(3–4), 249–269. Snyder, E. (1991) Sociology of nostalgia: halls of fame and museums in America. Sociology of Sport Journal 8, 228–238. Stebbins, R.A. (1992) Amateurs, Professionals, and Serious Leisure. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, Canada. Stebbins, R.A. (2015) Between Work and Leisure: the Common Ground of Two Separate Worlds. Transaction Publishers, Piscataway, New Jersey. Tuan, Y.-F. (1974) Topophilia. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Turner, V. (1973) The center out there: pilgrim’s goal. History of Religion 12(1), 191–230. Turner, V. and Turner, E. (1978) Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture: Anthropological Perspectives. Columbia University Press, New York.



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Wood, J. (2007) Olympic opportunity: realising the value of sports heritage for tourism in the UK. In: Gammon, S. and Ramshaw, G. (eds) Heritage, Sport and Tourism: Sporting Pasts – Tourist Futures. Routledge, London, pp. 87–102. Wood, J. (2010) Topophilia, reliquary and pilgrimage: recapturing place, memory and meaning at Britain’s historic football grounds. In: Schofield, J. and Szymanski, R. (eds) Local Heritage, Global Context: Cultural Perspectives on Sense of Place. Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, UK, pp. 187–204. Wright, R.K. (2012) Stadia, identity and belonging: stirring the sleeping giants of sports tourism. In: Shipway, R. and Fyall, A. (eds) International Sports Events: Impacts, Experiences and Identities. Routledge, London, pp. 195–207.

Discussion Questions

Chapter 1 1. How does the tourism industry benefit from sacred journeys? 2. What are some of the organizations involved in supporting religious heritage? 3. What might the different characteristics of spiritual tourism include? 4. How does the concept of a journey provide a metaphor for the inner life?

Chapter 2 1. How are sacred rituals changing today? 2. Where do we find rituals? 3. What might the different characteristics of rituals include? 4. Apply Falassi’s typology of rituals to a specific religious practice of your choice.

Chapter 3 1. What is meant by the term pilgrim, and how has the pilgrim evolved over time? 2. How do pilgrims find spiritual peace?



3. What are the impacts of the modernization of religious sites, such as Makkah? 4. What are the positive and negative impacts of smart technology and social media on the pilgrim experience?

Chapter 4 1. Critically discuss the contributions and limitations of Islamic tourism to date. 2. Analyse the substantial evidence that suggests that Islamic tourism is not only far from disappearing but is one of the most growing economic activities in the Middle East. 3. Evaluate and discuss: ‘Is religiosity dissociable from tourism consumption?’ 4. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Dean MacCannell’s theory about religion?

Chapter 5 1. Describe the boundaries of spiritual tourism that emerged as a type of tourism in the context of spiritualization. 2. Evaluate the relationship between spiritual tourism and faith tourism in the context of similar and differentiated aspects.

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Discussion Questions

3. What are the antecedents of spiritual tourism motivations? 4. What motivates tourists towards spiritual tourism?

Chapter 6 1. Summarize the characteristics of selfie portraits and other digital records in holy places and religious events. 2. Discuss new pathways of communication or connectivity with the ‘invisible audience’ prompted by digital technology. 3. Discuss the role of individual religious performances in the digital social space. 4. Should pilgrimage organizers ban mobile phones or selfies?

Chapter 7 1. What effect do pilgrimages to sacred sites and spaces have on emotional well-being? 2. Are pilgrimage organizers able to meet the expectations of their visitors? Do they care about visitor expectations? 3. What effect do the rising costs associated with the Hajj have on pilgrims? Should pilgrims pay more for a religious undertaking? 4. How does the threat of terrorism affect ­pilgrims?

Chapter 8 1. What ways of travelling do you think young people prefer today: travelling by train, bus and car, or walking, biking or riding on horseback? 2. What kind of experience are young people most interested in on their journey: the scenery of the landscape, the encounter with new cultural heritage at a visiting site, or the travelling activity itself? 3. Which types of information and material should be offered by the tourist management along the stops of a pilgrim or heritage tourist route: information about shelters or hostels, or illustrations of the old stories about the place (e.g. the life and miracles of the saint)?

4. In your opinion, what are the best ways of learning about history: a new pilgrim route or a new tourist site; media information about the cultural heritage; wandering around the place and studying its buildings and artefacts; or being part of engaging activities such as historical drama?

Chapter 9 1. What is the role of heritage sites in religious tourism? 2. Do religious heritage sites require the interpretation of religion to sustain their meaning? 3. How can heritage sites shape our present and future? 4. Is it possible to maintain both the commercialization and the sustainability of religious heritage at the same time?

Chapter 10 1. How can physical environment cues impact on the visitors’ experience in sacred tourist destinations? 2. Is it possible to manage sacred tourist destinations with physical environment cues? 3. What are the dimensions of the physical environment in sacred tourist destinations? 4. Which dimensions are the most important for the visitors’ experience in sacred tourist destinations, and how do the physical environment cues in sacred tourist destinations influence the visitors’ satisfaction and post-experience behavioural intentions?

Chapter 11 1. Should religious heritage objects be protected from view, or made visible to the public? 2. How can events promote religious heritage? 3. What can we learn about our identity by engaging with religious heritage objects? 4. Explain the different levels of experience that are possible with religious heritage objects.



Discussion Questions

Chapter 12 1. Who has a stake in missionary sites operated as heritage attractions? 2. What is the nature of their stakes? 3. What are the implications for the management of these sites for visitors with a sacred purpose? 4. How can heritage managers make New Zealand missionary sites more relevant to today’s culturally diverse stakeholders?

Chapter 13 1. How does Durkheim define the concept of religion? 2. Give some examples of symbols, according to Geertz. 3. What is the difference between ‘sacred’ and non-sacred? 4. Why does the city of Romaria, Brazil celebrate the 15 August, and how does this affect the city’s residents?

Chapter 14 1. What influence does local culture have on attitudes towards historical religious traditions and beliefs, and how have such traditions been changed by people from another culture? 2. Should pilgrims buy souvenirs from religious pilgrimage sites for themselves? What do you think about pilgrims buying souvenirs for those unable to make the pilgrimage journey? 3. How would you make different interpretations, to be placed in a caption at a religious statue to make the statue understandable and relevant to: (i) Roman Catholics; (ii) Protestants; (iii) children; and (iv) Chinese visitors who have never heard of Christianity. 4. Discuss the differences in perspective between Catholics and Protestants when visiting a church,

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in the context of your own place of residence. What would each be looking for?

Chapter 15 1. What are the challenges of contemporary ­society? 2. What can society gain from explaining the ancient wisdom of Shams-i Tabrezi in modern systems thinking language? 3. How does Shams-i Tabrezi explain the ‘big picture’? 4. What represents Shams-i Tabrezi’s diamond?

Chapter 16 1. What are the components of belief and how do they motivate people to realize pilgrimage? 2. What are the fundamental features of the Turkish population in terms of their religious beliefs? 3. How can you compare inbound and outbound religious tourism potential, and which r­eligious tourism type is dominant in Turkey? 4. Why is there no competition for accommodation facilities located in the destinations of Hajj and Umrah?

Chapter 17 1. If you had to share the seven most sacred places in your world, how would you go about deciding what to include or exclude? 2. Where would be top of your list, and why would you give it top billing? 3. When did you last visit these sites, or are they sites that you have still to visit? 4. What is your earliest recollection of your seven sacred sites?

Index

Note: bold page numbers indicate figures; italic page numbers indicate tables; numbers in brackets preceded by n are chapter endnote numbers. Abbasid Caliphate  37, 88, 89 Abbey Stadium (Cambridge)  177, 178, 179 Abdullah, King  54, 89, 92 Aboriginal people  5, 33, 34–35, 37, 135–136 Abraham/Ibrahim  22, 23, 25, 86, 88 grave of   93 Abrahams, R.D.  9–10 Abraj al-Bayt Hotel (Makkah)  54, 55, 89, 90 accommodation  5, 8, 22, 25, 26, 43, 63, 66, 141–142, 170–171 see also hotels Ackoff, Russell  154 Aggarwal, A.  46 Ahmad, S.B.  25 Ahmed, K.  21 air travel  25, 27, 54, 65, 170 Akeel Ibrahim al-Ken  86 Al-Ajyad Fortress (Makkah)  89 Al-Alawi, Irfan  89 al-Jaziri, A.  86 Al-Khudairi, Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah  29 al-Nawwy, Al-Imam  86 Al-saqre, E.O.  98 Ali, F.  104 Aljumuah 28 Almakhlafi, A.  29 Ambrósio, V.  175 Ambrož, M.  43, 44, 97 American tradition  32–33, 34–36, 39 and Aboriginal people  34–35 and French thinking  34, 36 and Marxism  35 and staged authenticity  35 

Amin, M.  104 Aminah, grave of   90–91 ancient tourism  32, 33, 36, 87, 137, 164, 165 Anderson, Virginia  153, 155–156, 157 Angawi, Sami  93 Angkor Wat (Cambodia)  44, 48(n1) Anglican Church  16 Aotearoa see New Zealand Arafat (Saudi Arabia)  23, 24, 55 Ariffin, H.F.  99 art  6, 73, 78, 98, 149 ashrams  46, 48(n2) Assadi, M.  27 Augé, Marc  36 Augustine, St  146 authenticity  1, 17, 37, 51, 61, 64, 82 and selfies  55, 56, 57 staged 35 autoethnography 177–179 Aya Elenia (Sille, Turkey)  2 Aziz, H.  25

Bakken, Arne  74 Bandyopadhyay, R.  33 Barber, R.  60 Bassett, D.  112 Battour, M.  27 Belk, R.W.  42, 175 Bell, C.  17 belonging, sense of see community Beltane Fire Festival, Edinburgh (UK)  45 Berger, P.  136 187

188 Index

Berry, L.L.  98 Berry, W.  175 Bertalanffy, Ludwig von  153, 154 Bethlehem (Palestine)  74, 77, 163 Bianchi, Robert R.  54 Bible  15, 113, 145, 147, 148, 154 see also New Testament Blodgett, J.G.  99 Blue Mosque (Istanbul)  62, 167 Bodh-Gaya (India)  44, 60 Boulding, Kenneth  156–157 Bowdin, G.  110 Bowen, D.  42 Boyack, J.  130, 132 Boyd, W.S.  74 Bozonelos, D.  21, 22 Brandão, C.  139 Brazil see Our Lady of the Abadia, festival for Bremer, S.T.  63 Bridget, St see Saint Bridget pilgrim trails Bridgettine Order  76, 77 Britain (UK)  4, 17, 44, 45, 48(n1) football pilgrimage in  177–179 London 2012 Olympics  110, 111, 113, 118, 119 religious affiliation in  2 see also Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition British Library (London) and Codex Sinaiticus  113 and Lindisfarne Gospels  6, 12, 109, 110, 112, 116, 119 and Magna Carta  115 Brown, M.P.  112 Buddhism  60, 154 Buhalis, D.  149 Busby, G.  34 Byrnes, G.  123 Byrnes, Rhonda  2

Cambridge United Football Club  177–179 Camino de Santiago (Spain)  64, 74, 77, 78, 81, 82, 145, 174, 179 Cantallops, A.S.  34 capitalism  32–33, 35, 37, 45 Caplan, M.  62 Capra, Fritjof   154, 155 Carbone, L.P.  98 Cardona, J.R.  34 Catal Huyuk (Turkey)  2 Catherine, St  113 Catholic Church/Catholics  16, 74, 77, 79, 81, 83, 138, 145, 163–164 Māori 130 see also Camino de Santiago; Lourdes causal loop diagram  157–158, 158 Çetinkaya, B.  43

Chandler, C.K.  43 Checkland, Peter  153 Cherish conference (Leeds, UK)  17 Chrism Mass  16 Christchurch (New Zealand)  123 Christchurch (Russell, New Zealand)  131 Christians/Christianity  2, 167 and changing culture  17 and Holy Week  12–16, 13 in Scandinavia see Scandinavian pilgrim tourism see also Catholics/Catholic Church; missionary heritage sites; Protestants Church of the Good Shepherd (Lake Tekapo, New Zealand)  123 Clarke, J.  42 co-creation  159, 161 Codex Sinaiticus  113 Coelho, Paul  2 Cohen, Erik  44, 56, 165 Cohen, Scott A.  56 Coleman, S.  137 Collins, P.  16 Collins-Kreiner, N.  28, 43 colonialism  33, 123 community  10, 11, 46, 54, 56, 112, 175 consciousness, pyramid of   157, 159–160, 160 Covarrubias (Spain)  74 Critical Mass bike rides  17–18 cruise tourism  44, 104–105 cultural heritage  6 access to  112 and privilege  112–113 religious see religious cultural heritage Scandinavian  74, 75, 79, 80, 81, 83 see also heritage tourism cultural tourism  37 Cuthbert, St, tomb of   111, 112, 113, 119

Davidson, L.  145, 175–176 Davidsson-Bremborg, Anna  82 de Albuquerque, K.  66 death  42, 43 Dedeoglu, B.B.  104–105 Denmark  75, 79 dervishes  2, 3, 105(n1) destination management organizations (DMOs)  126, 127 Dieser, R.B.  27 Digence, J.  175 digital social space  54, 55–56, 57 Dowson, R.  112, 119 dramas, ritual  12, 13–16, 15 Dubisch, J.  60 Dublin, Dion  178 Durham (UK) see Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition Durkheim, Emile  11, 32, 34, 135–136, 137



Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne  111 Easter see Holy Week economics of tourism  33, 35 Edensor, Tim  53 education  21, 26, 56, 61, 62, 73, 76, 83, 127–128, 128, 150, 151 Ehrenreich, B.  17 88 places of Shikoku  64 Elias, N.  139 Elsner, J.  137 empires 36–37 enlightenment  1, 2, 5, 41, 42, 44, 46, 47 Eucharist 11 European Cultural Routes  74 European ethnocentrism  33, 37–38 European Pilgrimage 2000  81 evangelistic religious communities  2 eventization  6, 109, 109–110, 112, 117–119 events industry  110–111 and experiential marketing  109, 113, 118 events management  2, 110, 115 events sector  1 Everest, Mount  44 Exeter City Football Club  177, 178–179 expectations of tourists/pilgrims  5, 43, 59, 63, 67–68 experience economy  109, 110 experiential marketing  109, 113, 118

Fabrigar, L.R.  101 Facebook  5, 29, 51, 52 Fairley, S.  177 Falassi, A.  11–12, 14–15 fasting  21, 89, 168 Fatima (Portugal)  7, 164 feedback loops  154, 157–158, 159, 159 feriae 36 Fesenmaier, D.  45 Finch, J.F.  101 Finke, R.  52 football pilgrims  8, 174, 177–179 Forhad, C.J.  25 Forrest, R.  104 Foucault, Michel  53 France  74, 75, 77 Future for Religious Heritage  1

Galimberti, U.  136, 137 Gallagher, E.  46 Gameson, Richard  114 Gammon, S.  176, 177, 179 García de Cortazar, J.A.  137–138 Gaventa, B.R.  147 Geertz, C.  136 Germany 77

Index 189

Gharajedaghi, Jamshid  156 Gibson, D.  86 Gibson, H.  43 Gitlitz, D.  145, 175–176 Glastonbury Festival (UK)  2 globalization  1, 41, 45 Goffman, Erving  53 Gonzalez, Juan Manuel  83 Grand Mosque (Makkah)  25, 55, 56, 66, 88, 89, 92 Grand Tour  33, 39, 145 Gray, P.H.  27 Grayling, A.  42 Griffin, K.  2, 37, 59 Grimes, R.L.  16 Gronhaug, K.  98, 99

Haeckel, S.H.  98 Hagia Sophia Museum (Turkey)  104, 167 Hajira 22–23 Hajj  4–5, 36, 165, 166, 166, 168 and accommodation  22, 25, 26, 66 and charitable giving  28 and community solidarity  54, 56 cost of   170, 171 and dress (Ihram)  17, 24, 55 etymology of   21, 168 modernization of   25, 27, 29, 30, 54 motivations of attendees  21, 27–29, 30 number of attendees  22, 26–27, 54, 63, 65, 65, 170 origin/history of   22–23 and pilgrim/tourist distinction  21 as pillar of Islam  21–22, 26, 28, 30, 54, 86, 171 preparation for  23 quota system  54 religious concept of   21–22 and religious cultural heritage  88 and religious views on travel  26–27 and sacred spaces  23 safety/incidents at  25–26, 29, 67, 68 and Saudi government  25, 52, 54 and selfies see selfies in Islamic pilgrimages and social media/smartphones  29 stages in  23, 24 and technology  29, 52 and tour operators  26 transport infrastructure for  65–66, 170 Hajj, commercialization of   6, 54–55, 85–94 and destruction of cultural heritage  85, 88–94 Haldrup, M.  53 Hall, J.  175 Han, H.  98 Haq, F.  38, 42, 45, 47 Haramain Express (Saudi Arabia)  65–66 Hawks, S.  42, 97

190 Index

health/wellbeing  26, 43, 75, 78, 80, 82, 83 Hede, A.-M.  175 Heelas, P.  61 Heerden, C.H.V.  99, 104 Heide, M.  98, 99 Henderson, J.C.  26, 38 Henrie, R.  60 Heritage New Zealand  7, 123, 125, 125, 127 heritage sport tourism  176–177 heritage tourism  6–7, 62, 73, 82 see also missionary heritage sites Hervieu-Leger, D.  61 Hijra 26 hikoi  130, 132 Hilton Hotel (Makkah)  85, 90, 91 Hinduism  42, 48(n2), 66 historical stages  36–37 holistic thinking see systems theory and ancient wisdom Holy Communion  11, 12 Holy Land  64, 77, 78, 168 Holy Sepulchre, Church of (Jerusalem)  62, 163 Holy Week  12–16, 13 Chrism Mass  16 Honneth, Axell  53 Hornblow, J.  130, 132 hotels  8, 25, 54, 66, 89–90, 92 Howard, P.  89 Hyde, K.F.  53

Ibn Saud  93 Ibrahim see Abraham/Ibrahim identity  1, 6, 17, 46, 79, 163, 175 idolatry  22, 93, 94, 147 Ihram 17, 24, 55 India  44, 46, 53, 60, 64, 66, 167 Industrial Revolution  32–33, 39 infrastructure  5, 8, 64–66, 67, 149–150, 170–171 Inglis, S.  174 initiation rites  9, 12, 14 Instagram  5, 10, 51, 52 internet 52, 100, 111, 138, 175 and digital social space  54, 55–56, 57 see also social media Interreg Europe  74 Iraq  166, 167 Islam 32 Five Pillars of   21–22, 28, 30, 168 and travel  26 Islamic State  92 Islamic tourism  5, 26–27, 32, 33, 36–37 and European ethnocentrism  33, 37–38 growth in  27 leisure 26 and secularity  38 Islamic tourism motivation  32, 33, 36–39

and American tradition  32 and empires  36–37 Israel  64, 166, 167 Italy 77

Jackowski, A.  63 Jackson, J.  42, 45 Jackson, R.H.  60 Jafari, J.  33, 38 Jamal, Fayez  92 James, St  138 Jang, S.  99 Japan  4, 64, 167 Jauhari, V.  44 Jenkins, R.  43 Jerusalem (Israel)  44, 62, 64, 87, 163 Jewish religious tourism  167 Johnson, Lauren  153, 156, 157 Johnston, C.S.  129 Jones, James  17

Kaaba (Makkah)  21, 22, 54, 86, 89 sacred areas at  23 in selfies  55, 56 Tawaf at  24, 55, 93 Kale, S.  41 Karlsaune, Erik G.  82 Kata (Viking woman), home/grave of   73 Kerikeri Mission (New Zealand)  125, 126 Khadija, grave of (Makkah)  88, 93 Khan, Amir  29 Khan, W.  23 Khan, Z.  28 Konya (Turkey)  2, 3, 97–98 mosque/tomb of Shams-i-Tabrezi in  7 physical environment cues of   6 Korstanje, M.  32, 34, 36, 37 Krippendorf, Jost  32, 33, 34, 35 Kuçukergin, K.G.  104–105 Kumbh Mela  66, 67, 111 Kurmanaliyeva, A.  98

landscape walking  73 Lankford, S.V.  27 Lapierre, L.  46 Larsen, J.  53 Lavransdatter, Kristin  82 Lefebvre, H.  139 Levi Strauss, Claude  34–35 Lindaräng, Ingemar  81 Lindisfarne Gospels  111–113 facsimile (2003)  112–113 fragility of   116 historical importance of   112



Index 191

Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition (Durham, 2013)  12, 109–119 and changes to venue  116 and education  115, 118 and eventization  6, 109–110, 112, 117–119 festival model for  118 lessons learned from  119 and Magna Carta exhibition, compared  115, 117, 118 marketing/branding 113, 113, 115, 119 and media  111, 113 motivations for attending  116–117, 116, 117 outcomes of   115 Palace Green Library venue for  113, 114, 116 partner organizations in  113, 119 programme of events  113–115, 114 and regional partnership/programme  115 and religious heritage  110 and role of museums  112 secular/religious aspects of   117 and skills development  116 success of   117–118 ticket sales for  114, 118 Lindström, Hans-Erik  74, 82 Lloyd, D.W.  62 London  2012 Olympics  110, 111, 113, 118, 119 Long, David  23, 54 Lourdes (France)  7, 12, 64, 66, 164 Lowenthal, D.  165 Lumbini (Nepal)  44, 60 Luther, Martin  145, 146 Lutheran Church  16, 74, 79, 81 Luton Town Football Club  179 Lyu, J.  104

MacCannell, Dean  5, 32, 34–36, 39 McElory, J.  67 MacFarlane, Robert  174, 175, 177, 179 Machu Picchu (Peru)  44 MacKay, K.  45 MacKillop, Mary  123 Magna Carta  6, 109, 115, 117, 118 Makkah (Saudi Arabia)  1, 4–5, 7, 44, 85–90, 163, 164 Abraj al-Bayt/Royal Makkah Clock Tower Hotel  54, 55, 89, 90 Al-Ajyad Fortress  89 cultural heritage sites in  88 destruction of cultural heritage in  85, 88–91 early history of   86–87 Grand Mosque  25, 55, 56, 66, 88, 89, 92 Hilton Hotel  85, 90, 91 hotels in  66, 89, 92 migrants in  92 modernization of   25, 85 Zamzam well  22–23, 24, 93 see also Hajj; Umrah

Malaysia 38 Maldives 33 Malta  4, 7, 144–151 development of pilgrim routes in  149–150, 151 and Marian traditions  144, 147–149, 151 and Order of St John  145 ‘pray and pay’ model in  150, 151 Protestant visitors to  145–150 as sacred island  144–145 and St Paul  144, 145, 146–147, 149, 151 site interpretation in  150, 151 Tourism Authority (MTA)  150, 151 management of religious sites/events  1, 4, 62–68, 69 and accommodation see accommodation and physical environment cues  6 and security see security and transport see transport infrastructure see also specific sites/events Manchester United Football Club  177–178 Māngungu Methodist Mission (New Zealand)  126 marketing  4, 42, 45, 47, 62, 127, 130–131 and atmospheric cues  99 Marques, L.  139 Marsden, Samuel  126 Marwa, Mount (Saudi Arabia)  22, 23, 24, 55, 93 Mary 78 and Malta  144, 147–149, 151 statues of   12, 13 visions of   64, 77 Masood, W.  21 materialism  5, 42 Matheson, C.  45 Mdina Cathedral (Malta)  150 Meadows, Donella  153 meaning  1, 7, 11, 43, 45, 46, 47, 59, 82, 163 and community  10 new nuances of   4, 9 Mecca see Makkah media  63, 81, 111, 113 medieval historical trails  6 see also Scandinavian pilgrim tourism medieval tourism  32, 33, 37, 39, 61, 137 Medina (Saudi Arabia)  4–5, 85 cultural heritage sites in  88–89, 91–92, 93, 94 hotels in  66 see also Hajj meditation  44, 46, 158 Merton, T.  145 Mevlâna Museum (Turkey)  2, 6, 105(n1) physical environment cues in see physical environment cues and spirituality  98 Mexico 167 Migliore, D.L.  147–148 Mikaelsson, Lisbeth  82

192 Index

Millennium Pilgrimage Year of Europe (2000)  81 Miller-McLemore, B.J.  147 miracles  60, 75–76, 78 missionary heritage sites (New Zealand)  6–7, 122, 123–132 Christchurch (Russell)  131 and community stakeholders  125, 127–128, 128, 131 and diverse interests of stakeholders  129–132 and funders  125–126, 125 and hikoi  130, 132 Kerikeri Mission  125, 126 Māori involvement in  122–123, 126, 129–130 marketing  127, 130–131 Pompallier Mission (Russell)  123, 124, 124, 125, 126 Rangihoua  123, 126 St Mary’s Church (Motuti)  130 St Mary’s Church (Tikitiki)  123 and stakeholder engagement  124, 129, 130, 131 and stakeholder expectations/ relationships 124–125 and supporters  125, 126–127, 126 Waimate Mission  125, 131 mobile phones  29, 52 modernity  33, 35, 36, 37 Molitor, N.  99 monasteries  77, 79 Moore, A.  175 Morais, D.  33 Morinis, A.  60 Morita, T.  127, 129 mosques  6, 25, 29 Mountfort, Benjamin  123 Muhammad  6, 37, 86, 163 destruction of sites associated with  89–92 and Hajj  22, 23, 25, 28 shrine of (Medina)  5, 23 Murray, R.  43 museums  98, 125, 127 and access to cultural heritage  112 music events  2, 18, 110, 111 Muslim world  37 transformation in  33, 36 Muslims 2 Muzdalifah (Saudi Arabia)  23, 24, 55, 87

nature  43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 137 Neil, B.  86 ‘New Age’ beliefs  2 New Testament  7, 144, 146 New Zealand  4, 6–7, 122–132 churches/Christian sites in  123 and colonialism  123 governing bodies in  125–126

immigrants in  123 missionary heritage sites in see missionary heritage sites Te Papa Tongarewa Museum  125, 129, 132 and Waitangi Treaty (1840)  122, 125, 126, 129, 130 Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim (Norway)  74, 75, 76, 79, 80, 82 nodes of interest  74, 75, 80 Norman, A.  44, 46 Norway  75, 79, 80, 82 see also Trondheim nostalgia  176, 177 Notre-Dame Cathedral (Paris)  63 Noy, C.  53

Odyssey (Homer)  137 oils, consecrated  16 Olav, St see Saint Olav pilgrim trails Olesen, K.  53 Olsen, D.  21, 22, 23, 25, 64 Order of St John  145 Other/Othering  33, 35, 37 Ottoman Empire  6, 85, 86, 88, 89 Our Lady of the Abadia, festival for (Romaria, Brazil)  4, 7, 135, 138–143 accommodation at  141–142 beggars at  142 income generated at  142 number of attendees  139 origin/growth of   138–139 preparations for  139–140 support tents at  139–140, 140 traders at  141 Our Lady of Guadalupe, Basilica of (Mexico)  167 Ovsenik, R.  43, 44, 97

Pakistan 44 Palace Green Library (Durham University)  113, 114, 116 Palm Sunday  12, 13–16 Panopticon 53 Papal Mass  111 Parasuraman, A.  99 Pargament, K.  43 Park, C.  60, 61 Patneaude, A.B.  43 Paul, St  7, 144, 145, 146–147, 149, 151 performance approach  52–54 and norms of invisible audience  53–54, 56, 57 Perry, T.  147 Philippines  111, 123 physical environment cues  6, 97–105 decoration/ambience/design/layout  97, 98–99, 102–104, 103, 105



Index 193

information sources in case study  100, 100 and local/foreign visitors  101, 102, 105 participant profile in case study  99–100, 100 participant scores in case study  100–101, 101 and perception/cognition  98 questionnaire for case study  99 results of case study  99–105, 101, 102, 103 in service/hospitality industries  98, 99, 104–105 and visitor satisfaction  98, 99, 102, 104, 105 Pilgrim 1980  80 pilgrim theology  82 pilgrims/pilgrimage  1, 2, 7, 37, 60–61, 62–64, 97, 98, 163 ancient  87, 137, 164, 165 and concept of journey  3–4 as contrast to daily life  61 defined  60, 61, 63 and destinations see sacred sites growth of   1–2, 62, 63–64 as inner journey  61, 64, 137–138 and marketing  62 modern-day  8, 138 motivations of   5–6, 73, 74, 77–79, 165 and product development  149–150 Protestant 145–150 and ritual see ritual and the sacred  137–138, 142 Scandinavian see Scandinavian pilgrim tourism secular see secular pilgrims/pilgrimage and secular tourists/activities see tourist– worshipper continuum and social space  135 and systems theory  158, 158 see also sacred sites; and see specific pilgrimages Poland 77 Pompallier, Bishop, grave of   130 Pompallier Mission (Russell, New Zealand)  123, 124, 124, 125, 126 Poria, Y.  26, 59 post-modernity  45, 47, 138 Power, C.  91–92 prayer  7, 11, 21, 22, 44, 55, 78 Preston, J.J.  61 Protestants  16, 145–150 and Marian tradition  147–149 and St Paul  146–147 see also Reformation purification rites  12–16, 14

Quran  94, 154, 159 and Hajj  22, 28, 86, 88, 168

Rabat (Malta)  146–147 Raj, R.  2, 21, 22, 37, 59, 61

Ramy al-jamarat  55 Rangihoua (New Zealand)  123, 126 Reformation  37, 79, 145 regional tourism organizations (RTOs)  126, 127, 130 Reisinger, Y.  44, 47 religious belief   59, 163 changes in  2 and the sacred  4, 7, 60, 135–137 religious cultural heritage  6, 85–94 destruction of   85, 88–94 and Wahhabism  88, 89, 92–94 religious events  4, 5, 59, 63 management of   67 religious festivals  7, 11–12, 135 see also Our Lady of the Abadia religious heritage sites/objects  109–110 exhibiting see Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition growth in popularity of   111 religious tourism/tourists  2, 87–88, 97, 163–165 ancient  87, 164, 165 forms of   63, 98 global most-visited sites  167 growth of   1–2, 63–64, 85, 164 inbound/outbound see under Turkey income generated from  165 see also pilgrims/pilgrimage Riesman, David  36–37 Rigby, C.L.  147 Rinschede, G.  63, 87 Rishikesh (India)  44, 46 rites of passage  10–11, 12, 14, 61 three phases of   10 tourism as  34, 39 ritual  4, 9–19, 44, 98 changing/unchanging  11, 19 of conspicuous display/consumption  12, 14, 15 and culture  16–18, 19 defined 9–10 devalorization rites  12, 15 and dress  17 emic perspective on  11 factors influencing/dimensions of variance in 18, 18, 19 Falassi’s model of   11–12, 14–15 initiation rites  9, 12, 14 performative elements of   10, 53 purification rites  12–16, 14 revolutionary 17–18 rites of reversal  12, 14 and sacred objects  12, 13 secular 175 and selfies  55 symbolism of   12–16 use of oils in  16 ritual dramas  12, 13–16, 15 ritual partitions  16

194 Index

Roche, M.  111 Roman Empire  32, 36, 145 Romaria (Brazil) see Our Lady of the Abadia, festival for Rome (Italy)  76, 77, 78, 80 Rosendahl, Z.  136 Rotunda Church (Mosta, Malta)  150 Rouen (France)  74, 75 Royal Makkah Clock Tower Hotel (Makkah)  54, 55, 89, 90 RTOs (regional tourism organizations)  126, 127, 130 Rumi  2, 7, 97–98, 105(n1), 153 Russell (New Zealand) Christchurch  131 Pompallier Mission  123, 124, 124, 125, 126 Rutledge, Pamela  56 Ryu, K.  98, 99

Sa’ay 55 sacred, the  4, 7, 60, 135–138 and pilgrimage  137–138, 142 sacred journeys  4 see also pilgrims/pilgrimage sacred sites  1, 2, 5, 7–8, 42, 59–61, 163–164 defined 60 and Hajj  23 and heritage  110 and indigenous people  7 Malta as see Malta and systems theory  158, 158 Sadgrove, M.  111 Safa, Mount (Saudi Arabia)  22, 23, 24, 55, 93 Sagrada Familia (Barcelona)  62 Sahba  6, 85 Said, Edward  37 Saint Bridget pilgrim trails  6, 74, 75, 77, 83 altar images on  77, 78 historical background to  76–77 modern revival of   80 and Saint Olav pilgrimage, compared  80–81 St James Park (Exeter)  174, 177, 178–179 St Mary’s Church (Motuti, New Zealand)  130 St Mary’s Church (Tikitiki, New Zealand)  123 Saint Olav pilgrim trails  6, 73–76, 74, 76, 77, 78–80 historical background to  75–76 images of saint on  76, 77, 78 in Middle Ages  78–79 modern revival of   80 and Saint Bridget pilgrimage, compared  80–81 in Spain  74, 82–83 and stories/writings  75, 78–79 saints, cult of   6, 79, 144, 145, 148 Salat  21, 22 Sallnow, M.  61

Sanjeev, G.  44 Santiago de Compostela see Camino de Santiago Sarnath (India)  44, 60 Saudi Arabia (KSA)  4–5, 23, 89–92 destruction of religious cultural heritage in  85, 88–94 Wahhabism in  88, 89, 92–94 see also Hajj; Umrah Scandinavian pilgrim tourism  6, 73–83 and altar images  77, 78 and art/heritage/personal narratives  73, 74, 75, 77–79, 81, 83 certification for  75 church management of   74–75 contemporary, research studies on  81–83 and education  73, 76, 83 and European Cultural Routes  74 and healing  78 and health/exercise  75, 78, 80, 82, 83 historical background to  75–77 and linear/point/area/node of interest concepts  74, 75, 80, 81 Lutheran dioceses walk (2000)  81 in Middle Ages  75, 77–78 modern revival of   80 and Pilgrim 1980 event  80 and Reformation  79 and storytelling  78–79, 82 Schulz, E.  41 Scotson, J.  139 Scott, John  123 Scott, N.  33, 38 secular pilgrims/pilgrimage  1, 8, 165, 174–179 and football  8, 174, 177–179 and nostalgia  176, 177 and SLP  175–176 and Stadiumitis  176–177 and three overlapping archetypes  175 security 66–67 and accidents  66, 68 threats to 67 Selånger (Sweden)  80, 82 selfies in Islamic pilgrimages  5, 51–57 characteristics of   56–57 and community solidarity  56 and digital social space  54, 55–56, 57 opposition to  51–52 as performance see performance approach and religious authenticity  51, 52, 55, 56, 57 and religious commitment  55, 56, 57 religious symbols in  55, 56, 57 Senge, Peter  153 Seraphin, H.  32, 36 serious leisure/serious leisure perspective (SLP) 175–176 Shackley, M.  2, 60, 63 Shafak, E.  155–156, 157, 159



Shams-i-Tabrezi mosque/tomb of (Konya, Turkey)  7 and systems theory see systems theory and ancient wisdom Shanthakumari, R.  43, 44–45 Sharashif project (Makkah)  92 Shariah  26, 92 Sharpley, R.  46 Sheikh Zayed Mosque (Abu Dhabi)  62 Shikoku (Japan)  64 Shinde, K.A.  63 shrines  12, 26, 60, 61, 88, 92, 94, 137, 147, 164, 176 see also pilgrims/pilgrimage Singleton, A.  45, 47 Slatten, T.  98 Slovenia 4 SLP (serious leisure/serious leisure perspective)  175–176 Smith, Jonathan Z.  16 Smith, L.  110, 111, 112, 113 Smith, M.  46 social media  5, 29, 51, 52, 53, 57, 115, 132 as digital social space  54, 55–56, 57 sociology of tourism  32, 34 Söderköping (Sweden)  76, 80 soft systems  155 Sola Scriptura/Fides/Pictura 148 Sotheran, Cheryl  131–132 Spain  4, 62, 74, 77, 82–83 see also Camino de Santiago Spiegelman, M.J.  24 spiritual motivation  59–69 and sacred sites/pilgrimages  59–61 spiritual tourism  2, 5, 41–47, 97 experiences/destinations of   43–44 growth of   1–2, 41–42 marketing  42, 45, 47 motivations 45–47 and religious pilgrimage, distinction between 61 and search for meaning  43, 46, 47 and tourist typology  44–45 spiritualism  41–43, 45, 46 defined 42–43 and growth of spiritual tourism  41–42 spirituality  2, 5, 41, 97, 98, 158–159 six components of   46 sports tourism see secular pilgrims/pilgrimage Stadiumitis  174, 176–177 staged authenticity  35 Stark, R.  52 Stausberg, M.  61, 62 Stebbins, R.A.  175 Steffensen-Berg, Ellen  81–82 Stiklestad (Norway)  75, 79, 80 Stonehenge (UK)  44, 48(n1)

Index 195

storytelling  15, 78–79, 82, 98, 110, 129 see also dramas, ritual structuralism 34 Sturlasson, Snorre  75, 78–79 Sufism/Sufis  44, 88, 154, 155 Sumption, J.  61 Sundaram, P.  46 Sweden  4, 7, 75, 76, 79, 80, 81, 82 see also Vadstena symbols/symbolism  3, 12–16, 98, 136 Syria  166, 167 systems theory and ancient wisdom  7 and 11-step process 157–158 and anticipation  156–157 and balancing process  156 and causal loop diagram/reciprocity  157–158, 158 and co-creation  159, 161 and diagrams  157–160 and feedback loops  154, 157–158, 159, 159 and homeostasis  153 and interconnections  153, 154, 155–156 and multidimensionality  156 and physics  154 and pyramid of consciousness  157, 159–160, 160 and soft systems  155 and systems/holistic model  158–159, 159 and understanding life’s system  156 and the whole  154, 155, 159

Ta’ Pinu shrine (Malta)  148 Taj Mahal (India)  53, 64 tangata whenua  7, 123, 126, 126 Taylor, J.  25 Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa)  125, 129, 132 terrorism  38, 39, 66, 67, 67 Ticketmaster 114 Timothy, D.  21, 22, 23, 25, 66, 146 Tomasi, L.  61 topophilia 176 Totem  5, 34–35 tourism  32–35, 63 and American tradition see American tradition ancient  32, 33, 36, 39, 87 Cohen’s five modes of   44 and conflict  33, 36 defining, difficulty in  87 and empires  36–37 and ‘empty meeting grounds’  35 and European ethnocentrism/colonialism  33 global figures for  165 and industrial paradigm  32 and Other/Othering  33, 35, 37 as rite of passage  34, 39

196 Index

tourism (continued) and secularity  5, 35, 36, 38, 62 sociology of   32, 34 and staged authenticity  35 and Swiss tradition  32, 33 tourism motivation  5–6, 27, 41, 45–47, 165 antecedents 45–46 Islamic see Islamic tourism motivation and religious heritage/culture/art  73, 74, 77–79 see also under Hajj spiritual see spiritual motivation tourist satisfaction  44, 62, 104 tourist–worshipper continuum  2–4, 21, 28–29, 37, 63, 64, 164–165, 165, 171(n1) and academics/observers  3, 3 varying position of   3–4, 4 transcendent experiences  1, 3, 4, 9, 46, 163 transport infrastructure  5, 64–66 travel writing  33 Trondheim (Norway)  6, 75–76, 81–82, 83 Nidaros Cathedral  74, 75, 76, 79, 80, 82 see also Saint Olav pilgrim trails Tronsen, Tron  80 Tuan, Yi-Fu  60, 61 Turkey  2, 4, 7–8, 163–171 accommodation/infrastructure in  1701 Hagia Sophia Museum  104, 167 inbound religious tourism in  166–167, 167 inbound/outbound religious tourism in, compared  164, 165–166, 166 outbound religious tourism in  168–170, 170, 171, 171 sacred sites in  167 see also Konya; Mevlâna Museum Türkmen, E.  158, 160 Turner, E.  63 Turner, Victor  9–10, 11, 34, 63 Twitter  5, 29, 51, 52

Uhud, Mount (Saudi Arabia)  91 Uluru (Australia)  44, 48(n1) Umayyad Caliphate  8, 37 Ummah  28, 38, 55, 168 Umrah  6, 54, 65, 88, 165, 166, 166, 171 cost of   170, 171 numbers/ages of pilgrims  168, 169, 170 and selfies see selfies in Islamic pilgrimages UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization)  1 Urry, J.  35, 63

Vadstena (Sweden)  6, 74, 75, 76–77, 78, 80, 83 see also Saint Bridget pilgrim trails van Gennep, A.  9, 10–11, 34 Van Lieshout, Eustaquio  138 Varanasi (India)  60, 66 Varnhem (Sweden)  73 Vatican  138, 164 Veblen, T.  34 Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden  73 Vieira, Maria  138 Vikings  73, 75, 76, 79, 112 Virilio, Paul  36 visions  76, 77 Vukonić, B.  36, 61, 63, 87

Wadensjö, Bengt  81 Wahhabism  88, 89, 92–94 Waimate Mission (New Zealand)  125, 131 Waitangi Treaty Grounds (New Zealand)  125, 126, 129, 130 Wakefield, K.L.  99 Wallendorf, M.  175 Wasserman, V.  99 Watson, P.J.  28 Way of Saint James  138 weddings 10–11, 14 well-being 4 Wembley Stadium (UK)  177, 179 Werkström, Bertil  80 West, S.G.  101 Wiener, Norbert  154 Williams, D.M.  17–18 Williams, Henry  130 Wilson, Brandon  82 Wong, K.  42–43 Wright, K.  97

Yau, S.  42–43 Yiannakis, A.  43 Yin Wong, H.  38 yoga  44, 46

Zamani-Farahani, H.  26, 38 Zammit, Themistocles  144 Zamzam well (Makkah)  22–23, 24, 93 Zetner, J.  43 Ziyara  6, 26, 88

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