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- Title
Secular pilgrimages and sacred tourism in the Indian Himalayas.
- Authors
Singh, Shalini
- Abstract
Assuming the above quote as a true portrayal of pilgrims, this article attempts to describe the prototypical pilgrim from amongst the wide array of contemporary religious and secular tourists. To achieve this end, two approaches have been adopted. Firstly, the phenomenon/concept of pilgrimages have been discussed, so to distinguish it from the tourism phenomenon and; Secondly, the geographical notion of genus loci has been employed to exemplify the fundamental quest for ‘geopiety’ attained through the unification of the pilgrim's intrinsic belief with its external location. The second part of the article illustrates the forgoing through an exploration of Himalayan pilgrimages. This has been achieved with a discussion of the emerging practices and recent trends in Himalayan pilgrimology. This appraisal alludes to Cohen's quest for a ‘Theology of Tourism.’ The article concludes with an examination of a specific genre of contemporary tourists in the Indian Himalayas, who have been identified as ‘environmental pilgrims.’
- Subjects
PILGRIMS &; pilgrimages; RELIGIOUS tourism; THEOLOGICAL anthropology; RELIGIOUS travel; VOYAGES &; travels; RELIGIOUS thought; RELIGION; TOURISM; BELIEF &; doubt
- Publication
GeoJournal, 2005, Vol 64, Issue 3, p215
- ISSN
0343-2521
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10708-005-5649-8