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Pilgrimage#Modern pilgrimage

{{short description|Journey or search of moral or spiritual significance}}

{{other uses|Pilgrimage (disambiguation)|Pilgrim (disambiguation)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}

File:Gheorghe Tattarescu - Pelerin.jpg]]

A pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life.{{Cite book|title=Pilgrimage in popular culture.|date=2014|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1349126392|editor-last=Reader|editor-first=Ian|location=[Place of publication not identified]|oclc=935188979|editor-last2=Walter|editor-first2=Tony}}{{Cite book|title=Reframing pilgrimage : cultures in motion|date=2004|publisher=Routledge|others=Coleman, Simon, 1963-, Eade, John, 1946-, European Association of Social Anthropologists.|isbn=9780203643693|location=London|oclc=56559960}}{{Cite journal|last=Plate|first=S. Brent|date=September 2009|title=The Varieties of Contemporary Pilgrimage|journal=CrossCurrents|volume=59|issue=3|pages=260–267|doi=10.1111/j.1939-3881.2009.00078.x|s2cid=170484577 }} A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system.

Background

{{further|Religious tourism}}

File:Jan van Scorel - Five Members of the Utrecht Brotherhood of Jerusalem Pilgrims - Google Art Project.jpg

Pilgrimages frequently involve a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith, although sometimes it can be a metaphorical journey into someone's own beliefs.

Many religions attach spiritual importance to particular places: the place of birth or death of founders or saints, or to the place of their "calling" or spiritual awakening, or of their connection (visual or verbal) with the divine, to locations where miracles were performed or witnessed, or locations where a deity is said to live or be "housed", or any site that is seen to have special spiritual powers. Such sites may be commemorated with shrines or temples that devotees are encouraged to visit for their own spiritual benefit: to be healed or have questions answered or to achieve some other spiritual benefit.

A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim. As a common human experience, pilgrimage has been proposed as a Jungian archetype by Wallace Clift and Jean Dalby Clift.{{cite book|last1= Cleft |first1=Jean Darby|last2=Cleft|first2=Wallace|year=1996|title=The Archetype of Pilgrimage: Outer Action With Inner Meaning|publisher=The Paulist Press|isbn=0-8091-3599-X}} Some research has shown that people who engage in pilgrimage walks enjoy biological, psychological, social, and spiritual therapeutic benefits.{{Cite journal |last1=Warfield |first1=Heather A. |last2=Baker |first2=Stanley B. |last3=Foxx |first3=Sejal B. Parikh |date=2014-09-14 |title=The therapeutic value of pilgrimage: a grounded theory study |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13674676.2014.936845 |journal=Mental Health, Religion & Culture |language=en |volume=17 |issue=8 |pages=860–875 |doi=10.1080/13674676.2014.936845 |s2cid=143623445 |issn=1367-4676}}

The Holy Land acts as a focal point for the pilgrimages of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to a Stockholm University study in 2011, these pilgrims visit the Holy Land to touch and see physical manifestations of their faith, confirm their beliefs in the holy context with collective excitation, and connect personally to the Holy Land.{{cite news |first=Michael Sebastian |last=Metti |title=Jerusalem – the most powerful brand in history |url=http://www.metti-bronner.com/Jerusalem.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126124828/http://www.metti-bronner.com/Jerusalem.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-date=26 January 2020 |work=Stockholm University School of Business |date=1 June 2011 |access-date=1 July 2011 }}

History

File:Man wearing pilgrim clothing, 450-425 BC, Prague NM-HM10 771, 151792.jpg

Pilgrims and the making of pilgrimages are common in many religions, including the faiths of ancient Egypt, Persia in the Mithraic period, India, China, and Japan. The Greek and Roman customs of consulting the gods at local oracles, such as those at Dodona or Delphi, both in Greece, are widely known. In Greece, pilgrimages could either be personal or state-sponsored.{{cite journal |title= Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in Ancient Greece by Matthew Dillon |first= James Constantine |last= Hanges |journal= The Journal of Religion |volume= 80 |issue= 3 |date=July 2000 |pages= 543–545 |doi= 10.1086/490704 |jstor=1206041}} The Eleusinian mysteries included a pilgrimage. The procession to Eleusis began at the Athenian cemetery Kerameikos and from there the participants walked to Eleusis, along the Sacred Way (Ἱερὰ Ὁδός, Hierá Hodós).{{Cite journal|last=Nielsen|first=Inge|date=2017|title=Collective mysteries and Greek pilgrimage: The cases of Eleusis, Thebes and Andania, in: Excavating Pilgrimage|journal=Excavating Pilgrimage|page=28|doi=10.4324/9781315228488-3|url=https://www.academia.edu/36776460|language=en}}

In the early period of Hebrew history, pilgrims traveled to Shiloh, Dan, Bethel, and eventually Jerusalem (see also Three Pilgrimage Festivals, a practice followed by other Abrahamic religions). These festivals, including Passover, Tabernacles, and Shavuot, often involved journeys that reflected a physical and spiritual movement, similar to the concept of "tirtha yātrā" in Hinduism, where "tirtha" means "ford" or "crossing," and "yatra" signifies a journey or procession.{{Citation |last1=Singh |first1=Rana P. B. |title=Hindu Pilgrimages: The Contemporary Scene |date=2015 |work=The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics |pages=783–801 |editor-last=Brunn |editor-first=Stanley D. |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-017-9376-6_39 |access-date=2024-09-13 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-94-017-9376-6_39 |isbn=978-94-017-9376-6 |last2=Haigh |first2=Martin J.}}{{Cite journal |last1=Fallon |first1=J. M. |last2=Jaiswal |first2=N. K. |date=2012 |title=Sacred Space, Sacred Water: Exploring the Role of Water in India's Sacred Places |url=https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/rasaala/article/view/2191 |journal=Recreation and Society in Africa, Asia and Latin America |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1 |issn=1916-7873}} While many pilgrims travel toward a specific location, a physical destination is not always a necessity. One group of pilgrims in early Celtic Christianity were the Peregrinari Pro Christ, (Pilgrims for Christ), or "white martyrs", who left their homes to wander in the world.{{cite web |url= http://www.heartoglory.com/celtic/celtic-saints.php |title= The Celtic Saints |website= Heart O' Glory |year= 2007 |access-date= 2007-10-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071014034803/http://www.heartoglory.com/celtic/celtic-saints.php |archive-date= 2007-10-14 }} This form of pilgrimage, akin to the concept of "hajj" in Islam, which means "procession," was an ascetic religious practice, as the pilgrim left the security of home and the clan for an unknown destination, trusting completely in Divine Providence.{{Citation |title=Illustrations |date=2021-02-09 |work=The Hajj |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv19fvzqz.14 |access-date=2024-09-13 |publisher=Princeton University Press|doi=10.2307/j.ctv19fvzqz.14 }} These travels often resulted in the founding of new abbeys and the spread of Christianity among the pagan population in Britain and in continental Europe.

In the Middle Ages, Christian pilgrimage became a relevant economic sector, initially through facilities at popular pilgrimage destinations, but later also through organised group trips for pilgrims throughout the Mediterranean region.{{cite book |last=Ritter|first=Max |date=2019 |lang=de |title=Zwischen Glaube und Geld. Zur Ökonomie des byzantinischen Pilgerwesens (4.–12. Jh.) |trans-title=Between faith and money. On the economy of Byzantine pilgrimage (4th-12th century) |publisher=Verlag des RGZM | location=Mainz |isbn=978-3-88467-316-4 |url=https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.654}}

The ceremonial center Chavín de Huántar served as a gathering place for people of the pre-Inca culture Chavín to come together, to attend and participate in rituals, consult an oracle, worship or enter a cult, and collect ideas.{{Cite web |title=Chavin (Archaeological Site) |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/330/ |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=whc.unesco.org}}

Pilgrimage experienced a new change with the improvement of infrastructure from the 19th century onwards.Civelli, Ignaz (2021). Der Pilger im Coupé. Pilgerreisen mit der Eisenbahn 1850 bis 1939 – Eine Alltagsgeschichte [The pilgrim in the coupé. Pilgrimages by train from 1850 to 1939 - an Alltagsgeschichte]. Hamburg, {{ISBN|978-3-347-24906-6}}.

Bahá'í Faith

{{Main|Bahá'í pilgrimage}}

Bahá'u'lláh decreed pilgrimage to two places in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: the House of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, Iraq, and the House of the Báb in Shiraz, Iran. Later, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá designated the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahji, Israel as a site of pilgrimage.{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith |title= Pilgrimage |year= 2000 |publisher= eworld Publications |location= Oxford |isbn= 1-85168-184-1 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/269 269] |url= https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/269 }} The designated sites for pilgrimage are currently not accessible to the majority of Bahá'ís, as they are in Iraq and Iran respectively, and thus when Bahá'ís currently refer to pilgrimage, it refers to a nine-day pilgrimage which consists of visiting the holy places at the Bahá'í World Centre in northwest Israel in Haifa, Acre, and Bahjí.

Buddhism

{{Main|Buddhist pilgrimage}}

File:Tibetan pilgrim, Rewalsar, India.jpg, Himachal Pradesh, India]]

Places of pilgrimage in the Buddhist world include those associated with the life of the historical Buddha: his supposed birthplace and childhood home (Lumbini and Kapilavastu in Nepal) and place of enlightenment (Bodh Gaya in northern India), other places he is believed to have visited and the place of his death (or Parinirvana), Kushinagar, India. Others include the many temples and monasteries with relics of the Buddha or Buddhist saints such as the Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka and the numerous sites associated with teachers and patriarchs of the various traditions.

In India and Nepal, there are four places of pilgrimage which are tied to the life of Gautama Buddha:

Other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected Gautama Buddha's life are: Savatthi, Pataliputta, Nalanda, Gaya, Vesali, Sankasia, Kapilavastu, Kosambi, Rajagaha.

File:Pilgrimage to Lhasa.jpgans on a pilgrimage to Lhasa, doing full-body prostrations, often for the entire length of the journey]]

Other famous places for Buddhist pilgrimage include:

Christianity

{{Main|Christian pilgrimage}}

File:Jerusalem Holy Sepulchre BW 19.JPG in Jerusalem according to tradition is the site where Jesus was crucified and resurrected]]

File:Santuário de Fátima (36) - Jul 2008 (cropped).jpg is one of the largest pilgrimage sites (Marian shrine) in the world.]]

File:Orthodox pilgrim.jpg, Ukraine]]

In the spiritual literature of Christianity, the concept of pilgrim and pilgrimage may refer to the experience of life in the world (considered as a period of exile) or to the inner path of the spiritual aspirant from a state of wretchedness to a state of beatitude.{{Cite web|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=beatitude&oldid=70978999|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425151535/https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beatitude|url-status=dead|title=beatitude|date=January 17, 2023|archivedate=April 25, 2019|via=Wiktionary}}{{User-generated source|date=May 2022}}

Christian pilgrimage was first made to sites connected with the birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Aside from the early example of Origen in the third century, surviving descriptions of Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land date from the 4th century, when pilgrimage was encouraged by church fathers including Saint Jerome, and established by Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great.{{cite journal| url=https://doi.org/10.1353/earl.0.0310| doi=10.1353/earl.0.0310| title=Jerome's Epitaphium Paulae: Hagiography, Pilgrimage, and the Cult of Saint Paula| year=2010| last1=Cain| first1=Andrew| journal=Journal of Early Christian Studies| volume=18| pages=105–139| s2cid=170884065}}

Beginning in 1894, Christian ministers under the direction of Charles Taze Russell were appointed to travel to and work with local Bible Students congregations for a few days at a time; within a few years appointments were extended internationally, formally designated as "pilgrims", and scheduled for twice-yearly, week-long visits at each local congregation."Noteworthy Events in the Modern-day History of Jehovah's Witnesses", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 719, "1894 Traveling overseers that in time came to be known as pilgrims (today, circuit and district overseers) are sent out in connection with the Society's program for visiting congregations""Sweden", 1991 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 126 International Bible Students Association (IBSA) pilgrims were excellent speakers, and their local talks were typically well-publicized and well-attended."Switzerland and Liechtenstein", 1987 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 123, "'Pilgrims' were traveling representatives of the [Watch Tower] Society, as circuit overseers are today. Their efforts contributed to the unity of the brothers and brought them into closer contact with God's organization. The Society would announce in Zion's Watch Tower the proposed itinerary of the pilgrim brothers, and congregations and smaller groups along these routes would then write and express their desire to be visited. The pilgrims were excellent speakers, and their public lectures were usually well attended. In 1913, for example, their audiences in Switzerland totaled some 8,000 persons." Prominent Bible Students A. H. Macmillan and J. F. Rutherford were both appointed pilgrims before they joined the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania; the IBSA later adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses and renamed pilgrims as traveling overseers."Development of the Organization Structure", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 222, "[Beginning] in 1894, arrangements were made for the [Watch Tower] Society to have well-qualified speakers travel more regularly to help the Bible Students to grow in knowledge and appreciation for the truth and to draw them closer together. ...An effort was made to have each group in the United States and Canada visited twice a year, though not usually by the same brother. In selecting these traveling speakers, emphasis was placed on meekness, humility, and clear understanding of the truth as well as loyal adherence to it and ability to teach it with clarity. Theirs was by no means a paid ministry. They were simply provided with food and lodging by the local brothers, and to the extent necessary, the Society helped them with travel expenses. They came to be known as pilgrims. Many of these traveling representatives of the Society were dearly loved by those whom they served. A. H. Macmillan, a Canadian, is remembered as a brother to whom God's Word proved to be "like a burning fire.""Part 1—United States of America", CMP'1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses'', page 83

The purpose of Christian pilgrimage was summarized by Pope Benedict XVI in this way:{{Blockquote|To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe. Above all, Christians go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to the places associated with the Lord's passion, death and resurrection. They go to Rome, the city of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, and also to Compostela, which, associated with the memory of Saint James, has welcomed pilgrims from throughout the world who desire to strengthen their spirit with the Apostle's witness of faith and love.{{Cite web | url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2010/november/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20101106_cattedrale-compostela.html | title=Apostolic Journey to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona: Visit to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (November 6, 2010) {{pipe}} BENEDICT XVI}}}}

Pilgrimages were, and are, also made to Rome and other sites associated with the apostles, saints and Christian martyrs, as well as to places where there have been apparitions of the Virgin Mary. A popular pilgrimage journey is along the Way of St. James to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, in Galicia, Spain, where the shrine of the apostle James is located. A combined pilgrimage was held every seven years in the three nearby towns of Maastricht, Aachen and Kornelimünster where many important relics could be seen (see: Pilgrimage of the Relics, Maastricht). Marian pilgrimages remain very popular in Latin America.

The Catholic priest Frank Fahey writes that a pilgrim is "always in danger of becoming a tourist" and vice versa, and describes pilgrimages as journeys containing "faith expectancy", a search for wholeness, that are often solitary and employing silence to create an internal sacred space.{{cite journal |last1=Fahey |first1=Frank |title=Pilgrims or Tourists? |journal=The Furrow |date=April 2002 |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=213–218 |jstor=27664505 }}

==Hinduism==

{{See also|Tirtha (Hinduism)|Hindu pilgrimage sites|Hinduism#Pilgrimage|Yatra}}

File:Darshan_at_badrinath_temple.jpg in Uttarakhand, India for a darśana]]

File:Kumbh_Mela_2013_Sangam,_Allahabd.jpg during Prayag Kumbh Mela]]

According to Karel Werner's Popular Dictionary of Hinduism, "most Hindu places of pilgrimage are associated with legendary events from the lives of various gods.... Almost any place can become a focus for pilgrimage, but in most cases they are sacred cities, rivers, lakes, and mountains."{{cite book|last1=Werner|first1=Karel|title=A popular dictionary of Hinduism|date=1994|publisher=Curzon|location=Richmond, Surrey|isbn=0700702792|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ohUZAQAAIAAJ|access-date=30 October 2016}} Hindus are encouraged to undertake pilgrimages during their lifetime, though this practice is not considered absolutely mandatory. Most Hindus visit sites within their region or locale.

Hindu pilgrimage destinations may be holy cities (Varanasi, Badrinath); rivers (the Ganges, the Yamuna); mountains (several Himalayan peaks are sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists); caves (such as the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); temples; festivals, such as the peripatetic Kumbh Mela, in 2001 the biggest public gathering in history;{{cite web |title=Heart of Hinduism: Four Main Paths |url=http://hinduism.iskcon.org/practice/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115213205/http://hinduism.iskcon.org/practice/ |archive-date=2015-11-15 |access-date=2014-10-26 |work=iskcon.org}} or the tombs and dwelling places of saints (Alandi, Shirdi).

Islam

{{Main|Hajj|Umrah}}

{{See also |Holiest sites in Islam|Mecca|Medina|Jerusalem}}

File:Kaaba,_Makkah6.jpg pilgrims circumambulate the black cube of the Kaaba in the Al-Haram Mosque]]

The Ḥajj ({{langx|ar|حَـجّ}}, main pilgrimage to Mecca) is one of the five pillars of Islam and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence.{{cite book |last=Long |first=Matthew |title=Islamic Beliefs, Practices, and Cultures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_m14NlQQMYC&pg=PA86 |access-date=2 September 2014 |year=2011 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation |isbn=978-0-7614-7926-0 |page=86}}{{cite book |last=Nigosian |first=S. A. |title= Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=my7hnALd_NkC&pg=PA110 |year=2004 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Indiana |isbn=0-253-21627-3 |page=110}}{{cite web |url=https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/islamic-practices |title=Islamic Practices |website=Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs |access-date=7 April 2017}} The Hajj is one of the largest annual gatherings of people in the world.{{cite book |last=Mosher |first=Lucinda |title=Praying: The Rituals of Faith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2b7fmfvpYZYC&pg=PA155 |access-date=18 September 2014 |year=2005 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=9781596270169 |page=155}}{{cite magazine | url=https://science.time.com/2013/10/16/as-the-hajj-unfolds-in-saudi-arabia-a-deep-look-inside-the-battle-against-mers/ | title=As the Hajj Unfolds in Saudi Arabia, A Deep Look Inside the Battle Against MERS | magazine=Time | date=16 October 2013 | access-date=17 October 2013 | last=Katz |first=Andrew}} Since 2014, two or three million people have participated in the Hajj annually.{{cite web |title=The world's largest Muslim pilgrimage site? Not Mecca, but the Shiite shrine in Karbala |url=https://religionnews.com/2020/09/09/the-worlds-largest-muslim-pilgrimage-site-not-mecca-but-the-shiite-shrine-in-karbala/ |website=Religion News Service |access-date=14 September 2020 |date=9 September 2020}} The mosques in Mecca and Medina were closed in February 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the hajj was permitted for only a very limited number of Saudi nationals and foreigners living in Saudi Arabia starting on 29 July.{{cite web |title=Hajj Begins in Saudi Arabia Under Historic COVID Imposed Restrictions |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/covid-19-pandemic_hajj-begins-saudi-arabia-under-historic-covid-imposed-restrictions/6193606.html |website=Voice of America |date=29 July 2020 |publisher=VOA |access-date=14 September 2020 |language=en}}

Another important place for Muslims is the city of Medina, the second holiest site in Islam, in Saudi Arabia, the final resting place of Muhammad in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (The Mosque of the Prophet).{{cite book|last1=Ariffin|first1=Syed Ahmad Iskandar Syed|title=Architectural conservation in Islam: case study of the Prophet's Mosque|date=2005|publisher=Penerbit Universiti Teknologi Malaysia|location=Skudai, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia|isbn=9835203733|edition=1st|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jP850CjN_voC|access-date=30 October 2016}}

The Ihram (white robe of pilgrimage) is meant to show equality of all Muslim pilgrims in the eyes of Allah. 'A white has no superiority over a black, nor a black over a white. Nor does an Arab have superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab - except through piety' - statement of the Prophet Muhammad.

=Ziyarat=

{{Main|Ziyarat}}

A different form of pilgrimage is ziyarat ({{langx|ar|زِيَارَة}} ziyārah, "visit"; {{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|زیارت}}}}, ziyārat). Ziyarat generally refers to the act of visiting holy places such as tombs or shrines, often associated with the Prophet Muhammad, his family, companions, and other revered figures like legal scholars and Sufi saints. Ziyarat is a voluntary act of pilgrimage practiced by both Sunni and Shia Muslims.{{cite web | title=The Importance of Ziyarat: Visiting Holy Sites Beyond Hajj and Umrah | url=https://alsyedtours.com/the-importance-of-ziyarat-visiting-holy-sites-beyond-hajj-and-umrah/ | access-date=12 October 2024 | website=AL SYED}}{{cite encyclopedia | title=Ziyara | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World | editor=Richard C. Martin | publisher=Macmillan Reference USA | year=2004 | volume=2 | pages=727–728}}. Available online at [Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/pilgrimage-ziyara). Unlike Hajj, which is obligatory for Muslims who are physically and financially able,{{cite web | title=Hajj | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/hajj | access-date=12 October 2024 | website=Britannica}} or Umrah, which is highly recommended but not mandatory,{{cite web | title=Fiqh Us-Sunnah | url=https://islamicstudies.info/subjects/fiqh/fiqh_us_sunnah/fus5_79.html | access-date=12 October 2024 | website=Islamic Studies}} Ziyarat involves visits to a variety of sacred and historically significant locations beyond Mecca. These include mosques, tombs, battlefields, mountains, caves, and other places where important spiritual or historical events in Islamic history took place.{{cite journal | last=Kashani-Sabet | first=Firoozeh | title=Tohfeye Ziyarat (Souvenir of Pilgrimage): Religious Mobility and Public Health in Late Qajar Iran, c. 1890–1904 | journal=Iranian Studies | volume=56 | issue=4 | pages=507–534 | date=2023 | doi=10.1017/S0021086223000762 | doi-broken-date=13 November 2024 | url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/715A4608F3CE767A8FC0D3D187C29475/S0021086223000762a.pdf | access-date=12 October 2024}} It holds deep spiritual significance for millions of Muslims around the world.{{cite journal | last=Molaei | first=A. | title=Strategies of Religious Tourism in Iranian and Islamic Cities Approaching Shiite Pilgrimage Culture | journal=Journal of Religion and Health | volume=17 | pages=67–94 | year=2023 | doi=10.1007/s10943-023-01943-z | url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-023-01943-z | access-date=12 October 2024}}

One notable example is the Grand Magal of Touba, {{convert|200|km|mi}} east of Dakar, Senegal. About four million pilgrims participate annually to celebrate the life and teachings of Cheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of the Mouride brotherhood, who established the order in 1883. The pilgrimage begins on the 18th of Safar, the second month of the Islamic calendar.{{cite web |last1=Holloway |first1=Beetle |title=Senegal's Grand Magal of Touba: A Pilgrimage of Celebration |url=https://theculturetrip.com/africa/senegal/articles/senegals-grand-magal-of-touba/ |website=Culture Trip |date=21 November 2018 |access-date=14 September 2020}}

While ziyarat is viewed as permissible and spiritually enriching by most Sunni and Shia traditions, some fundamentalist movements, such as Salafism and Wahhabism, discourage or oppose it. These movements are characterized by a strict, literalist interpretation of Islam and opposition to practices they consider innovations, such as shrine visitation.{{cite web | title=Ziyarah | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/ziyarah | access-date=12 October 2024 | website=Britannica}}

Ziyarat also includes the Ziyarat al-Imam, which refers specifically to the pilgrimage to the shrines of the Shia Imams, especially revered figures like Imam Ali and Imam Hussein. The Arba'in pilgrimage is the world's largest pilgrimage and largest annual public gathering in the world, where millions of Shia Muslims travel to Karbala to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein during the 40-day mourning period after Ashura.{{cite web | title=Arbaeen: The Largest Pilgrimage You've Never Heard Of | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30009324 | website=BBC News | date=24 November 2014 | access-date=12 October 2024}}{{cite news | title=Arbaeen Pilgrimage 2019: One of World's Largest Religious Gatherings Kicks Off | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/16/arbaeen-pilgrimage-2019-one-of-worlds-largest-religious-gatherings-kicks-off | publisher=Al Jazeera | date=16 October 2019 | access-date=12 October 2024}}

=Shia=

{{Main|Arba'in pilgrimage|Arba'in|Ashura|Imam Reza}}

File:Arba'een_Pilgrimage_In_mehran_City,_Iran,_Shia_Muslim_24.jpg in Mehran]]

Al-Arba‘īn ({{langx|ar|ٱلْأَرْبَـعِـيْـن}}, "The Forty"), Chehelom ({{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|چهلم}}}}, {{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|چہلم}}}}, "the fortieth [day]") or Qirkhī, Imāmīn Qirkhī ({{langx|az|İmamın qırxı}} ({{langx|ar|إمامین قیرخی}}), "the fortieth of Imam") is a Shia Muslim religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, which falls on the 20th or 21st day of the month of Safar. Imam Husayn ibn Ali and 72 companions were killed by Yazid I's army in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE). Arba'een or forty days is also the usual length of mourning after the death of a family member or loved one in many Muslim traditions. Arba'een is one of the largest pilgrimage gatherings on Earth, in which up to 31 million people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq.{{cite web|author=uberVU – social comments |url=http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/02/05/friday-46-iraqis-1-syrian-killed-168-iraqis-wounded/ |title=Friday: 46 Iraqis, 1 Syrian Killed; 169 Iraqis Wounded - Antiwar.com |publisher=Original.antiwar.com |date=5 February 2010 |access-date=30 June 2010}}{{cite web|author=Aljazeera |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/articles/34/41-Martyrs-as-More-than-Million-People-Mark-Arbae.html |title=alJazeera Magazine – 41 Martyrs as More than Million People Mark 'Arbaeen' in Holy Karbala |publisher=Aljazeera.com |access-date=30 June 2010}}{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/blast-kills-27-in-iraqi-shiite-city-of-karbala-83628687/111949.html |title=Powerful Explosions Kill More Than 40 Shi'ite Pilgrims in Karbala |publisher=Voice of America |date=5 February 2010 |access-date=30 June 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/blast-in-crowd-kills-41-shiite-pilgrims-in-iraq-20100205-nivg.html |title=Blast in crowd kills 41 Shiite pilgrims in Iraq |publisher=News.smh.com.au |date=5 February 2010 |access-date=30 June 2010 | first=Abdelamir | last=Hanun}}

The second largest holy city in the world, Mashhad, Iran, attracts more than 20 million tourists and pilgrims every year, many of whom come to pay homage to Imam Reza (the eighth Shi'ite Imam). It has been a magnet for travelers since medieval times.{{cite web |url=http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/iran/mashad.htm |title=Sacred Sites: Mashhad, Iran |access-date=13 March 2006 |publisher=sacredsites.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127181619/http://sacredsites.com/middle_east/iran/mashad.htm |archive-date=27 November 2010 }}

Judaism

{{See also|Temple in Jerusalem|Jerusalem in Judaism|Three Pilgrimage Festivals}}

File:Gerome Western Wall.pngs at the Western Wall in Jerusalem during the Ottoman period, 1867]]

While Solomon's Temple stood, Jerusalem was the centre of the Jewish religious life and the site of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, and all adult men who were able were required to visit and offer sacrifices (korbanot) at the Temple. After the destruction of the Temple, the obligation to visit Jerusalem and to make sacrifices no longer applied. The obligation was restored with the rebuilding of the Temple, but following its destruction in 70 CE, the obligation to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices again went into abeyance.{{Cite book|last=Williams, Margaret, 1947-|title=Jews in a Graeco-Roman environment|year=2013|isbn=978-3-16-151901-7|location=Tübingen, Germany|pages=42|oclc=855531272}}

The western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, known as the Western Wall or "Wailing" Wall, is the remaining part of Second Jewish Temple in the Old City of Jerusalem is the most sacred and visited site for Jews. Pilgrimage to this area was off-limits to Jews from 1948 to 1967, when East Jerusalem was under Jordanian control.{{cite web|title=The Western Wall|url=http://mosaic.lk.net/g-wall.html|website=mosaic.lk.net|access-date=6 June 2017}}{{cite web|title=The Western Wall: History & Overview|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-and-overivew-of-the-western-wall|website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org|access-date=27 March 2018}}

There are numerous lesser Jewish pilgrimage destinations, mainly tombs of tzadikim, throughout Israel and Palestine and all over the world, including: Hebron; Bethlehem; Mount Meron; Netivot; Uman, Ukraine; Silistra, Bulgaria; Damanhur, Egypt; and many others.See David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson, Pilgrimage and the Jews (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006) for history and data on several pilgrimages to both Ashkenazi and Sephardic holy sites.

Many rabbis claim that even today, after the destruction of the Temple, there is a mitzvah to make a pilgrimage on holidays.Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, [https://ph.yhb.org.il/en/12-01-16/ Making the Pilgrimage Nowadays] in Peninei Halakha

Sikhism

File:Sikh pilgrim at the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar, India.jpg in Amritsar, India.]]

Sikhism does not consider pilgrimage as an act of spiritual merit. Guru Nanak went to places of pilgrimage to reclaim the fallen people, who had turned ritualists. He told them of the need to visit that temple of God, deep in the inner being of themselves. According to him: "He performs a pilgrimage who controls the five vices."{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/IntroductionToSikhism/page/n57 | title=Introduction to Sikhism: 100 Basic Questions and Answers on Sikh Religion and History | publisher=India Book House | last=Mansukhani | first=Gobind Singh | year=1968 | pages=60}}{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fU8BAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT178 | title=Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs | publisher=A&C Black | last=Myrvold | first=Kristina | year=2012 | pages=178 | isbn=9781441103581}}

Eventually, however, Amritsar and Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) became the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh faith, and if a Sikh goes on pilgrimage it is usually to this place.{{cite web|url=http://re-xs.ucsm.ac.uk/re/pilgrimage/sikhism.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011123234933/http://re-xs.ucsm.ac.uk/re/pilgrimage/sikhism.htm|archive-date=23 November 2001|title=Sikhism}}

The Panj Takht (Punjabi: ਪੰਜ ਤਖ਼ਤ) are the five revered gurdwaras in India that are considered the thrones or seats of authority of Sikhism and are traditionally considered a pilgrimage.{{cite news|access-date=5 February 2014|title=Special train to connect all five Takhats, first run on February 16|website=The Times of India|date=5 February 2014 |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Special-train-to-connect-all-five-Takhats-first-run-on-February-16/articleshow/29908402.cms}}

Taoism

{{Cleanup rewrite|section=yes|date=April 2025}}

File:白沙屯媽祖遶境｜王功福海宮.jpg

Mazu, also spelled as Matsu, is the most famous sea goddess in the Chinese southeastern sea area, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Mazu Pilgrimage is more likely as an event (or temple fair), pilgrims are called as "Xiang Deng Jiao" (pinyin: xiāng dēng jiǎo, it means "lantern feet" in Chinese), they would follow the Goddess's (Mazu) palanquin from her own temple to another Mazu temple. By tradition, when the village Mazu palanquin passes, the residents would offer free water and food to those pilgrims along the way.

There are 2 main Mazu pilgrimages in Taiwan, usually held between lunar January and April, depending on Mazu's will.

  • Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage: this pilgrimage can be traced to 1863, from Baishantun (Miaoli County) to Beigang (Yunlin County) and return, not over a definite route.{{Cite web|url=http://www.storm.mg/lifestyle/426292|title=沒固定路線、全憑神轎指引徒步400里...白沙屯媽祖進香有何秘密？他爆出這些「神蹟」超驚奇|date=21 May 2018|website=The Storm Media|language=zh-tw|others=Central News Agency|publication-date=19 April 2018|access-date=6 June 2018}}
  • Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage: from Dajia (Taichung City) to Xingang (Chiayi County) and return, it runs over a definite route.{{Cite web|url=http://blog.xuite.net/kuo707727632/twblog/156918633-~+%E5%A4%A7%E7%94%B2%E5%AA%BD%E7%A5%96%E9%81%B6%E5%A2%83%E9%80%B2%E9%A6%99%E6%AD%B7%E5%8F%B2%E6%B2%BF%E9%9D%A9%E3%80%81%E9%99%A3%E9%A0%AD%E3%80%81%E5%85%B8%E7%A6%AE%E3%80%81%E7%A6%81%E5%BF%8C%E7%9A%84%E4%BB%8B%E7%B4%B9~|title=~ 大甲媽祖遶境進香歷史沿革、陣頭、典禮、禁忌的介紹~|date=21 May 2018|website=淨 空 禪 林|language=zh-tw}}

Zoroastrianism

File:Zarathustra fire temple in Yazd.jpg in Iran is an Atash Bahram, the highest grade of fire temple in Zoroastrianism]]

Zoroastrians have as their main pilgrimage destinations the city of Yazd and the temples of Pir-e Sabz and Pir-e Naraki in Iran, as well as the cities of Navsari and Udvada in India.

In Iran, there are pilgrimage destinations called pirs in several provinces, although the most familiar ones are in the province of Yazd.Aspandyar Sohrab Gotla (2000). "Guide to Zarthoshtrian historical places in Iran." University of Michigan Press. LCCN 2005388611 pg. 164 In addition to the traditional Yazdi shrines, new sites may be in the process of becoming pilgrimage destinations. The ruins are the ruins of ancient fire temples. One such site is the ruin of the Sassanian era Azargoshnasp fire temple in Iran's Azarbaijan Province. Other sites are the ruins of fire temples at Rey, south of the capital Tehran, and the Firouzabad ruins sixty kilometres south of Shiraz in the province of Pars.

Atash Behram ("Fire of victory") is the highest grade of fire temple in Zoroastrianism. It has 16 different "kinds of fire", that is, fires gathered from 16 different sources.{{cite book |last=Hartman |first=Sven S. |date=1980 |title=Parsism: The Religions of Zoroaster |publisher=BRILL |page=20 |isbn=9004062084}} Currently there are 9 Atash Behram, one in Yazd, Iran and the rest in Western India. They have become a pilgrimage destination.

In India the cathedral fire temple that houses the Iranshah Atash Behram, located in the small town of Udvada in the west coast province of Gujarat, is a pilgrimage destination.{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/pilgrimage-or-mela-parsis-split-on-udvada-festival/article21236193.ece |title= Pilgrimage or mela? Parsis split on Udvada festival |first=Jyoti |last=Shelar |work=The Hindu |date=1 December 2017 |access-date=21 December 2017}}

Cultural pilgrimage

File:Koizumi in Graceland 2006.jpg, like many fans of Elvis Presley, visited Graceland.]]

A modern phenomenon is the cultural pilgrimage which, while involving a personal journey, is secular in nature. Destinations for such pilgrims can include historic sites of national or cultural importance, and can be defined as places "of cultural significance: an artist's home, the location of a pivotal event or an iconic destination".{{cite news |url= http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/travel/11279306.html |first= Chris |last= Welsch |work= Star Tribune |title= Travelers define such a pilgrimage in many different ways |date= January 3, 2007 |access-date= 2008-03-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080608212513/http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/travel/11279306.html |archive-date= June 8, 2008 }} An example might be a devotee of the Beatles visiting Liverpool in England. Destinations for cultural pilgrims include Auschwitz concentration camp, Gettysburg Battlefield or the Ernest Hemingway House. Cultural pilgrims may also travel on religious pilgrimage routes, such as the Way of St. James, with the perspective of making it a historic or architectural tour rather than – or as well as – a religious experience.{{cite web |url= http://www.circaterras.com/Tours-Heritage-Culture-Spain/Santiago-Compostela.htm |title= Cultural Pilgrimage to Compostela |website= Circa Tours |date= February 17, 2008 |access-date= 2008-03-11}}

Under communist regimes, devout secular pilgrims visited locations such as the Mausoleum of Lenin, the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong and the Birthplace of Karl Marx. Such visits were sometimes state-sponsored. Sites such as these continue to attract visitors. The distinction between religious, cultural or political pilgrimage and tourism is not necessarily always clear or rigid. Pilgrimage could also refer symbolically to journeys, largely on foot, to places where the concerned person(s) expect(s) to find spiritual and/or personal salvation.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Other

=Meher Baba=

The main pilgrimage sites associated with the spiritual teacher Meher Baba are Meherabad, India, where Baba completed the "major portion"Deshmukh, Indumati (1961). "Address in Marathi." The Awakener 7 (3): 29. of his work and where his tomb is now located, and Meherazad, India, where Baba resided later in his life.

=Yazidism religion=

File:Pilgrims and festival at Lalish on the day of the Yezidi New Year in 2017 06 (cropped).jpg

The Yazidism has numerous pilgrimage sites and holy sites, with the most important being located in Sinjar such as Lalish.{{cite book|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/chapter-detail?id=842059|title= The Yazidis: Religion, Society and Resentments|pages= 165–174}}

In culture

Some prominent literary characters who were pilgrims include:

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Further reading

  • Coleman, Simon. Powers of Pilgrimage: Religion in a World of Movement. United States, NYU Press, 2022.
  • al-Naqar, Umar. 1972. The Pilgrimage Tradition in West Africa. Khartoum: Khartoum University Press. [includes a map 'African Pilgrimage Routes to Mecca, ca. 1300–1900']
  • Coleman, Simon and John Elsner (1995), Pilgrimage: Past and Present in the World Religions. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • Coleman, Simon & John Eade (eds) (2005), Reframing Pilgrimage. Cultures in Motion. London: Routledge.
  • Davidson, Linda Kay and David M. Gitlitz (2002), Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Ca.: ABC-CLIO.
  • Gitlitz, David M. and Linda Kay Davidson (2006). Pilgrimage and the Jews. Westport, CT: Praeger.
  • Jackowski, Antoni. 1998. Pielgrzymowanie [Pilgrimage]. Wroclaw: Wydawnictwo Dolnoslaskie.
  • Kerschbaum & Gattinger, Via Francigena – DVD – Documentation, of a modern pilgrimage to Rome, {{ISBN|3-200-00500-9}}, Verlag EUROVIA, Vienna 2005
  • Margry, Peter Jan (ed.) (2008), Shrines and Pilgrimage in the Modern World. New Itineraries into the Sacred. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
  • {{cite book | author= Okamoto, Ryosuke | title= Pilgrimages in the Secular Age: From El Camino to Anime | location=Tokyo | publisher=Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture | year=2019 | url=https://www.jpicinternational.com/books/socialsciences/73457a6f57a82d5fa0c5e0c1d471ff7bd95b3973.html}}
  • Sumption, Jonathan. 2002. Pilgrimage: An Image of Mediaeval Religion. London: Faber and Faber Ltd.
  • Wolfe, Michael (ed.). 1997. One Thousands Roads to Mecca. New York: Grove Press.
  • Zarnecki, George (1985), The Monastic World: The Contributions of The Orders. pp. 36–66, in Evans, Joan (ed.). 1985. The Flowering of the Middle Ages. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.
  • {{cite journal | last=Zwissler | first=Laurel | title=Pagan Pilgrimage: New Religious Movements Research on Sacred Travel within Pagan and New Age Communities | journal=Religion Compass | publisher=Wiley | volume=5 | issue=7 | year=2011 | issn=1749-8171 | doi=10.1111/j.1749-8171.2011.00282.x | pages=326–342 |url=https://www.academia.edu/34541493}}

External links

{{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=no|about=yes|wikititle=pilgrimage}}

  • {{Commons-inline}}
  • [http://www.larsdatter.com/pilgrims.htm Medieval Pilgrims' Clothing] Illustrations of 13th–16th century pilgrims, and links to photos of 16th century clothing made for pilgrimage
  • {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Pilgrimage |volume=21 |pages=604–610 |short=1}}

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Category:Religious tourism