Pilgrimage expansion through tourism in contemporary India: the development and promotion of a Hindu pilgrimage circuit

This article investigates the development and promotion of the Char Dham Yatra (or Char Dham), a Hindu pilgrimage route in the Himalayas, to challenge some prevalent assumptions and models in current scholarship concerning pilgrimage and tourism. I argue that the current prominence of the Char Dham...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Aukland, Knut (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Carfax Publ. [2017]
Dans: Journal of contemporary religion
Année: 2017, Volume: 32, Numéro: 2, Pages: 283-298
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Inde / Himalaya / Chemin de pèlerinage / Hindouisme / Guide <homme> / Tourisme / Évolution religieuse
Sujets non-standardisés:B Tourism
B Hindu pilgrimage
B Hinduism
B Guidebooks
B pilgrimage and tourism
Accès en ligne: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Résumé:This article investigates the development and promotion of the Char Dham Yatra (or Char Dham), a Hindu pilgrimage route in the Himalayas, to challenge some prevalent assumptions and models in current scholarship concerning pilgrimage and tourism. I argue that the current prominence of the Char Dham is closely tied to the efforts of public tourism agencies and the coming together of a popular religious concept (Char Dham) with a unit of tourism development (circuit). Turning to promotional literature, I find that, while the Char Dham is increasingly framed to incorporate tourist interests, it continues to retain a religious profile. Contemporary Char Dham guidebooks combine and sometimes merge tourist and religious selling points. The Char Dham is promoted as a picturesque pilgrimage that allows for both homage and holiday. Contrary to popular opinion, the findings of my research suggest that the interplay between pilgrimage and tourism produces changes in, rather than the removal of, pilgrimage religiosity and associated religious communication.
ISSN:1469-9419
Contient:Enthalten in: Journal of contemporary religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13537903.2017.1298908