Changing Colors of Money: Tips, Commissions, and Ritual in Christian Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

The movement of money in Christian pilgrimage is a profound mirror of cultural classifications. By examining tips, commissions, and souvenir purchases in Holy Land pilgrimages, I show how the transfer of monies activates a series of multiple, complex relationships between Jewish guides, Palestinian...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Feldman, Jackie (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Berghahn [2014]
Dans: Religion and society
Année: 2014, Volume: 5, Numéro: 1, Pages: 143-156
Sujets non-standardisés:B Exchange
B Transparency
B Rituel
B Reciprocity
B Holy Land pilgrimage
B tour guides
B tips
B Commissions
Accès en ligne: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Résumé:The movement of money in Christian pilgrimage is a profound mirror of cultural classifications. By examining tips, commissions, and souvenir purchases in Holy Land pilgrimages, I show how the transfer of monies activates a series of multiple, complex relationships between Jewish guides, Palestinian drivers, and Christian pilgrims. I identify the 'colors'—or moral values—of salaries, tips, and commissions that change hands as 'white', 'black', or 'gray' monies and correlate these colors with particular discourses and degrees of transparency. I then illustrate how prayer, rituals, and the citation of scripture may 'bleach' these monies, transforming tips into 'love offerings' and souvenir purchases into aids to spiritual development or charity to local communities, while fostering relationships and conveying messages across religious and cultural lines. Far from being a universal 'acid' that taints human relationships, pilgrimage monies demonstrate how, through the exchange of goods, people are able to create and maintain spiritual values.
ISSN:2150-9301
Contient:Enthalten in: Religion and society
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3167/arrs.2014.050109