Placing communitas: spatiality and ritual performances in Indian religious tourism.

Abstract

Placing communitas: Spatiality and ritual performances in Indian religious tourismTh is paper examines the spatial and temporal contexts that contribute to the fostering of communitas in contemporary South Asian religious travel, with particular attention to the infl uence of ritual performances and the mediation of social actors engaged in the cultural economy of religious tourism.It is based on the case studies of two sites located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra -Tuljapur and Shirdi.While the fi rst is a site where hereditary lineages of priests perform rituals that are integral to pilgrimage practice, the second is associated with Sai Baba, a 20th century guru, whose spiritual-magical charisma continues to attract millions of visitors and the pilgrimage activity is managed by a centrally administered trust.Hence, they represent a spectrum of pilgrimage sites; at one end are the sites that are managed through social and informal networks (Tuljapur) and at the other are those managed by a public organization (Shirdi).A diverse range of religious functionaries including gurus, priests, and temple managers assist visitors in performing pilgrimage rituals and facilitate arrangements for lodging and boarding in Tuljapur.In Shirdi, these functions are handled by a charitable public trust that administers the shrine, and guides and tour operators and hotels that mediate movement and experience of visitors.Th e paper highlights how the diff erent spatial modes of engagement with pilgrimage rituals and the mediation by religious specialists through distinct socio-spatial relationships play a significant role in creating the situations for fostering of communitas.

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