TY - JOUR
T1 - Emic understandings of Kumbh Mela pilgrimage experiences
AU - Buzinde, Christine N.
AU - Kalavar, Jyotsna M.
AU - Kohli, Neena
AU - Manuel-Navarrete, David
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was mainly supported by a generous grant from the Institute of Humanities Research (IHR) at Arizona State University as well as a supplemental funds from two agencies at Penn State University, namely the Children’s Youth and Family Consortium (CYFC) and Global Programs . The authors extend their gratitude to the Kumbh Mela attendants who participated in this study as well as the graduate students from the department of Psychology at Allahabad University, India who assisted with data collection. We gratefully acknowledge the help we received for this project from Vipul Kumar, Shreshtha Yadava, Vivek Shahi, Chitra Kohli, Dallen Timothy.
PY - 2014/11
Y1 - 2014/11
N2 - This study interrogates pilgrims' motivations, activities and experiences of the 2013 Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, in Allahabad, India. It adopts an interpretive paradigm by so doing it responds to Eade's (1992) call for in-depth analyses that unveil the multifaceted nature of the pilgrim. The findings indicate that motives encompass a need for spiritual connectivity (devotion) and spiritual knowledge attainment (from saints). Two key activities occupied participants' time: serving self which included engaging in prayer, meditation, bathing in the revered River Ganges, listening to spiritual discourses, as well as serving others which entailed voluntary service endeavors. Descriptions of the experiential component encompassed experiences of spirituality and social unity. The study problematizes the nexus between pilgrimage tourism and participants perceived sense of solidarity.
AB - This study interrogates pilgrims' motivations, activities and experiences of the 2013 Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, in Allahabad, India. It adopts an interpretive paradigm by so doing it responds to Eade's (1992) call for in-depth analyses that unveil the multifaceted nature of the pilgrim. The findings indicate that motives encompass a need for spiritual connectivity (devotion) and spiritual knowledge attainment (from saints). Two key activities occupied participants' time: serving self which included engaging in prayer, meditation, bathing in the revered River Ganges, listening to spiritual discourses, as well as serving others which entailed voluntary service endeavors. Descriptions of the experiential component encompassed experiences of spirituality and social unity. The study problematizes the nexus between pilgrimage tourism and participants perceived sense of solidarity.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.annals.2014.08.001
DO - 10.1016/j.annals.2014.08.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84906730580
VL - 49
SP - 1
EP - 18
JO - Annals of Tourism Research
JF - Annals of Tourism Research
SN - 0160-7383
ER -