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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Vaishno Devi, The Most Famous Goddess Shrine In The Siwāliks, Georgana Foster, Robert Stoddard
Vaishno Devi, The Most Famous Goddess Shrine In The Siwāliks, Georgana Foster, Robert Stoddard
Department of Geography: Faculty Publications
Vaishno Devi in Jammu has been designated as the "Elder Sister" among the six other Devi shrines in a fairly narrow belt of the Siwāliks between the Yumunii and Chenāb Rivers. During the last few decades Vaishno Devi has become especially important. Pilgrimage to the shrine has increased from 30,000 to almost 7 million since Independence, when the political geography of the region increased accessibility, both physically and perceptually. The growth in the number of visitors can be attributed also to a change in administration of the shrine and to the tremendous increase in religious tourism. Vaishno Devi is now …
Defining And Classifying Pilgrimages, Robert Stoddard
Defining And Classifying Pilgrimages, Robert Stoddard
Department of Geography: Faculty Publications
To make comparisons among the many forms of religious journeys, scholars need both an acceptable definition of the phenomenon called pilgrimages and a workable classification scheme that reveals significant differences. Following a discussion about the elements that should be incorporated into a definition of pilgrimages, a formal statement is presented. This provides a basis for separating those traveling activities that should be studied as pilgrimages from all other forms of human movement. Further differentiation among pilgrimages can be achieved by categorizing them into a few distinct classes. Several criteria that logically could be utilized for dividing pilgrimages into various types …