James Joseph: Image and Pilgrimage (1)

Turner discusses in his book how "The first pilgrims tend to arrive haphazardly, individually, and intermittently, though in great numbers..Later, there is a progressive routinization..(eventually) a whole elaborate system of licenses, permits, ordinances, etc. develop as the number of pilgrims grows and their needs and wants proliferate". This passage from the book brought many questions to mind about how we as humans operate as social beings. While it is true that pilgrimages offer a much different social experience than other human interactions, such as the communitas that is portrayed, I begin to wonder if our social interactions outside of pilgrimages can be stimulated in a way to mirror those found amongst those pilgrimages. Is it possible to take a random group of people from different backgrounds and views, and place them all in one spot and have them interact in a way that they would on a pilgrimage? Can we make friends in a similar manner that we would from a journey on a pilgrimage, except instead of journeying on a pilgrimage we are simply journeying through life? If we were to compare the complex journey of life that we all travel on to the somewhat more simplistic journey on a pilgrimage, could we learn and perhaps even apply what we learn from pilgrimages to our individual life journeys? I believe that if we were to strive for the same feeling of communitas that is present in a pilgrimage in our everyday lives, we would be better suited for any challenges we may have to overcome. For honestly, it is through the presence and help of others that we as humans can succeed, for humans are social beings at the core.