Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors
- 1 Introduction: Vernacular religion, generic expressions and the dynamics of belief
- PART I Belief as Practice
- PART II Traditions of Narrated Belief
- PART III Relationships between Humans and Others
- PART IV Creation and Maintenance of Community and Identity
- 13 Komi hunter narratives
- 14 Stories of Santiago pilgrims: Tradition through creativity
- 15 Restoring/restorying Arthur and Bridget: Vernacular religion and contemporary spirituality in Glastonbury
- PART V Theoretical Reflections and Manifestations of the Vernacular
- Index
14 - Stories of Santiago pilgrims: Tradition through creativity
from PART IV - Creation and Maintenance of Community and Identity
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors
- 1 Introduction: Vernacular religion, generic expressions and the dynamics of belief
- PART I Belief as Practice
- PART II Traditions of Narrated Belief
- PART III Relationships between Humans and Others
- PART IV Creation and Maintenance of Community and Identity
- 13 Komi hunter narratives
- 14 Stories of Santiago pilgrims: Tradition through creativity
- 15 Restoring/restorying Arthur and Bridget: Vernacular religion and contemporary spirituality in Glastonbury
- PART V Theoretical Reflections and Manifestations of the Vernacular
- Index
Summary
I saw him when I was about to go out of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Bearded and shaggy, carrying a backpack and a staff, this recently arrived young pilgrim was standing in the middle of the entrance and talking to the people who were going out of the church. Self-contentment was oozing from each of his cells … When I got closer, I heard him ask ‘the ladies to let the tired pilgrim get in’. The women backed off respectfully, and he walked in as a hero. Somebody asked where he had started the pilgrimage, and the man said with a voice full of pride: ‘France’. At that moment I recalled that on my own first arrival in Santiago I also felt that I had accomplished something extraordinary and felt superior to the ‘common people’ and tourists crowding the cathedral. What might bring one back down to earth is the fact that every year almost 100,000 compostelas are issued to people who have completed the Santiago pilgrimage. (Extract from my fieldwork diary, November 2007)
Introduction
This chapter is based on my fieldwork in Spain during the years 2003–2008. I have walked the Camino de Santiago four times: in June–July 2003, November–December 2004, May 2005 and April 2008. In October 2008, I spent two weeks working as a hospitalera (voluntary hostess) in a pilgrims' refuge in Granyon, Spain. The languages I used for talking to pilgrims or interviewing them were Spanish, English and Estonian.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Vernacular Religion in Everyday LifeExpressions of Belief, pp. 301 - 327Publisher: Acumen PublishingPrint publication year: 2012