Exhibitions

Fuji Seen Through the Mannen Bridge at Fukagawa

Hokusai "36 Views of Mt. Fuji"

Wikimedia Commons

As often happens in Spring, there are numerous special exhibitions at various art, science, and history museums, and for my interests this Spring brings a surfeit. Among the many choices, there are three shows closely related to pilgrimage topics. In Washington, DC a 'Japan Spring' is being celebrated, the centenary of the planting of the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin, and there are must see exhibits in two museums on the Mall for anyone who is a lover of things Japanese or with an interest in Japanese pilgrimages. At the Freer-Sackler there is a display of Hokusai's "36 Views of Mt. Fuji", original strikings of the famous colored woodblock pints of Mt. Fuji, itself a pre-eminent pilgrimage destination, and several of the scenes are along the Kansai pilgrimage route, the oldest and most popular in Japan visiting the 33 temples in the region southwest of Tokyo.

Hokusai's images of Mt. Fuji, including the great wave, probably the best known of all Japanese images, are often seen and reproduced. Not so the scrolls containing images of Japanese nature included in the National Gallery of Art's exhibit of bird and flower paintings by Itō Jakuchū.  These images, owned by the Japanese Imperial Household Agency, are rarely seen but are truly stunning. In a normal year they are on public view for a single day, and pilgrimages are organized to view them on that date. The National Gallery exhibit is only a month long and will close 29 April, so they are worth a rush visit.

The exhibit I would most like to see is at the British Museum in London, Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam. Alas, it is unlikely I will be in London between now and Sunday, and in any case all advance tickets are sold out. After reading a review of the exhibit in the most recent issue of the New York Review of Books, I almost booked a trip to London in order to see an extensive collection of materials on the world's largest pilgrimage. I shall have to be content reading the catalogue of the exhibit.

Hajj 1431 ( November 2010 in the Western Calendar)

Grand Mosque, Mecca 2010 Hajj

Source: Chiru Fans Site, India

The 2010 Hajj saw a peak of nearly 3 million pilgrims in Medinah and Mecca over the period 14-18 November, and it passed without major problems. Torrential rainstorms near the end of the Hajj made for slippery conditions, but otherwise the weather was cooperative, and there were no problems of terrorism, no stampedes or other events which have marred pilgrimages in past years.

Meanwhile the Saudi government is remaking Mecca with the eventual goal of allowing 5 times as many pilgrims to make the Hajj annually. Much redevelopment of the core of the city has already occurred, but it mostly provides luxury accommodations for the rich. Poorer pilgrims making the required visit to the sacred city have not fared so well. The Pakistani government has arrested the official in the Ministry of Religious Affairs responsible for Hajj and there has been a call for the minister to step down after poor pilgrims were badly housed in Mecca. The charge is misappropriation of funds after housing in the Saudi city was unfinished and pilgrims stayed in places without adequate water and sanitation and no electricity. At nearly $3000 each charged by the Pakistani government for transportation and housing, poorer Pakistanis must save over many years to pay the cost of the pilgrimage.

An American company arranging for visas to Saudi Arabia for United States Muslims returned passports somewhat late, and those passports were, in turn, delayed by the customs service. The delay caused a number of pilgrims from northern Virginia to miss scheduled flights. The customs service was forced to pay for replacement flights in order to get those pilgrims to the international airport at Medinah on time to make Hajj. The Saudi goverment has been concerned with firms not meeting contractual obligations when providing services for pilgrims.

Pilgrimage in the 21st Century

Doorway, Abbey at Roncesvalles, Navarra, Spain EOP 1998

Last session we discussed the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. I forgot my power point and notes, so it was ad libbed for which I apologize.There were a few maps and other slides I think members of the course should see, so I shall begin with a brief presentation of those materials.

The bulk of the final session on 1 December will be devoted to an examination of problems related to pilgrimage in the current century. Those problems are numerous, for the ease of transportation and the rise in per capita incomes make it possible for many people to make long treks to distant shrines. The recently completed Hajj in Saudi Arabia has provided a number of examples of problems related to the gathering of huge numbers of people in a small area during a pilgrimage. There were unanticipated problems of weather as well as problems with epidemic disease and potential terrorism. In the Hajj just ended, the problems of epidemic disease were real enough, but thankfully problems of terrorism did not occur. Perhaps that was a consequence of good planning and preparation on the part of the Saudi authorities, or perhaps it was just a matter of luck.

I. Pilgrimage in the 21st Century.

A. Massive increase in the numbers of pilgrims

B. Greater ease of making the pilgrimage

1. Transportation

2. Safety

II. Pilgrimage and Tourism

III. Problems related to pilgrimage

A. Public health

B. Infrastructure

C. Terrorism

IV. Concluding comments

Hajj 1430 (2009 in the Western calendar)

Grand Mosque, Mecca (Wikipedia commons)

This is being written in the midst of the 1430 (2009) Hajj season, and perhaps as many as two million pilgrims have descended upon Mecca to fulfill their obligations as Muslims. The current Hajj presents the Saudi government with a number of severe challenges including medical, political, and meteorological ones.

In an earlier posting fears of a H1N1 (swine flu) problem were noted, and those fears have not proven unfounded. A number of pilgrims have arrived with signs of the disease, and there have been several deaths of pilgrims in Saudi Arabia attributed to it. Yesterday UPI.com (one of the many news sources now available online) posted a brief note on the problem H1N1 flu scare keeps hajj pilgrims away suggesting that local pilgrims, ones from the kingdom and nearby countries, are avoiding the pilgrimage this year. A number of postings on various other news sources covering the event say more or less that same thing. And, as always, the Saudi authorities are vigilant when screening Hajiis from Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan for signs of polio, a disease still endemic in parts of those countries though it has been largely eliminated in most other parts of the world. Like H1N1, polio is an infectious disease passed easily when many people are in close contact. Those diseases could spread rapidly in the crowded conditions of Mecca during Hajj.

Added comment 29 November "Saudi Official: 5 dead from Swine Flu at Hajj."

The political threat is more diffuse and even more difficult to patrol. A news report on BBC America last evening indicated that ten thousand or more Saudi police and military forces are on hand in the pilgrimage zone to protect the area, its shrines and the pilgrims. Political threats include long standing ones--the conflict between Sunni and Shiite groups and the potential activities of al qaeda. Those threats now also include an insurgency breeding on the doorstep of Saudia Arabia in the northern frontier zone of Yemen, an insurgency that could easily cross the border in that area of rugged terrain and perhaps spread as far as the edges of Mecca.

Finally the weather has proven a problem. While Mecca is in the Saudi desert and normally gets only 130 mm (less than 5 inches) of rain annually, when the occasional rains come they are often in the form of torrential downpours. Heavy rain can flood wadis and gullies, quickly making normally bone dry roads impassable and dangerous. In the past several days western Saudi Arabia has received torrential downpours and a number of people have died as a consequence.

Added comment 29 November: Islam's Hajj: Rain and Fear of Swine Flu; Death Toll From Floods in Saudi Reaches 106.

All of those challenges are amplified by the simple task of meeting the basic needs of a huge influx of people, many of them far from home. Yesterday CNN's website feature Inside the Middle East published a good overview of problems related to the Hajj this year, with H1N1 as the most critical single issue in its view. The BBC has a good, continually updated, feed on Hajj conditions at various places on its extensive website.

ALRI Session III: Pilgrimages in Non-Christian Areas

Mendicant pilgrims, Japan circa 1900.

From Stoddard, John. 1901. John Stoddard's Lectures.

Pilgrimage is widespread among the various world religions, and huge numbers of pilgrimages are made by adherents of Islam, Buddhism, Shinto, Hinduism and numerous other traditions. There are far more examples than one could name in a ninety minute session let alone outline and analyze, so in this session we shall look at a few examples, including perhaps the most important single pilgrimage in todays's world, the Hajj to Mecca, cases that illustrate some of the ideas about pilgrimage we have already introduced or will examine in later sessions.

I. Some general observations about pilgrimage in various religious traditions.

1. Brief review of Session II "Sacred Sites and spaces."

2. The varying importance of pilgrimage in different religious traditions.

a. Unknown component of traditions now lost (pre-Columbian Americas).

b. Pilgrimage as largely peripheral to a tradition (Jainism, Judiasm).

c. Important, but not a central tenet (Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto).

d. A central tenet of the faith (Islam and the Hajj).

3. Huge overall numbers of pilgrims, many millions annually.

II. Pre-Columbian (pre-contact) pilgrimages in the Americas.

1. Inca and pre-Inca pilgrimages to Lago Titicaca.

2. Aztec and pre-Aztec pilgrimages in Central Mexico.

3. Mayan pilgrimages in the Yucatan and Central America.

III. A few comments about Jewish pilgrimage.

IV. Hindu pilgrimages in India.

1. Varanasi (Benares).

2. Amarnath Yatra.

V. Japanese Buddhist and Shinto pilgrimages.

1. Tokaido.

2. Shikoku.

3. Fuji.

VI. Islamic pilgrimages.

1. Pilgrimage sites.

a. Mecca.

b. Medinah, and Jerusalem.

c. Shia pilgrimages.

d. Shrines of minor saints.

2. Pilgrimage as a central tenet of the religion.

a. The five pillars of Islam.

b. Goals of Hajj.

1. Spiritual.

2. Solidarity with other Muslims.

c. The Hajj.

1.The season of pilgrimage.

2. Preparation and attire.

3. Route and routine.

V. Concluding Observations.

1. Pilgrim identification - costumes and other symbols.

2. Seasons of pilgrimage.

3. Subsidiary activity generated by pilgrimages.

YouTube Videos on Pilgrimage Topics

YouTube and similar servers offer a wealth of interesting short videos on almost every conceivable topic, and some inconceivable ones as well. Pilgrimage topics are no exception, and listed below are the URLs for a few videos directly related to the topics of Session III of 717 Pilgrimage and Human Society, "Pilgrimages in non-Christian areas".

The Hajj (a few short ones, there are lots more!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v/=WCe4bOlBE1k&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzAJIXwc49A&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzAJIXwc49A&NR=1

Amarnath Yatra (again there are many more):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnwUjiMvKf0

Mt. Fuji (a short video from National Geographic)

Some notes on Hajj

Old Turkish Map of Mecca

As the Hajj approaches, late in November, there are serious fears of it becoming the nexus of an epidemic. Fears of the H1N1 virus are widespread, though the threat may be more apparent than real. Also feared, and with good reason, is polio. All but eradicated in much of the world, reservoirs of polio are still to be found in at least four countries sending large numbers of pilgrims on Hajj - Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Pilgrims coming from those countries for the ritual visit to Mecca will be dosed with an oral polio vaccine on arrival in order to keep the highly contagious disease from spreading during the Hajj the Science section of the New York Times reported Tuesday 29 September 2009.

This afternoon I read a fascinating article on attitude changes among Hajjis in Pakistan, one of the first social scientific studies I have encountered to examine pilgrimages using statistical techniques. In order to limit the number arriving each year, Saudi Arabia allots quotas of Hajj visas to each of the various countries with large Muslim populations. Pakistan gets about 150,00 such visas each year. About half go to specific groups - the army, the civil service, and tour operators - while the remainder are distributed by lottery. Using a sample of those entered in the lottery for visas to visit Mecca, the study compares attitudes of those who won visas and made the Hajj with those who were unsuccessful. It finds some significant attitudinal shifts. Instead of promoting militancy and reactionary attitudes, participation in the Hajj seems to foster a greater tolerance, including more relaxed attitudes toward the role of women. The article in the August 2009 (volume CXXIV #3, pp.1133-1170) issue of the Quarterly Journal of Economics is by David Clingsmith et al. and is titled "Estimating the Impact of the Hajj."I strongly recommend at least the beginning and final sections of the article. For non-social scientists to whom statistics are baffling, the middle part of the article could prove difficult.

Pilgrimage and the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Virus

Saint Roch, among other things patron saint of epidemics. Note that he is dressed in the garb of a pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela!

Yesterday I received a note from a news group on the Camino de Santiago about the dangers of the H1N1 virus (my wife is a physician with a specialty in public health, and she forbids my use of the term "swine flu" in favor of the more technically correct H1N1!) for pilgrims this autumn and winter. Fear of the virus is not an idle one, for Spain has one of the highest rates of infection and death among Northern Hemisphere countries. In the Southern Hemisphere where the winter flu season is just ending, Brasil, a major source of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, has the largest number of deaths attributable to H1N1 of any country where reliable records are kept. Fortunately pilgrimage to Santiago is mostly a summer phenomenon with the largest numbers during the warmer months, peaking on July 25 St. James Day. In consequence even if over the winter flu season the pilgrimage suffers from the potential pandemic, only a fairly small number of people will likely be struck with the illness. A daily general report on the situation and forecasts for Europe with data for much of the world is provided by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The Hajj is perhaps the largest gathering of pilgrims from many parts of the world into a single place over a short time period. The 2009 pilgrimage is expected to be from 25-30 November, well into the Northern Hemisphere flu season. While most government officials in Saudi Arabia are dismissing the dangers of a pandemic, health authorities in the various other countries sending pilgrims to Mecca have expressed great concern about the dangers of the H1N1 virus. Egypt has even considered a ban on its nationals making the trip to Medina and Mecca. In Saudi Arabia religious officials have warned about the disease, and at least one cleric has issued a fatwa against people carrying the disease making the Hajj.

Elsewhere I have not found many reports of linkages between pilgrimages other than the Hajj and the virus. India, a country with numerous pilgrimages involving large numbers of people, is greatly concerned with the spread of the disease, but I was unable to locate any materials in a western European language on its linkage to pilgrimages other than the Hajj. China is taking particularly aggressive measures to control the spread of the virus, limiting pilgrimages of its Muslim citizens to Mecca and imposing quarantine on visitors to China suspected of carrying the virus. Meanwhile Iran claims that half of all its cases of H1N1 are pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia.

The concern about the spread of H1N1 is important, for the virus could create a demographic disaster given its tendency to strike young adults, especially pregnant women. Pilgrimages have been important in the spread of disease for at least as long as epidemiologists are able to trace records. The ease of travel and the dispersed origins of pilgrims to major sites like Mecca or Santiago mean an epidemic can quickly spread from a local site to much of the world. I will write more about this later if conditions suggest updates.