Reminiscence Tours and Pilgrimage Sites

The concept of pilgrimage has recently received fresh attention in the social sciences. One reason for this stems from the fact that migrations, diasporas and similar movements are considered constitutive to the conceptualization and understanding of various contemporary social and cultural process...

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Main Author: Katja Uusihakala
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Suomen Antropologinen Seura (Finnish Anthropological Society) 2011-01-01
Series:Suomen Antropologi
Online Access:https://journal.fi/suomenantropologi/article/view/156832
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author Katja Uusihakala
author_facet Katja Uusihakala
author_sort Katja Uusihakala
collection DOAJ
description The concept of pilgrimage has recently received fresh attention in the social sciences. One reason for this stems from the fact that migrations, diasporas and similar movements are considered constitutive to the conceptualization and understanding of various contemporary social and cultural processes. The notion of pilgrimage seems to capture both the physical as well as the emotional aspects that such movements contain. This essay examines how members of the ex-Rhodesian diaspora community in South Africa ‘travel back’ to the past in the present in two ways: firstly by concrete heritage journeys to Zimbabwe on reminiscence tours and secondly by constructing memory sites and commemorative venues, where the journeys back to the ‘homeland’ take the form of imaginative travel. It considers how, and if, such constructions and movements related to commemorative practices may be thought of as pilgrimage given that the people themselves perceive, describe and frame such journeys in these terms. Keywords: Pilgrimage, commemorative journeys, social memory, diaspora, ex-Rhodesians in South Africa
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language English
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publisher Suomen Antropologinen Seura (Finnish Anthropological Society)
record_format Article
series Suomen Antropologi
spelling doaj-art-b924d56a49044636be426146cc9d173c2025-02-10T04:53:18ZengSuomen Antropologinen Seura (Finnish Anthropological Society)Suomen Antropologi1799-89722011-01-0136110.30676/jfas.156832Reminiscence Tours and Pilgrimage SitesKatja Uusihakala0University of Helsinki The concept of pilgrimage has recently received fresh attention in the social sciences. One reason for this stems from the fact that migrations, diasporas and similar movements are considered constitutive to the conceptualization and understanding of various contemporary social and cultural processes. The notion of pilgrimage seems to capture both the physical as well as the emotional aspects that such movements contain. This essay examines how members of the ex-Rhodesian diaspora community in South Africa ‘travel back’ to the past in the present in two ways: firstly by concrete heritage journeys to Zimbabwe on reminiscence tours and secondly by constructing memory sites and commemorative venues, where the journeys back to the ‘homeland’ take the form of imaginative travel. It considers how, and if, such constructions and movements related to commemorative practices may be thought of as pilgrimage given that the people themselves perceive, describe and frame such journeys in these terms. Keywords: Pilgrimage, commemorative journeys, social memory, diaspora, ex-Rhodesians in South Africa https://journal.fi/suomenantropologi/article/view/156832
spellingShingle Katja Uusihakala
Reminiscence Tours and Pilgrimage Sites
Suomen Antropologi
title Reminiscence Tours and Pilgrimage Sites
title_full Reminiscence Tours and Pilgrimage Sites
title_fullStr Reminiscence Tours and Pilgrimage Sites
title_full_unstemmed Reminiscence Tours and Pilgrimage Sites
title_short Reminiscence Tours and Pilgrimage Sites
title_sort reminiscence tours and pilgrimage sites
url https://journal.fi/suomenantropologi/article/view/156832
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