Pilgrimages
are strong at heart but weak physically, Turner talks about how: “Pilgrimage
systems are peculiarly vulnerable in that they do not have their own means to
defend themselves by force.” This simply means that while taking part in a
pilgrimage, there is no guarantee of safety or protection. This journey tests
the pilgrim’s ability to survive and push through the hardships that are thrown
at them. It shows how willing the pilgrim is to risk his life to finish the
task. However the pilgrim is usually not alone in this endeavor. This is their
biggest advantage, the perseverance. The sheer amount of people taking part in
the pilgrimage will influence each one of them to keep pushing on. The fact
that the amount of people sharing this experience is so monumental, cajoles the
weaker pilgrims to strive on and reach for the sky. Completing this journey is so
significant to the pilgrim that they have to wait until they are of age,
usually the age accustomed with manhood, to start the pilgrimage. The journey
is perilous and full of drudgery, this weeds out the weak, to where only the
strongest prevail and move on in the culture. Pilgrimage also brings out the
inner being of human, brings out the soul. “Pilgrimage provides a carefully
structured, highly valued route to a liminal world where the ideal is felt to
be real, where the tainted social persona may be cleansed and renewed” (Turner
p.30). Opening up on a pilgrimage, is said to be good for one’s self. People
say that in order to achieve that, you must have an abundance of moxie, courage
or whatever you would like to call it, in order to push through the trial that
is a pilgrimage.
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