Anthropographic analysis of the perceptions and interactions of Arbaeen pilgrims with an emphasis on the concept of Liminality
Document Type : Scientific-Research Article
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Gonabad branch
2 Assistant Professor of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Law, Islamic Azad University of Mashhad
3 Assistant Professor of Quran and Hadith Sciences Department
Abstract
This research has been conducted with the aim of ethnographic analysis in the perceptions and interactions of the pilgrims of Abu Abdullah al-Hussein (peace be upon him) during the Arbaeen Pilgrimage, focusing on the theories of Geertz and van Jenep and the concept of liminality. Ethnographic method was used to understand the semantic layers of the participants and describe the studied phenomenon. The main tool of data collection has been collaborative observations during several years of travel as both a pilgrim and a researcher, along with semi-structured interviews. The results of the research confirmed the application of the theory of Vangenp and Geertz with Arbaeen pilgrimage. The coding of the interviews ended up in several important categories, the most important of which were long thinking and self-reflection. Also, the strongest type of influence has occurred for the participants through direct participation or indirectly through observing the behavior of others. Hope for a change in the barrier by appealing and enduring suffering on the way to empathy and reviving the name and beliefs of Imam Hussain (AS) was another important category. One of the main motivations for visiting this pilgrimage is to believe in and attend the most charismatic and utopian figure, Imam Hussein (a.s.), followed by Hazrat Zainab, Hazrat Abulfazl, and Hazrat Ali Asghar, among other important results of this research. Finally, it can be said that the most effective stage in this trip is the barrier stage that occurs during the walk, and all important events and developments occur in these fleeting and very short moments, although the participants may exhibit conflicting behaviors. In fact, in this pilgrimage, the path is more important than the destination, which happens to be more important when a person walks this path to achieve effective results.
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Main Subjects
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