Pilgrimage; temporary gatherings; archaeological visibility; intangible heritage; South Asia
摘要
South Asia is home to many of the world’s major religions, and over a century of archaeological enquiry has documented the sites associated with these traditions. Although textual scholarship, augmented by art historical and architectural studies of durable remains, has dominated interpretations, recent archaeological studies have begun to redress this balance by contextualizing monuments within their landscapes and engaging with the varied roles that such monuments played in the past. Referencing ethnographic analogy and archaeological visibility of ritual practices, alongside analysis of archaeological and textual evidence, the authors explore the issues faced when identifying and interpreting temporary gatherings at these sites in the past with reference to pilgrimage. Utilizing a broad-spectrum approach through varying time-periods and traditions, they advance potential ways of bridging the gap between intangible practices and tangible evidence, revealing the role of settlements, religious sites and landscapes as routeways and assembly points for pilgrimages and processions.
目次
Abstract 347 Introduction 347 South Asian pilgrimage in context 348 Textual evidence for pilgrimage and temporary gatherings 349 Religious sites, markets and temporary gatherings 351 Impermanence and pilgrimage 353 Pilgrimage across the landscape 355 Gatherings and processions within urban forms 356 Temporary gatherings and the protection of heritage in the present 358 Acknowledgements 359 Funding 359 Notes on contributors 360 References 360
