Muslim and Catholic pilgrimage practices: explorations through Java

Abstract

Employing a comparative theological and phenomenological analysis, this book reveals the deeper religio-cultural and theological import of pilgrimage practice in the identity formation and interaction among Muslims and Catholics in south central Java. In a wider context, it also sheds light on the larger dynamics of the complex encounter between Islam, Christianity and local cultures.

Contents

Introduction : pilgrimage, hybridity, and identity making -- Javano-Muslim case. Formation of Javano-Islamic identity : saints, shrines, and sacred history -- Muslim self and Hindu-Javanese other : spatial, architectural, and ritual symbolisms -- The richness of pilgrimage experience : devotion, memory, and blessings -- Javano-Catholic case. Identity as memory : sacred space and the formation of Javano-Catholic identity -- The trace of the other in the Javano-Catholic identity -- Immersed in the web of blessings and communion -- Comparative perspective. A double visiting : comparative insights on Muslim and Catholic pilgrimage practices in Java -- Conclusion : going home and setting off again.