MANIFESTO -Section
3: Tourism and Pilgrimage
The explosion
of the leisure culture on the Camino de Santiago has multiplied the problems
already present on the principal routes: the overbuilding, vulgarity, and loss
of the unique spirit and values historically associated with the Jacobean Way.
Public administrations are to blame for their disingenuous campaigns designed
to sell the camino as a “tourism product.”
1.
“The explosion
of the leisure culture on the Camino de Santiago..”
What does ‘leisure culture’ mean?
Even a Google search didn’t come up with a
definition of those two words used together.
Do they mean tourists?
Or, tourist-pilgrims?
Surely those people who
visit the places on the Camino as Religious or Cultural tourists (as pilgrims do
to Fatima, Lourdes, Rome or the Holy Land) can’t really be the cause of “vulgarity and the loss of the unique spirit
and values historically associated with the Jacobean Way.”
(Photos from Wikipedia)
Do they mean pilgrims or people who walk the Camino but
don’t stay in albergues or carry backpacks?
That is what I have done for the past 4 years and there is nothing leisurely about walking a Camino! Even if you stay in hotels and have your
luggage transported between towns you still have to walk the same rocky paths,
in the wind, sun or rain and eat pilgrim food like all the other people on the
trail. You risk the same blisters,
tendonitis, shin-splints and muscle cramps.
Do they mean people who take groups of pilgrims on the Camino? If you've never walked in those shoes you have no idea how challenging that can be! There have always been 'tour groups' of pilgrims from the first Confraternities to the Knights of Santiago who appointed dozens of people from other countries as official pilgrims guides. (Like Saint Bona of Pisa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_of_Pisa )
As far as the Roman Catholic
Church is concerned anyone who arrives at the tomb of St James in reverence and
prayer is a pilgrim. The way they get there
is irrelevant. The cathedral recorded 12 million pilgrims in 2010. This is the total number of people who entererd
the cathedral during the year for religious reasons. The cathedral
uses three traditional methods for
counting:
- The number of those who go through the Holy Door on
the east side of the Cathedral
- The number of devotional cards issued to anyone who puts
a donation in the alms box receives a card.
- The number of donated communions during the Holy Mass
in the Cathedral.
Walking/cycling pilgrims made up only 2% of pilgrims
in 2010 according to the numbers who received a Compostela. I wonder how many of those were considered ’pilgrims‘
using the above criteria?
2. “ .... and loss of the unique spirit and
values historically associated with the Jacobean Way”
Really? I really have a problem with this
statement!
The Jacobean Way was never sacrosanct. It attracted much more than just pious, holy and
saintly pilgrims. Anyone who has read
the Liber Sancti Jacobi or any other medieval pilgrim stories will be all too familiar
with tales of false pilgrims, thieves, bandits, murderers, vagabonds, heretics,
criminal penitents and the vain! The
medieval Jacobean Way and medieval pilgrims are not shining examples for 21st century
pilgrims.
“What was even worse was the
deplorable state of affairs encountered on the pilgrim routes themselves. Pilgrims
by choice or by constraint met up with swarms of unemployed or seasonally
employed vagabonds and a veritable horde of beggars. It became ever more
difficult to distinguish between the motives of pilgrims on the road.
In 1523
the city council of Bern, which lay on the pilgrim route from Einsiedeln to
France decided, to direct away all beggars, be they from the country, returning
from the wars or pilgrims on the road to St. James, pedlars, heathens... and
such like and not to house them or give them shelter.
Local by-laws throughout
Europe, eg in Douai, in Compostela itself (1503) or in Tyrol province in 1532 reflected
the same tendency.”
Imagine that, pilgrims not being offered shelter, even in Compostela!
What
about the service providers along the Way?
I doubt our private albergue owners are anything as bad as the swindling inn keepers, toll road cheats, murderous
tavern owners, false priests, prostitutes, horny young ladies who provided the
basis for a legend about chickens miraculously come back to life. Touts that met pilgrims on the road selling trinkets and souvenirs or trying to con the pilgrims into paying for rooms in already overcrowded inns. And the beggars who walked the Camino on behalf
of the penitential pilgrims.
“Such ‘peregrinatio poenaliter causa’ did as
little to enhance the dignity of pilgrims as did the ‘peregrinatio delegata’
which led to beggars making a living out
of accomplishing pilgrimages of penitence in others' stead. (Haebler).
And it wasn't just the poor or mendicant pilgrims who didn't behave. Robert Plotz describes some of the accounts of the many
‘noble pilgrims’ - those on horseback with retinues:
The Saxon Duke Henry, later called
Henry the Devout, was certainly not attending to his religious needs on his
journey to Santiago, for two of his companions reported that, "gourmandising was
our best prayer and indulgence on such a
journey."
And how are we to judge or condemn the pilgrim who artlessly
tells us how to say "pretty maid, come sleep with me" in the Basque language (A
von Harff).
Another new type of pilgrim was the prosperous patricians ... for whom a pilgrimage to Compostela took its place in a
journey of information and instruction, a journey on which it was not uncommon
to look after business interests too, as did Nicolas Rummel of Nuremberg in
1408/09.”
The ‘Camino’ today (and the person who walks it) is
probably more pure, more honest, and the path more sanctified than it has ever been. There are very few bandits, criminals or
murderers lying in wait for unsuspecting pilgrims. Some restaurants or hotels might overcharge but you don't ever feel that your life is in danger when you stay there!
The great majority of today’s pilgrims – and tourogrinos
– are not prompted by a multitude of sins to walk to Santiago. What’s more,
they don’t walk in expectation of rewards as did their medieval counterparts. Many of us have to take at least 4 flights, over 24 hours, at great expense, just to get to Spain and start walking. And then we do it all over again to get back home. Surely this makes us even more admirable - all that effort and suffering for no reward!
Many people today say that ‘the journey is what is
important’ not the destination. For the
medieval pilgrim, the journey was a long and dangerous slog (or a long holiday away from the
drudgery of home!) but the thought of not reaching the destination and the expected
rewards that awaited them, was unthinkable.
3. Public administrations
are to blame for their disingenuous campaigns designed to sell the camino as a
“tourism product.”
Are they? The first ‘European
Cultural Route’ has always been marketed as a tourism product. Right from the outset the Council of Europe
was quite clear that their work was not aimed only at pilgrims but at tourism too.
At the opening
of the 1988 Bamberg Congress on the Santiago de Compostela Cultural Route, the
address read out for the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe, Mr Marcelino Oreja, made it clear that this route
was not chosen just to bring pilgrims back, but for cultural purposes too.
“The underlying purpose of the
process initiated by the Council of Europe: to
bring out the historical and cultural contribution made by this pilgrimage
movement to the forging of the European cultural identity. The set of principles and values
which represent a heritage common to European nations whatever their
geographical location, whether or not these routes pass through them. For
this reason, our work is aimed not only at the pilgrims, who are guided by
spiritual motives, but also at those expressing cultural practices peculiar to
our own age and society.
As we have pointed out on several
occasions, and I should like to do so once again today, the purpose of our work is not merely to revive the Santiago de
Compostela pilgrim routes for nostalgic, erudite or archaeological reasons, but
also to project them into the future.”
[I stressed words in bold]
Loci Iacobi, a European Union project, aims to develop the pilgrims’ trails of Saint James as a European tourism product and to consolidate it as the first European Cultural Itinerary through the creation and promotion of new tourism contents of high add-value for tourists (and other tourism stakeholders) and through the introduction of the new technologies of information and communication in their consumption" http://www.saintjamesway.eu//chemins-de-compostelle/loci-iacobi-dr37.html
The pilgrimage road to Santiago has always brought riches and power, especially to Compostela.
"Indeed, for many
centuries, it would seem that the chief purpose of St. James was to draw the
sin-smitten and disease-afflicted people of Christendom to this distant and
secluded part of the world, solely for their spiritual or physical good. Other
benefits followed. The constant and increasing flow of pilgrims enriched
Compostella, added power and dignity to its rulers, and helped Spain to gain that
position in Europe which for no mean length of time made her mighty among the
nations."
Rev James Stone - The Cult of Santiago 1927
Is marketing the
Camino as a tourism project such a bad thing?
This is like the tail wagging the dog!
I believe that marketing the Santiago de
Compostela route to cultural and religious tourists came first, with walking
pilgrims following afterwards. (Not the
other way around)
Remember that for almost 400 years the pilgrimage routes were forgotten,
relics of the past.
Less than 150 years ago, in the Holy Year of 1867, just 40 pilgrims turned up
to celebrate the saint's feast day mass on the 25th July.
The late Don Jaime of the Pilgrims Office found an
old record book kept by his predecessor which showed that 37 pilgrims received
the Compostela in 1967.
“In
the 1970’s there survived only a remote memory of the Jacobean pilgrimage” wrote
Don Elias Valiña Sampedro (father of the modern Camino). But, he also predicted the invasion!
One day in 1982, with fears of terrorism rife, the sight of
yellow arrows painted on trees along a Pyrenean road aroused the suspicion of
the Guardia Civil. Following the trail, they came upon a battered white van. A
small, smiling man got out. When prompted, he opened the van's back doors to
reveal tins of bright yellow paint and a wet paintbrush.
"Identification!" barked the Guardia.
"I'm Don Elías Valiña Sampedro, parish priest of O Cebreiro in
Galicia."
"And what are you doing with all this?"
"Preparing a great invasion…"
(Johnnie Walker’s blog)
Santiago de Compostela tourism:
In a previous post I mentioned the road map of the
five road routes that lead tourists and tourist-pilgrims, by road, to Santiago which
were published for the 1954 Holy Year. A
concertina style credential was issued, with blank squares so that travelers could obtain a stamp at the places they
stopped at along the road and earn a diploma when they arrived in Santiago. This was clearly aimed at people travelling
by motor vehicle and not the foot pilgrims (if there were any.)
In
1971 a book was published by the Ministerio de Informacion y Turismo entitled "Santiago
en Espana, Europa y America" (still available on Amazon and ebay.es)
Robert Plotz writes:
“It describes itself as ‘como una
afirmacion del ser historico de Espana’ (as an affirmation of the historical
essence of Spain) and also as an invitation ‘a los peregrinos de nuestra epoca que
son los turistas ... porque el turismo es una forma moderna de peregrinar’ (to
tourists, who are the pilgrims of our age ... because tourism is a modern form
of pilgrimage).
Despite
its absurdity, the questionable attempt to unite the pilgrim tradition and
modern mass tourism, it brought Compostela again to mind as a holy place.
In
the Ano Santo 1965, two million visitors were said to have come and in 1982 the
official figure was around six million. These numbers certainly included many
pilgrims. Compostela did not merely gain
tourists but pilgrims, who came in ever greater numbers and increasingly in the spirit of
pilgrims in the medieval meaning of the term.”
(Does'nt this tell us that the tourists came first and then the pilgrims followed?)
The road itself (which was arbitrarily decided upon
1984-1987) is not a holy or sacred path. As a World Heritage site it must be preserved but why should it
be protected from tourists? There are numerous
monuments, churches, bridges, cathedrals, hospitals along the way, many of them
cultural and religious attractions which were awarded World Heritage status years before the 'Camino'. Most of them charge tourists (and pilgrims)
entrance fees. They are all vigorously
promoted to attract tourists – and why not.
How do they propose to stop or monitor websites like this one?
Spain has so much to offer when it comes to
"religious tourism". A few suggestions: follow the Way of Saint James
on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela; live the intense Easter Week
celebrations; take part in the El Rocío pilgrimage; visit important monasteries
and cathedrals, or achieve the "jubilee" (a kind of blessing granted
for carrying out certain rites in Santiago).
All while you discover some of
Spain's most relevant monuments. The
holy city of Santiago. Santiago de Compostela, in
northwestern Spain, is the main destination for religious tourism in Spain and
marks the end of the Way of Saint James. Visiting its old
town, which has the UNESCO World Heritage designation, and the route
of the Way of Saint James, are unique experiences.
The First International
Congress on Tourism and Pilgrimages took place in Santiago de Compostela, on
17-20 September 2014.
The aims were to highlight
the positive contributions of pilgrimages and spiritual routes to sustainable
and responsible tourism, as well as the contribution of tourism to cultural
understanding and the preservation of natural and cultural heritage related to
ancient trails and sacred places. (Full program link at the end of the post).
(Note especially, the reference to ‘spiritual routes’. Spiritual Tourism is the new big thing in tourism.)
“The
Secretary of State for Tourism of Spain, Isabel Borrego, recalled that “the
city of Santiago de Compostela is a reference for religious tourism in Spain.
To visit its historic centre, a UNESCO Heritage Site, and walk the Santiago
path are unique experiences. Spain has much to offer in terms of religious
tourism”: Santiago, intense pilgrimages and religious celebrations, important
monasteries and cathedrals and many religious festivities of great interest.”
At the end of the Congress the “Declaration of
Santiago de Compostela on Tourism and Pilgrimages” was read by Marina
Diotallevi, Programme Manager, Ethics and Social Responsibility Programme,
UNWTO (Link at the end of this post)
The 5th (and last) proposal was about
developing spiritual tourism in a sustainable manner:
“To
encourage new
initiatives and the creation of international networks that foster the exchange
of experiences at the level of research, training of tourism professionals,
promotion, marketing and the management of pilgrimage routes and sites, that
engage faith groups and local communities as equal partners in developing
spiritual tourism in a sustainable manner.”
(".... faith groups and local communities?" Why were the local guardians of the Camino - AMIGIOS and FICS - not represented at this Congress?)
MANIFESTO: We agree and propose:
1. Reorient institutional touristic campaigns to
build respect for traditional pilgrimage values.
This should also include non-institutional campaigns
like the travel and tourist agencies.
2. Urge associations, confraternities and
camino-related organizations to better explain camino values and behavior to
new pilgrims.
At our workshops we give all future pilgrims a
handout which includes a list of pilgrim and albergue etiquette. In my planning guide ‘Your Camino’ I included
four pages on do’s and don’ts.
3. Initiate rigorous inspection of all services
directed at pilgrims.
This is a bit vague – what does it mean, which
services – and who will the inspectors be?
4. Support
and organize programs to open and secure the churches, hermitages and monuments
along the pilgrim paths.
Totally agree but hardly possible for churches if
you have a circuit priest who is only in certain villages on certain days. I don’t recall ever seeing a hermitage on any
of the Camino routes I’ve walked. (Maybe
I just didn’t recognize the dwellings as such!)
By monuments, do they mean cathedrals, hospices,
churches etc?
Perhaps by marketing the pilgrimage as a cultural,
spiritual and religious destination for tourists and pilgrims, the Camino might
one day change the world!
Ben Bowler - Founder World Weavers, Monk
for a Month, Interfaith Express & Blood Foundation recently published this
article on ‘Spiritual Tourism’.
“Long-time travel industry observer and journalist Mr. Imtiaz Muqbil gave
an interesting overview of a tourism industry in transition - moving from what
he called the three "S"s of the old tourism - Sun, Sand and Sex towards what he sees as the emerging three
"S"s in the new tourism being Serenity, Sustainability and Spirituality.
If this evolution of values in tourism gains traction and is ongoing then
there are some serious implications. Considering that tourism is the largest
service industry on the planet employing 260 million people, responsible for 9%
or the worlds GDP and now having passed the 1 billion mark in arrivals each
year, it is not hard to see that even small movements of the needle measuring travelers’
motivations and values can have a big impact on our world.
In an age of soulless materialism and endless consumption, taking time out
to explore the depths of the world's wisdom traditions is probably a good idea.
Such "spiritual vacations" may well be a catalyst that brings greater
enlightenment to the individual, increased understanding between different
cultures and may even help to foster an emerging spiritual renaissance.”
For a biography of the speakers:
https://www.academia.edu/6325011/INTERNATIONAL_CONFERENCE_ON_SPIRITUAL_TOURISM_FOR_SUSTAINABLE_DEVELOPMENT_Biographies_and_Position_Statements_of_the_Conference_Speakers
Declaration:
