Martić, Zvonko.
(2016).
A pilgrimage site as a space of interreligious dialogue – the Marian shrine in Olovo.
PhD Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology.
(Poslijediplomski doktorski studij etnologije i kulturne antropologije)
[mentor Belaj, Marijana].
Abstract
The theme of this work is non-institutional interreligious dialogue in the Catholic
Marian shrine of the central Bosnian town of Olovo, shared by members of two religious
traditions, Catholic and Muslim. The premise of this work are theories about the sharing of
pilgrimage sites within the anthropology of pilgrimage and anthropology of religion,
subdisciplines of ethnology or cultural anthropology.
The work is based on the concept of an interreligious shrine and the inter-religious
dialogue that takes place inside it. Sharing a shrine implies that different ethnic communities
also share some common ideals. The common ideal of Catholics and Muslims in Olovo, as
well as the interreligious dialogue built on this ideal, is based on the shared assumption that
the sacred is located in a place (Belaj M.). In the Marian shrine the sacred is personalized in
the figure of Virgin Mary, named after the locality “Our Lady of Olovo”. Visitors to the
shrine, who approach it as a sacred place, come to it from different positions and bring into it
their own discourses. The sacred place is considered as a space which does not aspire to
unification, but can return a plurality of discourses, from which issues also its universality
(Eade and Sallnow).
The aim of this work was to show a Catholic pilgrimage site and a Muslim cultic site
as a unique sanctuary of long historical duration, whose uniqueness stems from its own
history, the position of its sacred locations and the specific Bosnian-Herzegovinian historical
context in which the interreligious dialogue takes place.
Ethnographic data was collected using the techniques of observation, participant
observation, and interview. Interviews are the backbone of the ethnographic part of this work.
They were conducted with three different groups: Catholic pilgrims, Muslims residents of
Olovo and religious officials (Catholic priests and the imam of Olovo).
Data analysis has confirmed that interreligious interactions in the Olovo shrine have a
long historical continuity and that the non-institutional interreligious dialogue is founded on
shared perceptions about the sacred, on devotional practices and on narratives by means of
which members of different religious traditions sanctify the same place. The dialogue is
carried over from the shrine to other areas of everyday life and is maintained in extraordinary
circumstances, such as war, as well.
Item Type: |
PhD Thesis
|
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Olovo, Our Lady, sacred place, interreligious dialogue, Catholics, Muslims |
Subjects: |
Ethnology and cultural anthropology |
Departments: |
Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology |
Supervisor: |
Belaj, Marijana |
Additional Information: |
Poslijediplomski doktorski studij etnologije i kulturne antropologije |
Date Deposited: |
13 Apr 2017 11:44 |
Last Modified: |
13 Apr 2017 11:44 |
URI: |
http://darhiv.ffzg.unizg.hr/id/eprint/8704 |
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