Pilgrimage centers. Concentric and excentric

The theoretical exposition reexamines the fundamentals introduced by Victor and Edith Turner into the anthropological study of pilgrimage. Three concepts of their ritual process are identified: the pilgrims' stage of liminality; the pilgrimage centers, said to be typically excentric to socio-political centers; and the spirituality gained by pilgrims approaching the center. These concepts are then tested, by observing pilgrims at four types of Thai Buddhist shrines. The data indicate significant disparities with classic Turner examples, and link increased formality in ritual with concentric temples, and less formality with peripheral shrines. The pilgrim increasingly becomes more a tourist-pilgrim when the center is farther from home. If the religious center belongs to another religion, culture, or society, the individual is a traveler-tourist.