Shrine Politics and Non-Institutional Religiosity

The Mrtvalj spring is an integral part of a more complex sacred landscape, the center of which is the Shrine of St. John the Baptist located in Podmilačje near Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The shrine is a multi-confessional pilgrimage destination that is also very popular within the wider region. The Mrtvalj spring is one of the key stops in pilgrimage itineraries, but it is not only a sacred place within pilgrimage practices. In this paper the conceptualization of the Mrtvalj spring’s sacredness is examined as a reflection of the relationship between the religious and the political. The author analyzes the relationship between the shrine’s politics, which are based on the ideas of a “Bosnian Lourdes” and a shared shrine, and the spring as a focal point for the shared non-institutional practices of believers of various religious affiliations. She aims to show that a shared sacred site does not necessarily have to be controversial, and calls for a revalorization of non-institutional religiosity, which has proved to be a rich phenomenon for the study of interreligious relations

Papakū Makawalu and grounded theory: a combined and collective analysis for Hawai’i land stewardship—Honuaiākea

Kia’i (protectors) opposed to the building of a Thirty Meter Telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea, a profoundly sacred site and ecologically vital one, impeded its construction to date. The sanctity of Mauna Kea and its implications for Hawai’i’s sovereignty and land ownership are central to the struggle, yet what are the Indigenous ecological laws of Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) that ground opposition to the Thirty Meter Telescope? To construct a land stewardship policy, the Edith Kanaka’ole Foundation leadership bridged Papakū Makawalu, a Kanaka Maoli methodology, with grounded theory. Edith Kanaka’ole Foundation leaders organized a series of events where experts collectively and individually merged the two methods to analyse chants. Our article presents a discussion of (a) the struggles over land use on Mauna Kea, (b) the processes for merging methodological traditions, and (c) reflections on Kīho’iho Kānāwai (restoring Kānāwai for Island Stewardship), the final document of Honuaiākea (Earth in Expanse).

Legends, Inspirations and Space: Landscape Sacralization of the Sacred Site Mount Putuo

Mount Putuo in Zhejiang Province, China, is the most important holy land of Guanyin in East Asia. Landscape sacralization is a key modality by which sacred meaning is constructed. This paper takes several examples—the Tidal Sound Cave (“chaoyin dong” 潮音洞), the Well of the Immortal Mei (“Meixian jing” 梅仙井), the Well of Ge Hong (“Ge Hong jing” 葛洪井), the Well of the Immortal (“xianren jing” 仙人井), and Duangu Pier (“Duan Gu daotou” 短姑道頭)—to analyze the three types of processes of sacralization. The Tidal Sound Cave is a re-construction of the founding myths; Well of the Immortal Mei, the Well of Ge Hong and the Well of the Immortal reflect harmony between local legends of Daoist immortals and the sacred Buddhist site; and the Duangu Pier accomplished its sanctification process in the course of local pilgrimage activities. By sorting out the mechanism and process of landscape sanctification and exploring the generation and renewal of landscape meaning, we can observe the logic of the construction of this sacred site.

An interpretation of Cueva de la Huachizca, Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan, Mexico

Cueva de la Huachizca is located in the humid forests of the Municipio of Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán. During the Postclassic period (1300−1520 ad), Santa Clara del Cobre was a part of the Tarascan Señorio. Ethnographic accounts describe the use of Cueva de la Huachizca as a place of refuge during the Cristero Rebellion (1921−1926). Recent investigations suggest a long history of use including graffiti and inscriptions from the 1800s–1900s and a rock art panel. The panel consists of pecked petroglyphs depicting a man facing an eagle, above a spiral motif. Stylistic analysis of the panel suggests that the rock art was created during pre-Hispanic times, likely by the Postclassic Tarascans. As observed in several regions of Mesoamerica, for the Tarascans, caves were also liminal spaces and had an important role in Postclassic Tarascan cosmology. A ceramic resinera, a pine resin pot, an eagle’s feather, and charcoal were also recovered. The resinera age was estimated by researchers at Archaeomagnetic Services, Geophysics Institute at the National Autonomous University of México-Campus Morelia, Michoacán to between 1921 and 1980. Ethnographic and ethnohistoric accounts describe caves as houses of fertility and rain deities, an idea that while slightly transformed, has survived over 500 years of colonization, and remains in the communities’ social memories. These findings demonstrate the cave’s significance among the descendent communities and Cueva de la Huachizca as an important sacred site.

(Re)mapping Akikodjiwan: Spatial Logics of Dispossession in the Settler-Colonial City

This article examines the socio-spatial reproduction of settler-colonial urbanism at a contested site of urban development in Canada’s capital city. Akikodjiwan is an Algonquin sacred site on the Ottawa River (Kichi Sibi) and the location of a large-scale private real estate development project. Using the Access to Information Act, this article demonstrates how the Canadian government—led by the National Capital Commission—orchestrated a land transfer to the developers amid long-standing calls by the Algonquins to have the land returned. This article contributes to understandings of the positioning of the settler city at the center of the spatial logic of coloniality in Canada, as a site of the deployment of socio-spatial strategies of settler-colonial governance and property relations, but also as a site of Indigenous resistance. Transpiring in a purported climate of reconciliation, the remapping of Akikodjiwan demonstrates the ongoing spatial implications and role of place making in settler-colonial city making, where racialized logics and regimes of private property are mobilized in an attempt to dispossess and exclude Indigenous peoples from their lands, alongside the simultaneous transfer of thousands of settlers onto an Algonquin sacred site.

The Conflict between Preserving a ‘Sacred Natural Site’ and Exploiting Nature for Commercial Gain: Evidence from Phiphidi Waterfall in South Africa

Over the years, the Phiphidi sacred natural site has been protected by traditional methods or cultural codes. However, over the past three decades, anthropogenic pressures have affected the site. This study aimed to investigate the historical uses of the Phiphidi sacred natural site and contemporary anthropogenic threats to the area, and the implications on the sustainability of the area. The data supporting this study were collected between June 2018 and May 2021, during which (i) interviews, (ii) observations and (iii) documents were used as the main techniques of data collection. Non-probabilistic purposive (also known as judgemental) sampling was used to select respondents including the custodians of the Phiphidi sacred natural site, officials working at Phiphidi Waterfall, representatives of the Dzomo La Mupo committee and local communities. The data obtained from interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis. Field observations helped in validating the data that were collected through interviews. The study showed that although the sacred site was historically a ‘no go area’ and was used to connect with ancestors and perform rituals, contemporary anthropogenic threats affecting the Phiphidi sacred site include weak property right systems and tourism infrastructure development that has led to land-use conflicts that have been driven by vested interests. The contemporary practices not only undermine the Vhavenda culture but also have negative implications for the biodiversity of the area. In addition, the current practices undermine the founding principles of the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa; these embrace culture, religion and the country’s environmental laws. While passion to save the sacred sites by custodians and local communities is still alive, government support is weak and, as a result, there are fears that other sacred sites in the region may also be targeted for tourism purposes. Several suggestions are made that, if implemented, could help to protect the remaining sacred natural sites.

The Peach Blossom Spring’s Long History as a Sacred Site in Northern Hunan

Though long seen uniquely from the perspective of the Chinese literary canon, Tao Qian’s 陶潛 (365?–427) famous “Record of the Peach Blossom Spring” (“Taohuayuan ji” 桃花源記) may find an even more fruitful disciplinary home in religious studies. The story refers itself to a grotto at Wuling 武陵 (present-day northern Hunan province), a site that has been associated with Daoist transcendents (shenxian 神仙) at least since the middle of the sixth century. A Daoist monastery on that same site, the Peach Spring Abbey (Taoyuan guan 桃源觀) or Peach Blossom Abbey (Taohua guan 桃花觀), became officially recognized in 748 and received imperial support not long after. This article studies the long history of Peach Spring as a sacred site, or, as Tao Qian referred to it in his poem, a “divine realm” (shenjie 神界).

Spiritual Legitimacy in Contemporary Japan: A Case Study of the Power Spot Phenomenon and the Haruna Shrine, Gunma

Since the 2000s, Japanese internet media as well as mass media, including magazines, television and newspapers, have promoted the concept of a “power spot” as part of the spirituality movement in the country. This emerging social environment for the power spot phenomenon has developed a new form of religiosity, which can be called “spiritual legitimacy,” according to the transformation of religious legitimacy embedded in Japanese society. This paper, therefore, examined the emergence of a new form of spiritual legitimacy utilizing a case study of the power spot phenomenon in the Haruna Shrine, Gunma Prefecture, in Japan. The development of the power spot phenomenon in the Haruna Shrine indicates that consumption of spiritual narratives has strongly promoted the construction of a social context of spiritual legitimacy, such as through shared images and symbols related to the narratives in the sacred site. As a result, this paper clarifies that this new form of spiritual legitimacy embodies stakeholders’ social consensus on spiritual narratives, which people have struggled to construct a social context for spiritual legitimacy to ensure hot authentication of their individual narratives and experiences.

BARROWS OF THE SROSTKI CULTURE OF THE FOREST-STEPPE ALTAI WITH A WOODEN FRAME

The article considers a series of seven burial grounds in nine mounds of which around the graves of people, structures of four low walls were installed. They were constructed from single logs, beams or planks forming a square, rectangle or trapezoid. These sites were found on the territory of the Priobsky plateau and the Biysko-Chumysh elevation. The article provides information about the size of the mounds and frames, the location of the frames relative to the graves, the dating and cultural affiliation of the sites in which they were found. Taking into account these data, two types of wooden structures are distinguished: frames-fences and frames-overlap. The fences were used by the Samoyed part of the population of the Srostki culture in the second half of the 9th - first half of the 11th centuries to mark out the sacred site around the central, most significant burial in the mound. Frames with overlaps were a kind of tombstone structure. They were used in the area of the Srostki culture in the second half of the 10th -12th centuries and appeared as a result of contacts with the population of the Middle Irtysh region and Baraba. Keywords: early and advanced Middle Ages, Srostki culture, barrow, burial, frame, fence, overlap