Pilgrimage and Religion
Pilgrimage & Religion
Brooks returned to the theme of Pilgrimage throughout his career. His work centres on the annual trek made by the Bakhtiari between their summer and winter pastures and details the location and significance of the spiritual places passed on the way.
1. ‘Sacred Space and Sacred Place: pilgrimage in the Bakhtiari of Iran’ was delivered to the conference ‘Pilgrimage: The Human Quest’ held in Pittsburgh, 14-17th May 1981. Brooks describes some of the challenges of these journeys, as well how the Bakhtiari relate to their environment as a result. He also outlines the importance of some of the sacred or significant sites throughout Bakhtiari territory.
2. ‘Sacred Spaces and Potent Places in the Bakhtiari Mountains’ was written in 1991. A later shorter version of the document was included in ‘Tapper, R and Thompson, J (eds.) (2002) The Nomadic Peoples of Iran, Azimuth Editions Ltd, London’. Here Brooks gives an extensive catalogue of the shrines found on Bakhtiari migration routes, as well as the significance of stones in nomadic life.
▸ Read Brooks, D.H.M (1991) ‘Sacred Spaces and Potent Places in the Bakhtiari Mountains’ [pdf]
Further information on Pilgrimage can be found in the Dancing the World archive. Click here for direct access to the pdf file.