Echoes from Kerizinen: pilgrimage, narrative, and the construction of sacred history at a Marian shrine in northwestern France
Author: Badone, Ellen
Source: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Volume 13, Number 2, June 2007 , pp. 453-470(18)
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
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Abstract:
Drawing upon theoretical perspectives developed by Coleman and Elsner, this article contributes to the anthropological understanding of pilgrimage by presenting and interpreting oral narratives and published texts about Kerizinen, a Marian apparition shrine in Brittany, France. Since the Kerizinen apparitions have never been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, pilgrims and shrine promoters construct a corpus of narrative evidence that serves for them to validate the shrine's authenticity, despite the ambivalence and opposition of the institutional Church. Following William A. Christian, Jr, I show how the construction of sacred history at Kerizinen involves a process of selective editing privileging certain types of narratives and narrators.Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9655.2007.00436.x
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