Pilgrimage Sites and Procession Rituals in the Hindu Diasporas

Abstract

Abstract This chapter analyses the establishment and presence of Hindu sites of pilgrimage (tīrthas) in the Hindu diasporas. It documents that the sacred geography of Hinduism is no longer limited to an Indian or a South and South East Asian sacred geography but encompasses the whole world. Hindus from South Asia who have migrated to the rest of the world have sacralized the landscapes where they have settled. The chapter suggests that making Hindu sacred sites is one of the ways traditions today identified as Hindu have been expanding historically in South Asia and now are expanding worldwide in the diasporas. The chapter suggests a typology of Hindu pilgrimage sites in the Hindu diasporas and presents significant examples of the different types.