La femminilizzazione della guarigione nel pellegrinaggio a Fátima

• This article discusses the meanings ascribed to the pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Fátima by mainly female Portuguese pilgrims. The article builds on ethnographic fieldwork in Vila Branca, a small pseudonymous town on the northwestern coast of Portugal. The author shows how women’s interpretation of the Fátima shrine is deeply embedded in local forms of Marian devotion, in particular the practice of making vows to Mary. It is argued that the vow can be understood as a healing ritual (carried out by both women and men) and that the predominance of female pilgrims at Fátima mirrors their responsibilities as mothers and housewives to secure the health and well-being of others. The article describes a typical, popular pilgrimage journey from Vila Branca to Fátima, undertaken by bus in a large group. The journey includes various elements of the typical Portuguese festa, as well as the ritual reenactment of Mary’s apparition in a farewell ceremony manifesting the materiality and visual aspects of popular religious experience. Furthermore, the author discusses the various tensions between orthodox and popular interpretations of Fátima, one of which centers around the belief in the materialization of divine power in the form of an ordinary woman.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Genusstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Gender Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Mariakult

feminisering

helande uppenbarelser

materialitet

genusvetenskap

Gender Studies

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)