Torism, rituals and food - Essay Example

TOURISM, RITUALS AND FOOD Introduction Tourism is mostly positively related to rituals. Wherever there is a ritual, there are likely to be tourists. This is because rituals give tourists exactly what they are looking for - a deep cultural experience. Nevertheless, not all travel has such profound meaning. If the travel and the on-site experience is largely activity orientated, it could be the case that there is no chance for Arnold van Gennep's sacred 'away-ness' of those who travel from home. The typical package holiday could be an excellent example of a trip with limited, or no overt symbolic meaning (Burns, 1999). Food is life", says Robert Poor (2001). This adage came to life when I visited Delhi, a colorful city in the middle of an even colorful country, India. In this essay, I will talk about the ritual of Eid-ul-Adha, a ritual celebrated by Muslims for its religious values. The central, most remarkable attraction of Bari Eid (or the Big Eid) is food. The central, most remarkable purpose of it is to give away, share and sacrifice. Therefore, to see how Muslims sacrifice animals and give them away is what attracts tourism in Islamic countries at that time of the year. Meaning of Ritual Ritual. What is a ritual David Floyd defines it as a patterned, repetitive, and symbolic enactment of a cultural belief or value; its primary purpose is transformation (Grimes, 2002). Why do people perform these repetitive, almost ceremonial acts People perform them because tradition prescribes it. For example, on the day of Eid, every Muslim is expected and most of them even do sacrifice animals because of its history of performance. Meaning, they have been performed by their ancestors because of which, they now perform it. I think that a ritual always has a story behind it. This gives it its characteristic of 'symbolism'. This story is a story my grandfather fell for and a story his grandfather fell for. The point being, rituals carry on with generations and generations, one after the other. History is not only embodied in present ritual form, but also a ritual is an important producer of native historical consciousness and endows history with a particular kind of significance. (Sangre, 1987) Rituals carry on because they are a part of faith. Philosophy without religion becomes meaningless. Religion without rituals becomes insipid. The rituals of a religion, like the husk of a seed, preserve its life and make it germinate. It is only when the rituals are separated from the faith and assumes an independent existence that they become mechanical and lifeless. (Understanding Hinduism) Eid-ul-Adha Muslims celebrate two Eids annually; Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. The first one follows the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast. The second one marks the end of the Pilgrimage to Mecca and is celebrated in the month of Zilhajj, an Islamic month that follows the lunar calendar. On this Eid, an animal in sacrificed in the honor of Abraham's sacrifice of his son. The essential significance of this festival is the spirit of sacrifice (qurbani) in memory of Abraham's great act of faith many centuries ago. (Gilchrist, 2001) The day starts off with a prayer that is scheduled for early morning. The men go to mosques while the women stay home and thank their Lord for all he has given along with the ability to sacrifice. After the prayer, the process of Qurbani or sacrifice starts. People buy domestic animals such as sheep, goats, cows and even camels a few days before the big day. They feed them and take care of them. On Eid, they sacrifice them. This process continues throughout the day and night for some people but for me, the goat was set to be halaaled just before 10:00 am. After the sacrifice, the meat is distributed amongst friends and the needy. People cook this meat in a variety of ways and invite friends and family over to share the occasion. By afternoon, I tasted the first bite of my sacrificed meat. The menu had a variety of scrumptious delicacies. I noticed that the meat was mainly cooked with mouth-watering gravy and was particularly barbecued in the evening. I got a minimum of seven invites for lunches and dinners over the course of three days. So, Eid day and the preceding two days are all about meat and are also sometimes known as the 'Sacrifice Feast Days.' History The story behind this festival cum ritual is an amazing one that shocked and awed me at the same time. Muslims all over the world celebrate this day in the honor of Abraham, who sacrificed his son in the name of God. Abraham dreamt that his Lord wants him to sacrifice his son. The next day he woke up and talked to him about it. Both of them agreed and walked towards Mina for the big sacrifice. Abraham laid him down and was just about to move the knife though his neck when God replaced Ismael, Abraham's son with a sheep. This was Abraham's ultimate test of sacrifice and he passed it without any doubt. It is because of this day that passed by centuries ago that Muslims perform this ritual and and perform it religiously. Purpose The Bakrah Eid is a frank reminder of Abraham's love for God. The idea is to sacrifice in the name of God. This defines the symbolic nature of the ritual of Eid-ul-Adha. One might think, what really is the big deal about cutting an animal and eating it I mean, people all over the world have mutton and beef and meat in general. But the underlying principle is to sacrifice an animal you have become close to over a course of time. The concept is to spend in the way of God and to give away to the needy and poor in the name of God. Tourism Tourism, I believe, is making a trip for pleasure and recreation. Is Eid-ul-Adha connected to tourism Does it generate tourist activity It does to an extent, even though it is a religious occasion. For tourists that are fascinated by culture, tradition and religion, this is the perfect appening because it has got so much to it. Also, people who have left Muslim homelands and live abroad come back to celebrate Eid with family. Food Tourism Food and wine are vital components of the tourism experience, and are increasingly being seen as prime travel motivators in their own right. Food tourism is regarded as a form of specialty travel or special interest tourism (Hall and Mitchell, 2001). It is when food becomes an important element in the marketing of tourism because it is integral to the tourist experience. (Hashimoto and Telfer, 1990) "The last five years has seen an incredible shift in the way holidays are marketed and it's all because people are demanding authentic experiences, said Erik Wolf, president of the International Culinary Tourism Association, a non-profit group representing more than 500 tourism businesses in 19 countries." For the first time, the true extent of food tourism has been measured in the UK by World Travel Market, the premier business event for the international travel and tourism industry, with research revealing more than half (53%) ranked eating traditional dishes as a 'very important' or 'important' part of their holiday." (Air Highways) However, the relationship of tourism to rituals is a conditional one. The extent of tourism depends on the kind of ritual. Eid-ul-Adha has got a relatively weaker connection to food tourism. Not many people are interested in making trips to Muslim countries at the time of Eid to have mutton and beef in different varieties. Therefore, food is more of a supporting service, rather than an attraction. In my opinion, it is likely to remain a ritual that attracts tourists for its numerous involved activities rather than for the food served on this day. Conclusions - Eid-ul-Adha, a ritual This paper requires me to write if whether I would describe Eid-ul-Adha as a ritual. I most definitely will because of many reasons. One, it has the kind of story I was talking about earlier. The kind of story grandfathers fall for because their grandfather fell for it. A ritual is something people do ceremoniously and Eid is unquestionably a performance of ceremonial acts and is repetitive. A ritual is something that is carried on by generations. Eid is celebrated alike by every Muslim , rich or poor, educated or illiterate, content or distressed. It's got a purpose and meaning. For these reasons, Eid-ul-Adha is a ritual. Works Cited 1. Poor, Robert (2001). "Food and Food Rituals in Ancient China". Retrieved on March 20, 2008 from 2. Understanding Hinduism. "Rituals". Retrieved on March 20, 2008 from 3. Gilchrist, John (1999). "Eid-ul-Adha: Abraham and the Sacrifice. Retrieved on March 20, 2008 from 3. Air Highways Magazine. Food Tourism. Retrieved on March 20, 2008 from 4. Burns, Peter M (1999). An Introduction to Tourism and Anthropology. Routledge. 5. Grimes, Ronald L. (2002). Deeply into the bone: re-inventing rites of passage. University of California Press. 6. Sangre, Paul Steven (1987). History and Magical Power in a Chinese Community. Stanford University Press. 7. Colin Michael Hall, Liz Sharples, Richard Mitchell, Niki Macionis, Brock Cambourne (2003). Food Tourism Around the World: Development, Management and Markets. Butterworth Heinemann. Read More