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A Sacred Vertigo

Pilgrimage and Tourism in Rocamadour, France
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Built into a huge cliff in central France, the town of Rocamadour is a visual marvel and a place of contradictions. Pilgrims come to venerate its ancient Black Madonna but are outnumbered by secular tourists. Weibel provides an intimate look at the transformation of Rocamadour from a significant religious center to a tourist attraction; the efforts by clergy to restore Rocamadour's spiritual character; the supernatural reinterpretations of the shrine by non-Catholics; and the desperate decision by the Diocese to participate in tourism itself, with disastrous results.
Deana L. Weibel is professor in the Anthropology Department and the Integrative, Religious and Intercultural Studies Department at Grand Valley State University.
Chapter 1Looking Backward: An Overview of Rocamadour's History Chapter 2Whose Shrine is it Anyway?: Competing Local Interpretations of Rocamadour Chapter 3 Primed for Action and Reaction: The Influence of Visitors' Preconceptions Chapter 4 Echoes and Energy: Rocamadour's Numinous Nature Chapter 5On Shaky Ground: The Shifting Identities of a Shrine
A Sacred Vertigo is an engaging ethnography that provides vivid portraits of the shrine of Rocamadour and the social interactions that surround it. Weibel's reflexivity is refreshing, and her concept of "religious creatives" makes an important contribution to debates about the meanings of secular and sacred travel. Essential reading for those interested in pilgrimage, tourism, popular Catholicism, alternative spiritualities and France. -- Ellen Badone, McMaster University
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