Communitas on the Camino

By -
As our destination for the night began to come into view, I felt a strong feeling of accomplishment at the work that was done that day. We had walked quite a ways from our starting point in Sarria and to finally see our destination was relieving.

As the town of Portomarín came into view, I looked back to reminisce on the trek of the day. As I was looking back, I was surprised to see a group of 15-20 pilgrims that had been traveling with our group on and off throughout the day. 

When I turned around and saw all the pilgrims traveling together to reach our temporary destination, I was overcome with the feeling of “communitas.” Communitas is described in our readings as the feeling we get when we are united together as pilgrims, where geographic and social identities are lost in the act of pilgrimage. The differences between us become less important as we share a common goal. 

This is a feeling that I feel will be present throughout our journey. The feeling of unity between pilgrims despite our differences in background, social hiearchy, and nationality is something that is hard to replicate outside of the liminal mindset of a pilgrim.  This was a unique experience unlike anything I’ve experienced before and it has made me become even more excited for what’s to come as we continue our journey.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Pilgrimage? Expectations for the journey

By -
              To me, a pilgrimage is simply a significant journey. A pilgrimage is often towards a certain destination, but there are also internal and spiritual pilgrimages that can be done within the self. However, when I think about pilgrimage, I often think of a place pilgrimage such as the one we are doing to Santiago de Compostela. Although I am not necessarily expecting a life-changing revelation, I am hoping that the path will give me some time for inward reflection.               To be a pilgrim is to be in a liminal state. Pilgrims are at a threshold, or an in-between state. Perhaps I entered into this liminal state after I got accepted to this study abroad program. Or maybe it was when I started packing. Or when I stepped off the plane in Madrid. It could even begin with my first step on the Camino. To be a pilgrim is to always have new beginnings. A pilgrim is interested in the journey just as much as the destination.               One thing I am bringing with me
Read more

A Flight (and Middle of the Night) to Remember

By Anonymous -
It was my first time flying by myself. I thought for sure I would be late for boarding, lose my luggage, or miss the flight altogether, so it was a relief to be on the plane. Some of these nerves were probably excitement in anticipation for the Camino, but I was still prepared to ask a flight attendant for a bag. As I was searching for my seat,  a white tuft of fur caught my eye and led me to an old woman wearing a giant white fur hat (in May might I remind you). I got farther down the aisle and realized I would be sitting by her. I was so pleased. Another older woman was sitting in the aisle seat, and as I tried my best to politely climb over her into the middle seat, white-fur woman was giving me a glare only someone over seventy-five can get away with (I think she was upset she had to move her winter coat out of the seat). When I sat down, the woman on my left (aisle seat) greeted me with a smile and the woman on my right greeted her chest with a snore. I was a little bit disappoi
Read more

For all my fellow sufferers

By -
Image
Day four of walking the Camino! Today was a short (relatively speaking) 17 kilometers. My back no longer really feels my backpack, and fairly soon into the walk my feet—grown tired (at last!) from begging me to stop pounding them down uneven declines—have a tendency to go numb(ish). However, today I thought my right knee would explode. When I got out of bed this morning I slipped on a compression band, sliding it over the already swollen bulge that is my knee cap. The knee groaned, creaked, and shot warning fires in protest. I explained (polite but mildly impatient) that there simply is no other way, that it was time to walk it off (figuratively) even though walking (literally) was the cause of its inflammation in the first place. It protested violently with every step. I argued that Spain was beautiful and the journey lovely. The knee remained unimpressed—insisting that I should go on without it and it would take a taxi and meet up with me in Salceda. I did what I could to drown the
Read more