Rural Community Pilgrimage Tradition to Sacred Graves in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia: Between Motivation and Social Identity

Authors

Ute Lies Siti Khadijah, Padjadjaran UniversityFollow
Yunus Winoto, Padjadjaran UniversityFollow
Rully Khairul Anwar, Padjadjaran UniversityFollow
Shamila Mohamed Shuhidan Dr., Faculty of Information Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, MalaysiaFollow
Falih Ijlal Septian, Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung Islamic State UniversityFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2540-3290; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2203-4423; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8810-7168; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0430-439X; https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7807-5598

Abstract

This research explores the pilgrimage tradition of a women’s group in rural areas of Tasikmalaya, West Java. It reveals the phenomenon of pilgrimage activities in the women’s group grounded in social identity theory and their motivation to visit the sacred graves. The study employed a descriptive quantitative approach. It involved a group of women who regularly recite the Holy Quran together and study Islam with a preacher called ustadz or kyai with a sample size of 79 people. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, observation, and documentation studies. The collected data were analysed through quantitative data presentation in diagrams and tables. The study results show that the women’s group in rural areas of Tasikmalaya district carry out the pilgrimage tradition to seek blessings, health, ease in business, and a partner for those who are not married yet. From the social perspective, pilgrimage activities become one of the means for the women’s group to express themselves and show their class and social identity to other community groups. Moreover, the presence of social media such as Facebook and TikTok has become an effective tool for building their image.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Khadijah, Ute Lies Siti; Winoto, Yunus; Anwar, Rully Khairul; Shuhidan, Shamila Mohamed Dr.; and Septian, Falih Ijlal (2025) "Rural Community Pilgrimage Tradition to Sacred Graves in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia: Between Motivation and Social Identity," International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage: Vol. 13: Iss. 3, Article 17.
doi:https://doi.org/10.21427/f1jv-q089
Available at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol13/iss3/17

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/f1jv-q089