RELIGION AND SOCIAL CHANGE AMONG CONTEMPORARY URBAN MUSLIM IN BALI: THE WALI PITU PILGRIMAGE AND SPIRITUAL TOURISM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32332/akademika.v31i2.13010Keywords:
Spirituality, Religion and Social Change, Islamic Pilgrimage, Wali Pitu, Religious TourismAbstract
This article investigates spiritual tourism in the form of pilgrimages to the tombs of the Wali Pitu (Seven Saints) scattered across Bali. Employing a qualitative approach, the study utilized participant observation and semi-structured interviews with key informants, including pilgrims, tomb caretakers, local vendors, and religious and community leaders from diverse backgrounds. Data were analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis method. The study reveals three empirical findings. First, the pilgrimage serves as a space for renegotiating Muslim minority identity by establishing historical legitimacy through reverence for past holy figures who interacted peacefully with Balinese kingdoms. Second, economic collaboration emerges through the shared use of tourism infrastructure, wherein logistics and transportation services owned by Hindus explicitly accommodate the dietary and ritual requirements of Muslims. Third, the commodification of sacred space manifests as territorial tensions regarding parking fees, the placement of vendor stalls near tomb areas, and disruptions during peak pilgrimage seasons. Far from being merely a passive economic transaction, the Wali Pitu pilgrimage represents a dynamic framework of pragmatic pluralism, in which religious boundaries are negotiated daily through economic interdependence and the management of shared spaces. These findings contribute theoretically to the study of Muslim minorities by demonstrating how sacred spaces can act as catalysts for socio-economic integration within a predominantly Hindu environment.
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