ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on studies that have tracked pilgrimage aftermaths in order to highlight trends organized around three key themes: pilgrims, sites, and objects. First, it examines how scholars have evaluated the results for pilgrims at a personal and societal level. Second, the chapter discusses the impact on sites and site management after pilgrims leave. Upon return, most pilgrims transmit aspects of their experience to others, effectively turning pilgrimage places into “storied spaces” through the circulation of memories and memoirs. As travel has become more affordable, the number of visitors has risen sharply at many sites, which are attracting a broader, global audience than their local retinue of devotees. Some of the most substantial work on pilgrimage aftermaths concerns the transfer of objects—and more particularly, gifts and souvenirs. The chapter explores the circulation of souvenirs.
