The Ghriba pilgrimage in the island of Jerba: the semantics of otherness
This article examines the Jewish pilgrimage to the Ghriba Synagogue on the island of Jerba (or Djerba) in Tunisia, with a focus on the semantics of otherness as it is condensed in the devotion to the Ghriba, the eponymous local saint of the synagogue. The author explores the semantics of the pilgr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Donner Institute
2010-01-01
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| Series: | Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis |
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| Online Access: | https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67361 |
| _version_ | 1818028774166364160 |
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| author | Dora Carpenter-Latiri |
| author_facet | Dora Carpenter-Latiri |
| author_sort | Dora Carpenter-Latiri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article examines the Jewish pilgrimage to the Ghriba Synagogue on the island of Jerba (or Djerba) in Tunisia, with a focus on the semantics of otherness as it is condensed in the devotion to the Ghriba, the eponymous local saint of the synagogue. The author explores the semantics of the pilgrimage to the Ghriba (the ‘stranger saint’) and in particular, the polysemy of the name and the ambivalence of otherness in the Tunisian context, in particular in representations through discourse in the Tunisian Arabic language as shared by Muslims and Jews. She argues that this complex and ambivalent representation is the central meaning of the ritual of the Ghriba pilgrimage, as the negative connotations of otherness are reversed and amplified into the affirmation of a positive, healing ritual, dedicated to the stranger saint as a symbolic allegory of the otherness of the Jewish community as a whole, or as an allegory of the alienated, exiled, marginalized self. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T05:09:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fbdd82623c3349b58dc709b563f5dcca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0582-3226 2343-4937 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T05:09:08Z |
| publishDate | 2010-01-01 |
| publisher | Donner Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis |
| spelling | doaj.art-fbdd82623c3349b58dc709b563f5dcca2022-12-22T02:01:09ZengDonner InstituteScripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis0582-32262343-49372010-01-012210.30674/scripta.67361The Ghriba pilgrimage in the island of Jerba: the semantics of othernessDora Carpenter-Latiri0University of BrightonThis article examines the Jewish pilgrimage to the Ghriba Synagogue on the island of Jerba (or Djerba) in Tunisia, with a focus on the semantics of otherness as it is condensed in the devotion to the Ghriba, the eponymous local saint of the synagogue. The author explores the semantics of the pilgrimage to the Ghriba (the ‘stranger saint’) and in particular, the polysemy of the name and the ambivalence of otherness in the Tunisian context, in particular in representations through discourse in the Tunisian Arabic language as shared by Muslims and Jews. She argues that this complex and ambivalent representation is the central meaning of the ritual of the Ghriba pilgrimage, as the negative connotations of otherness are reversed and amplified into the affirmation of a positive, healing ritual, dedicated to the stranger saint as a symbolic allegory of the otherness of the Jewish community as a whole, or as an allegory of the alienated, exiled, marginalized self.https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67361Ritual -- JudaismPilgrims and pilgrimages -- JudaismTunisia -- HistoryOther, TheJewish saintsJews -- Diaspora |
| spellingShingle | Dora Carpenter-Latiri The Ghriba pilgrimage in the island of Jerba: the semantics of otherness Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis Ritual -- Judaism Pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Judaism Tunisia -- History Other, The Jewish saints Jews -- Diaspora |
| title | The Ghriba pilgrimage in the island of Jerba: the semantics of otherness |
| title_full | The Ghriba pilgrimage in the island of Jerba: the semantics of otherness |
| title_fullStr | The Ghriba pilgrimage in the island of Jerba: the semantics of otherness |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Ghriba pilgrimage in the island of Jerba: the semantics of otherness |
| title_short | The Ghriba pilgrimage in the island of Jerba: the semantics of otherness |
| title_sort | ghriba pilgrimage in the island of jerba the semantics of otherness |
| topic | Ritual -- Judaism Pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Judaism Tunisia -- History Other, The Jewish saints Jews -- Diaspora |
| url | https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67361 |
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