Digital footprints on the sacred ground: The intersection of pilgrimage and digital technology

The emergence of Digital Religion over the past couple of decades has impacted how we understand, define, practice, live out and engage with religion in a global networked society. This paper deals with the ethnographic exploration of religious devotees and pilgrims’ use of social media and religious websites. This paper is part of an ethnographic work based at Gaya Pilgrimage, India, a famous Hindu site for performing the shraddha ritual. The intervention of new communication technologies changes how the pilgrimage journey is organized. New technology, such as WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Web pages and other Apps, enables the traditional ritual Pind-daan (appeasing or worshipping the departed ancestors’ soul) to enter the commercial world. Internet technology is used not only to encourage visits to pilgrimage sites but also to develop ‘onlife’ rituals, complementing offline religion. Many religious apps such as” Sri Mandir, ‘Devdarshan’, and websites also offer ‘onlife’ pind-daan ritual at Gaya. This new mode of performing rituals at Gaya has also changed how we perceive pilgrimage, organise rituals, and understand ourselves as Hindu. These apps and web pages often represent simplified mythological and historical narratives legitimising the power of ritual, place, and the priest at the sacred complex of Gaya, India. The paper will also explore the role of the State in promoting the Gaya pilgrimage site using digital technologies. This study will examine the intricacies of new communication technologies with pilgrimage-based rituals and the mediation of different prevalent narratives from the field site.