Phenomenological Analysis of Transcendental Communication Motivation of Dark Pilgrimage: Study of Pilgrims to the Tomb of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten

Abstract

Even though it has essential meaning for the lives of religious communities, the topic of transcendental communication has yet to be researched or received sufficient academic attention. This research applies phenomenological analysis to one of the transcendental communication phenomena commonly found in Indonesia, the phenomenon of pilgrimages to the graves of religious figures. The phenomenon of pilgrimage to the tomb of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten is the focus of research, which aims to determine the motives for making pilgrimages to the tomb. A total of nine pilgrims narrated that the motives for carrying out the pilgrimage include the past (purification), the present (tranquillity of life, seeking knowledge, exemplary life, and simplicity of life), and the future (the fulfilment of material or social desires, remembering death). This research contributes to the literature in communication science and tourism, especially by proposing the concept of dark pilgrimage as a crossing point between pilgrimage activities that drain energy and emotions and dark tourism, which is motivated by aspects of death as the drivers for transcendental communication.