Sacralizing the Tomb and Spring of Bagusan in the Development of Religious Tourism Village

Abstract

This article aims to criticize the development of religious tourism which tends to create economic-oriented goals and neglect the sacredness of both religious sites and rituals. The declaration of religious tourism program in many villages tends to push local people further to take more serious attentions to some religious sites and rituals in order to gain more economic profit without considering other aspects, including the sacredness of those religious sites and rituals. Through the case study of managing Sendang and Makam Bagusan in Godean, Sleman, Special District of Yogyakarta, particularly considering on in-depth interviews and participant observations, the results of this research show how the sacredness of religious sites and rituals can be preserved and reproduced along with increasing the numbers of pilgrims. Several efforts in preserving and reproducing the sanctity of religious sites have effectively preserved the sacredness of both sites and rituals from economics-oriented behaviors in developing religious tourism projects across this country.