Patronage in a Holy Place: Preliminary research notes on a ‘parallel structure’ in a Yugoslav pilgrimage centreFootnote*
This paper is based on literature, documents from the Franciscan archives in Duvno and Medjugorje, participant observation and interviewing (mainly in Croatian) at intervals between 1984 and 1989. In the last few years, many Yugoslav papers an'd magazines have been published about Medjugorje. Glas koncila, Vjesnik, Svcta Baština, Politika, Panorama, Subotan, Život, Problem!, Sociologija sela, Danas, Aktualnosti Kršćanske Sadašnjosti, Slobodna Dalmacija, Nedeljni Vjesnik, Večernji list, to mention but a few, have published on the pilgrimage centre, the visions and the tourist traffic. Their information is interesting though rather one‐sided. Moreover, none of them deals systematically with what may be called ‘back stage’ subjects. These seem to be left to other, detached‐and‐involved persons. Most of my lay informants in Medjugorje and a few priests prefer to remain anonymous. I have used fictitious names for all the persons in the case. I am grateful to my informants in Bosnia‐Hercegovina and in various Yugoslav communities abroad for their multifarious help. For constructive criticism I am indebted to F. G. Bailey, Vlado Borg, Jadranska Gvozdanovic, Petarjelećanin, F. Komarica, Leonard Oreć, Fred Spier, Ed Koster, Daan Meijers, M. Estellie Smith, Chris McKevitt and Kitty Verrips. Errors of interpretation are, of course, entirely mine. Sheila Gogol edited my English writing. I would like to emphasize here that I do not make any statement whatsoever as to the ‘truth’ or ‘authenticity’ of the apparitions. Nor do I in any way address the question of the integrity of the individuals involved. Problems of this nature do not lie within the framework of social science research. Finally, the reader must realize that the Croatian language in the area under study is full of Turkicisms.

Mart Bax Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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Nurit Stadler. (2011) Between scripture and performance: cohesion and dissent at the Feast of Mary's Dormition in Jerusalem. Religion 41:4, pages 645-664.
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MiguelC. Leatham. (1997) Rethinking religious decision‐making in peasant millenarianism: The case of Nueva Jerusalén. Journal of Contemporary Religion 12:3, pages 295-309.
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Damir Krešić, Josip Mikulić & Katarina Miličević. (2012) The Factor Structure of Tourist Satisfaction at Pilgrimage Destinations: the Case of Medjugorje. International Journal of Tourism Research 15:5, pages 484-494.
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Mart Bax. (2009) Female Suffering, Local Power Relations, and Religious Tourism: A Case Study from Yugoslavia. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 6:2, pages 114-127.
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