Tracing the origins of my camino...can anyone remember this?

Satírico · Aug 15, 2015

(UK-based peregrino)

Greetings,

Occasionally I think back to where and when I became camino conscious. I walked to Santiago, for the first time, last year, but I reckon I first heard of the Camino de Santiago as far back as 2003, watching a documentary series called The Naked Pilgrim. What I am trying to pinpoint is where and when I saw something else.

Somewhere along the line I must have seen another programme about pilgrimage, because I have an image in my mind of two monks going their way (I think to Compostela) on their knees! Getting up, falling forward, getting up, falling forward, all along the dusty road. Possibly archival footage from the '60s or '70s, but does anyone else, any UK pilgrims remember this snapshot from a TV documentary?

I'd be very interested to know.

Thanks,

P.

Satírico · Aug 15, 2015

MendiWalker said:
I don´t that has anything to do with the Camino de Santiago. It´s more like what some pilgrims do in Tibet.

Ondo Ibili !

Well maybe, but the image in my memory has two caucasian beards in brown habits. It was only a brief excerpt but a powerful and arresting image of devotion.

mspath · Aug 15, 2015

Might this be a scene from the atmospheric and fantastic Luis Bunuel's famous (and infamous) 1969 film The Milky Way/La Voie Lactée which depicts two French pilgrims walking back through historic time along the camino and those they meet?

MM

jsalt · Aug 15, 2015

MendiWalker said:
I don´t that has anything to do with the Camino de Santiago. It´s more like what some pilgrims do in Tibet.

Ondo Ibili !

If you visit Fatima in Portugal you will probably see devout pilgrims making the last stretch on their knees.

Satírico · Aug 15, 2015

Kathar1na said:
When you say "getting up" do you mean getting up on their knees or on their feet? Like others, I also associate pilgrimage by prostration with Tibetan buddhism - here is one such article http://www.exploretibet.com/blog/tibetans-prostration-is-the-world-longest-pilgrimage/. Moving forwards on the knees, without prostrating, is something I associate with Catholic rituals although not with a long pilgrimage but rather with a shorter approach to a pilgrimage chapel, for example along the stations of the cross on a via crucis. I last happened to see this in the 70s, I'm not sure whether people are still doing this today.

It's a distant memory, but I thought up onto feet and then prostrating themselves again.

Satírico · Aug 15, 2015

mspath said:
Might this be a scene from the atmospheric and fantastic Luis Bunuel's famous (and infamous) 1969 film The Milky Way/La Voie Lactée which depicts two French pilgrims walking back through historic time along the camino and those they meet?

MM

Hello, no indeed it was surely reportage. Bunuel is not on my wavelength.

amorfati1 · Aug 16, 2015

Philip347 said:
(UK-based peregrino)

Greetings,

Occasionally I think back to where and when I became camino conscious. I walked to Santiago, for the first time, last year, but I reckon I first heard of the Camino de Santiago as far back as 2003, watching a documentary series called The Naked Pilgrim. What I am trying to pinpoint is where and when I saw something else.

Somewhere along the line I must have seen another programme about pilgrimage, because I have an image in my mind of two monks going their way (I think to Compostela) on their knees! Getting up, falling forward, getting up, falling forward, all along the dusty road. Possibly archival footage from the '60s or '70s, but does anyone else, any UK pilgrims remember this snapshot from a TV documentary?

I'd be very interested to know.

Thanks,

P.

Not just Tibetean Buddhist prostrate with every other step on a pilgrimage...
Growing up in Europe I've seen and heard people go on Pilgrimage '3 steps forwards, two steps back' or any variation of this. or pilgrims walked towards their destination on foot ... but on the last 100 or 1000 meters before the church/chapel/santuario etc would approach on their knees, or prostrate every 10th step (or whatever the number was), etc etc.
In many latin countries I have observed how people inside churches approach the altar on their knees, and/or prostrations.
Vaguely remember a Bergman film (seventh seal?) which features a procession/pilgrimage of monks in brownish garb. - Also seen Hindu pilgrims do this 'steping forward, prostrations, getting up, forward, prostrations ... etc etc ... plenty of dusty roads there as well.
good luck in finding/pin-pointing your first pilgrim-aha-moment
buen camino!
c

EL Guapo · Aug 16, 2015

What you are describing sounds like a similar tradition in Mexico City. I saw this in the early 70's at the cathedral off of the Reforma. From what I recall ,a walk on their knees from a distance was penance for forgiveness . It was also a documentary from national geographic as I recall.
Also in the May 2015 edition is a short story on the Camino de France , in case anyone is interested. Hope this helps.

Satírico · Aug 16, 2015

EL Guapo said:
What you are describing sounds like a similar tradition in Mexico City. I saw this in the early 70's at the cathedral off of the Reforma. From what I recall ,a walk on their knees from a distance was penance for forgiveness . It was also a documentary from national geographic as I recall.
Also in the May 2015 edition is a short story on the Camino de France , in case anyone is interested. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your reply. I found a Werner Herzog short film on Youtube that features Mexico. I'm pretty sure the thing I saw was Spain, though. There were only 2 walkers, possible archival footage from the 1970s.

Satírico · Aug 16, 2015

amorfati1 said:
Not just Tibetean Buddhist prostrate with every other step on a pilgrimage...
Growing up in Europe I've seen and heard people go on Pilgrimage '3 steps forwards, two steps back' or any variation of this. or pilgrims walked towards their destination on foot ... but on the last 100 or 1000 meters before the church/chapel/santuario etc would approach on their knees, or prostrate every 10th step (or whatever the number was), etc etc.
In many latin countries I have observed how people inside churches approach the altar on their knees, and/or prostrations.
Vaguely remember a Bergman film (seventh seal?) which features a procession/pilgrimage of monks in brownish garb. - Also seen Hindu pilgrims do this 'steping forward, prostrations, getting up, forward, prostrations ... etc etc ... plenty of dusty roads there as well.
good luck in finding/pin-pointing your first pilgrim-aha-moment
buen camino!
c

The Bergman has a procession of penitents flagellating themselves. Very grim.

Deise · Aug 16, 2015

There is a pilgrimage up a mountain (Croagh Patrick) in Mayo Ireland.
Some pilgrims do barefoot , rocks and all.

Satírico · Aug 16, 2015

Deise said:
There is a pilgrimage up a mountain (Croagh Patrick) in Mayo Ireland.
Some pilgrims do barefoot , rocks and all.

The museum of pilgrimages in Santiago was quite fascinating. I remember a Dutch girl walking barefoot to Santiago over stony ground. She seemed fine with it.

Satírico · Aug 16, 2015

Philip347 said:
The museum of pilgrimages in Santiago was quite fascinating. I remember a Dutch girl walking barefoot to Santiago over stony ground. She seemed fine with it.

Philip347 said:
(UK-based peregrino)

Greetings,

Occasionally I think back to where and when I became camino conscious. I walked to Santiago, for the first time, last year, but I reckon I first heard of the Camino de Santiago as far back as 2003, watching a documentary series called The Naked Pilgrim. What I am trying to pinpoint is where and when I saw something else.

Somewhere along the line I must have seen another programme about pilgrimage, because I have an image in my mind of two monks going their way (I think to Compostela) on their knees! Getting up, falling forward, getting up, falling forward, all along the dusty road. Possibly archival footage from the '60s or '70s, but does anyone else, any UK pilgrims remember this snapshot from a TV documentary?

I'd be very interested to know.

Thanks,

P.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and encouragement. Watching the prostrations of the Buddhist pilgrims, I'm beginning to think that maybe what I recall was them and not anything to do with Spain. Perhaps it was something from Werner Herzog's Wheel Of Time (2003), available on Youtube in German and English narration.

movinmaggie · Aug 16, 2015

Philip347 said:
(UK-based peregrino)

Greetings,

Occasionally I think back to where and when I became camino conscious. I walked to Santiago, for the first time, last year, but I reckon I first heard of the Camino de Santiago as far back as 2003, watching a documentary series called The Naked Pilgrim. What I am trying to pinpoint is where and when I saw something else.

Somewhere along the line I must have seen another programme about pilgrimage, because I have an image in my mind of two monks going their way (I think to Compostela) on their knees! Getting up, falling forward, getting up, falling forward, all along the dusty road. Possibly archival footage from the '60s or '70s, but does anyone else, any UK pilgrims remember this snapshot from a TV documentary?

I'd be very interested to know.

Thanks,

P.

I can't help with the I.D. but what the monks are doing is 'prostrating' themselves in prayer, as I saw so much in Tibet; travelling for weeks and sometimes months to arrive at certain sacred sites.

jmcarp · Aug 16, 2015

As a Roman Catholic, I had heard of a pilgrimage having something to do with St James in Spain for many years. I had even heard occasional, vague, second- and third-hand reports of people -- mainly friends of friends or relatives of friends -- who had actually made this pilgrimage. But I had no idea what was involved. How long was it? Where did one sleep and eat along the way? Did it mean carrying a massive backpack with tent, cooking utensils and portable stove? In short, it never struck a chord with me as something that I would ever be interested in doing. Two things, however, conspired to kindle an interest in the Camino. One was the movie The Way, which gave me at least a Hollywood impression of what the logistics of such an undertaking would be. That, of course, was not enough to convince me to go out and do it, though. More importantly, as I was approaching my 70th birthday I was looking back on my life and realizing all the many wonderful gifts and blessings I had received, and how little I did done to deserve these blessings, much less to give back in return. I realized that making a pilgrimage such as this would be one way I could repay God for the life he has given me. That was the motivation for my Camino -- to give back to God, expecting nothing in return. But as I discovered, I did receive much in return: I was given the strength that got me through walking the last 180 miles with severe plantar fasciitis; I was given the strength to accept the reality of losing our backpacks with all my photos, our credenciales, our compostelas -- essentially everything but the clothes on our backs; I was given the gift of meeting a number of true Camino angels who appeared just when we needed them; I was given the insight to accept others whom I encountered without judgement; I was given the gift of seeing my wife and our relationship in a new light as we walked almost 500 miles together (many of them hand-in-hand) without the distractions of our everyday normal routines; I was given the gift of new friends from around the world. The list could go on and on, and I'm sure it will because once started, the Camino never ends.

movinmaggie · Aug 16, 2015

What an inspirational relief, to the sea of negativity that still abounds. I was deeply touched.

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Tracing the origins of my camino...can anyone remember this?

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