5.2.3.2.1 Mode of travel of the respondents
Table 5.5 reports the responses of the local Hindu respondents on how they travelled to and from Ganga Talao the last time they participated in the Festival.
Table 5.5: Mode of travel to and from Ganga Talao by gender
Gender Total
Mode of travel Male Female
N % N % N %
Using Transport Only 88 42.7 125 60.7 213 51.7
On Foot Only 73 35.4 43 20.9 116 28.2
Both Foot and using Transport 45 21.8 38 18.4 83 20.1
Total 206 100.0 206 100.0 412 100.0
Chi-square Value: 14.776 df: 2 p: 0.001 Cramer’s V value: 0.189 Cramer’s V p: 0.001
The results from Table 5.5 illustrate that 51.7% (213) of the respondents used transport to travel to and from Ganga Talao, 28.2% (116) travelled by foot and 20.1% (83) travelled both on foot and by transport. By walking to and/or from Ganga Talao, the respondents have the opportunity to purify and cleanse themselves and to show their level of commitment and sacrifice by paying reverence to Lord Shiva.
The result of the Chi-square test, with a statistically significant value of 0.001, indicates that the null hypothesis is rejected and there is a statistically significant difference in the mode of travel in respect of Hindu males and Hindu females. While there are more women 60.7% (125) who used transport only, there were more men 35.4% (73) who walked throughout their journey to and from the sacred site. The Cramer V value of 0.19 indicates that the relation between gender and mode of transport is weak.
5.2.3.2.2 Reasons for walking
The respondents, if they walked, were asked the main reason for doing so. Table 5.6 shows the reasons for the choice of walking to and/or from the sacred site during the last participation in the Festival.
Table 5.6: Reasons for walking by gender
Gender Total
Reasons for traveling ‘on foot’ Male Female
N % N % N %
Religious and cultural reasons 57 49.6 40 51.3 97 50.3
To make a personal sacrifice 47 40.9 33 42.3 80 41.5
Social reasons 11 9.6 5 6.4 16 8.3
Total 115 100.0 78 100.0 193 100.0
Chi-square Value: 0.608 df: 2 p: 0.738
The explanations for the respondents walking were categorised into three reasons: ‘religious and cultural reasons’, ‘to experience the walk’ and for ‘social reasons’. The ‘religious and cultural reasons’ were composed of honouring/showing devotion to/respecting/receiving blessings from Lord Shiva, demonstrating their religious belief, carrying the sacred water and adhering to culture and tradition. The second reason for walking was ‘to make a personal sacrifice’ made up of self-penance, self-purification, self-satisfaction, carrying the Kanwar and experiencing the walk. Lastly the ‘social reasons’, associated with the walk, were to accompany family and/or friends, enjoy the crowd and have fun. Whilst 91.8% (177) of the respondents chose walking to and/or from Ganga Talao for religious and cultural reasons, as well as to make a sacrifice, 8.3% (16) walked to meet social goals. Most of those who walked did so to showcase their devotion and reaffirm their belief in Lord Shiva.
In the Table 5.6, the p value is more than 0.05, indicating that the null hypothesis is not rejected.
Hence, there are no statistically significant difference between the Hindu males and Hindu females regarding the distribution of the reasons for walking during their last participation in the Festival.
5.2.3.2.3 Main reason for not travelling on foot
Those respondents who did not walk to and from the sacred site were asked to provide a main reason for not choosing to go ‘on foot’ during their last participation. Table 5.7 shows the respondents’ main reason for travelling to and/ or from the sacred site using transport.
Table 5.7: Main reason for not choosing to travel on foot by gender
Gender Total
Main reason for not traveling ‘on foot’ Male Female
N % N % N % constraints 50.2% (140) or the habit of using transport 34.4% (96). As the Chi-square value is 4.662 and the significance value is 0.097, the null hypothesis is not rejected. Therefore, there is no statistically significant difference by gender and the reasons for not going ‘on foot’ to and/or from Ganga Talao.
5.2.3.2.4 Time taken to reach Ganga Talao
The respondents were asked about the length of time they took to reach Ganga Talao and their responses are given in Table 5.8.
Table 5.8: Time taken to reach Ganga Talao by gender
Gender Total
The result is hard to interpret given that the time taken by the respondents included those who travel to and/or from the sacred site using transport only, on foot only and both on foot and by transport.
The Chi-square value is 12.236 and the significant value is 0.002. The results of the test reveal that the null hypothesis is rejected; there is a statistically significant difference by gender and the time taken to travel to Ganga Talao. The Cramer V value of 0.17 indicates that the relation between gender and time taken to reach Ganga Talao is weak, with more females likely to travel for ‘less than 4 hours' and for more than or equal to 4 hours but less than 8 hours, while males are more
likely to travel for 8 or more hours. The results also indicate that more males 30.6% (63) than 16%
(33) females travelled for 8 or more hours to reach Ganga Talao, coincides with the fact that more males tend to undertake the pilgrimage on foot (see Section 5.2.3.2.1) which means that the journey tended to be longer for the males. The longer the respondents take to reach the sacred site, the more prolonged their sacrifice. Therefore, the results indicate that the males are more likely to undergo prolonged hours of sacrifice compared to the females.