What is a religious object used in pilgrimage called? [duplicate]

Question

Character in the story has an object that he is supposed to take to a holy place. The object is central to his pilgrimage. Is there a term in English for such an object. Just to clarify, it is not a quest. He has not been tasked with this. He is doing it simply out of faith. There is an umbrella term for this in Hindi for this.(though I can't remember it right now, I will add it here when I do) Does English have one?

Answer 1

It's a votive. Oxford English Dictionary, "votive, n. and adj.," def. 2:

2. An object placed in a sacred location in honour of a god, goddess, or saint, typically as an expression of thanks in fulfilment of a vow; a votive offering. Also occasionally in extended use of a piece of writing, music, or other work: dedicated to or created in honour of an individual as a sign of appreciation or admiration.

Basically, a votive is an item someone brings to a religious space to leave there. This includes objects brought to a pilgrimage site. Caroline Winter, in a literature review of votive practices in an article on pilgrimage to war memorials, summarizes their use ("Pilgrims and Votives at War Memorials: A Vow to Remember." Annals of Tourism Research 76 (May 2019), pp. 117-128):

The practice of votive deposition occurs across the globe in many cultures, where pilgrims “offer material things to their saints or gods in return for favors granted” (Notermans & Jansen, 2011, 171). It is an ancient practice that has been undertaken within institutions such as ruling dynasties, the family and especially religion, where it is for example, one of the oldest Egyptian religious customs (Pinch & Waraksa, 2009). In contemporary times, the practice can be observed at the sites of mass civilian death and trauma (Doss, 2008). Otto (2010, p. 267) found that “citified spontaneously-created shrines”, were created in response to the victims of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001, including tourists who came to place flags, flowers and teddy bears at the site (Greenspan, 2005). In 1997, tons of floral tributes were deposited at the palaces around London for Princess Diana who had been killed in a car accident, creating, what Gough (2008, p. 14) describes as “elaborate temporary gardens”.

As Notermans and Jansen (2011, p. 171) observe, a votive is a “material gift that has to be placed in the saint's vicinity.” There is therefore an inherent association between a votive and a particular place, which is regarded as ‘special’ due to the presence or representation of the divinity, the hero or ancestor (Bell, 2009; Blick, 2011). In their study of the Australian War Memorial, Waterton and Dittmer (2014, p. 21) refer to “the Unknown Soldier, whose body becomes invested with the sacred such that it is a holy relic.” These places are not substitutable, and lengthy journeys to them, as a pilgrimage, are almost always a necessary component in the process of depositing a votive.

Votive can be paired with a word to describe the kind of object being offered: votive art, votive candle, or generally votive offering. But votive by itself works fine. It also describes pilgrimage offerings outside the Christian tradition:

These examples show that the Ka'ba and the surrounding Meccan sanctuary were understood to be like other temples in the ancient Near East. The donation of votive offerings to temples and shrines is attested in the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding regions. (Babak Rahimi, and Peyman Eshaghi. Muslim Pilgrimage in the Modern World. The University of North Carolina Press, 2019. p. 52)

One major reason that fans are increasingly interested in pilgrimage is the associated ema (votive tablet). (Andrews, Dale K. “Genesis at the Shrine: The Votive Art of an Anime Pilgrimage.” Mechademia: Second Arc, vol. 9, 2014, pp. 217–33. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5749/mech.9.2014.0217.)

The first floor is dedicated to vows and objects left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, one of the modern-day secular pilgrimage destinations that might be seen more as tokens of remembrance or gratitude to honor the memories of the beloved rather than as a practice of faith. This demonstrates that “almost anything can become a votive once charged with meaning through a ritual act,” from a bottle of bourbon to a pack of cigarettes or a stuffed toy [...] Perhaps one of the most spectacular and unusual votives in the exhibit can be found in the first room: a custom-built Harley Davidson Police Special motorcycle offered on Memorial Day 1995 by a group of Wisconsin motorcyclist [sic] "in memory of their state's thirty-seven soldiers who remained missing" in action. (Badajoz, Joaquin. "Exhibit Explores Votives: A Human Way to Grasp at the Transcendent." The Tablet, 27 October 2018).

Answer 2

Relic

An object esteemed and venerated because of association with a saint or martyr

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/relic

An object, tradition, or system from the past that continues to exist

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/relic