It is a universel move that we meet all along the human history in every religion on all the continents. Becoming a stranger as he quits his usual world and losing his social status as well as his hierarchical references, the pilgrim becomes aware of himself, of his own limits and sometimes how to get beyond them.
Pilgrimage on the St James of Compostela Way : http://www.gr-infos.com/st-james-of-compostela.htm