Pilgrimage as a Liminoid Phenomenon
The term 'pilgrimage' did not gain significance until the emergence of the major historical religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Arnold van Gennep, a French folklorist and ethnographer gave the first clues about how ancient societies symbolized the transitions men have to make between well-defined states and statuses. By doing so, he showed people that all rights of passage are marked by three key phases. These phases being: separation, limen or margin, and aggregation.
1. Separation
Seperation, the first phase, as stated in Image and Pilgrimage "comprises symbolic behavior signifying the detachment of the individual or group, either from an earlier fixed point in the social structure or from a relatively stable set of cultural conditions." In simpler terms, this means that the first step in pilgrimage, or a transition from different social statuses is one doing something that symbolizes their immanent detachment from their current point in the social structure. This individual trying to detach is using this behavior to transition themselves from their current social status to a higher status.
2. Limen or Margin
In the second phase of the rights of passage is the limen phase. In the book it states that the during the limen phase "the state of the ritual subject becomes ambiguous, he passes through a realm or dimension that has few or none of the attributes of the past or coming state, he is betwixt and between all familiar lines of classification." The limen phase is the point where the man is no longer a part of any particular social status, he is neutral in the social hierarchy. This is the time for the decision of what social status he must uphold next, in the third phase.
3. Aggregation
In the third phase, aggregation the subject is finished and returns to classified secular, or mundane social life. The individual is now, once again in a stable state, his rights and obligations are clearly defined through his structural status. He is now expected to behave in accordance with the customary norms and ethical standards appropriate to his new settled state. The subject is now able to continue his life, not exactly as it was before but according to his new status.
By identifying these key phases in liminality, Van Gennep discovered a major dimension of the social. He made the way for future studies to take place of all the processes of social and individual change. It is said in the book that "liminality cannot be confined to the processual form of the traditional rites of passage in which he first identified it."
1. Separation
Seperation, the first phase, as stated in Image and Pilgrimage "comprises symbolic behavior signifying the detachment of the individual or group, either from an earlier fixed point in the social structure or from a relatively stable set of cultural conditions." In simpler terms, this means that the first step in pilgrimage, or a transition from different social statuses is one doing something that symbolizes their immanent detachment from their current point in the social structure. This individual trying to detach is using this behavior to transition themselves from their current social status to a higher status.
2. Limen or Margin
In the second phase of the rights of passage is the limen phase. In the book it states that the during the limen phase "the state of the ritual subject becomes ambiguous, he passes through a realm or dimension that has few or none of the attributes of the past or coming state, he is betwixt and between all familiar lines of classification." The limen phase is the point where the man is no longer a part of any particular social status, he is neutral in the social hierarchy. This is the time for the decision of what social status he must uphold next, in the third phase.
3. Aggregation
In the third phase, aggregation the subject is finished and returns to classified secular, or mundane social life. The individual is now, once again in a stable state, his rights and obligations are clearly defined through his structural status. He is now expected to behave in accordance with the customary norms and ethical standards appropriate to his new settled state. The subject is now able to continue his life, not exactly as it was before but according to his new status.
By identifying these key phases in liminality, Van Gennep discovered a major dimension of the social. He made the way for future studies to take place of all the processes of social and individual change. It is said in the book that "liminality cannot be confined to the processual form of the traditional rites of passage in which he first identified it."
No comments:
Post a Comment