Communitas: Changes In The Liminal Space

Everyone who has participated in a pilgrimage knows that it is something very special. However, they may not be familiar with the concept of communitas. Going with strangers and sharing a goal with them makes you create special bonds. A destination, a shared route, and an unexpected cohesion can be magical.

The anthropologist, Victor Turner, studied this phenomenon. He believed that pilgrimages could be divided into different stages. For him, pilgrimages involved leaving society and returning as a changed person. Turner believed that the most important part of a pilgrimage is the community it creates. He called this special relationship communitas.

Transition rites

Transitional rites consist of three different phases that are connected in a way. These phases are separation, liminality and gene incorporation. In the first stage, separation, people are separated from their social community.

They leave their daily lives, physically as well as symbolically. This phase consists of packing, saying goodbye and conducting research around the upcoming experience.

The second stage, liminality, is when one is actually on the pilgrimage. During this phase, participants distance themselves from the normal perceptions of time and place. Time passes differently and you stop constantly checking it. You might go slower to enjoy the scenery and the views.

The present moment becomes more important than the future. During this phase, one shares a common goal with other pilgrims. This goal can be to complete the pilgrimage or at least arrive at the next stop. The common goals lead to a shared identity.

The last stage is reincorporation. It is the end of the pilgrimage. This is where you return to your normal routine. The journey is over. Nevertheless, nothing is the same as before.

People who complete a pilgrimage tend to return home more relaxed. They often enjoy a new social status. They see routine and boring activities in a new light. The little things become more important and they enjoy their relationships with other people more. 

What happens during pilgrimages leading to this?

Communitas

Of the three phases of the rite of passage, the second phase, liminality, is the most important. During this phase, something happens that changes you and the way you see the world. This “something” is communitas.

In liminality, previous social conditions do not exist. Your daily rules and restrictions disappear and you enjoy a unique freedom. Your social status does not matter and your job does not matter. It does not matter what or how much you studied. It also does not matter whether you are religious or not. All pilgrims are equal.

According to Turner, communitas is the soul of a society. It is the feeling of social equality, solidarity and wholeness. Basically, it is a human bond made up of irrational, equal bonds with other peoples. There’s no reason for the other pilgrims to be your equals, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

In other situations, the same people would never have become your friends. Here they become more than friends. It does not matter what you have in common in your ordinary life. It is here and now that matters. It’s precious.

Creation and destruction

Communitas is very intense. It strengthens your senses and activates your intuition. Emotions run high, and what is rational stops making sense. That said, it is a temporary condition and it does not last very long.

Communitas can also destroy order. In this state where normal social rules do not apply, you can end up in a chaotic state where destruction reigns. On the other hand , communitas can lead to creation. This liminal state can help create new rules and values ​​or help you regain the values ​​you have lost.

Types of communitas

Turner differentiated between the different types of communitas: Existential or spontaneous, normative and ideological.

Spontaneous communitas occur during countercultural events. If you are attending an event that has rules that go against current cultural norms, you may be able to experience it. Normative communitas occur when there is a need for social control.

This form derives from spontaneous communitas. Pilgrimages fall into this category. In conclusion , ideological communitas are what you find in utopian societies. Everyone shares an ideal or a utopia.

While spontaneous communitas takes place outside social norms and social structure, normative and ideological communitas take place within them. That is why spontaneous communitas are more free and create the most change.

To summarize , it leads you to communitas when you voluntarily leave your home, travel to new countries, and experience new states of being. Communitas overcomes the divide between people and it leads to social union.