SLFK 214, February 24, 2004

Last lecture – the power of the doorway/gateway = limens

And not just in a culture that is very boundary-protective, like in the countries of the former USSR

Portal or limens is a universal symbol of transition, change

Concrete portals – literally doors, gates, etc. are considered magic

In US – mistletoe and carrying bride over threshold are the most obvious

But then there is Bloody Mary also

There are also abstract portals – the points of transition in time

These are, to a certain extent, determined by nature

As are boundaries and portals in space

As the boundary of the state of Virginia is partially determined by natural boundaries like rivers and part by convention – the straight line between VA and NC

So some time boundaries are tied to natural phenomena

Solstices and equinoxes – what are they?

There tend to be twixt holidays – half way between solstice and equinox

Life Feb. 2 and Halloween

Obviously dates of birth and death are natural phenomena

But then there are personal and calendar holidays that have more to do with convention than nature

When there is a portal in space, passage over it can be marked by special actions = ritual

Sending off a recruit in Russia in the past – this was a BIG deal

Discuss length of military service

Setting off on a journey – sest’ na dorogu

Crossing self and bowing to icons when you enter a house

Woman crossing and bowing at gateway to cemetery in video

You could argue that wedding is Russia is an especially big deal for the bride because she moves in space from one household to another while the groom stays put

Crossing boundaries in time – as in passage through a time portal, almost invariably marked by ritual

You may be away of the physical portal just because it is there

It tends to be that what focuses your awareness on the time portal is the special actions = rituals – that are performed

Ground Hog Day – look to see if beastie sees its shadow

Valentine’s Day – sending cards, flowers, chocolate

Halloween – costumes, Trick-or-Treat, special decorations

Thanksgiving – special meal

In human life – portals marked by rituals are wedding

Graduation – this now used at the point of transition from one school to the next on all sorts of levels, not just High School and College

Party of celebrate someone’s promotion, retirement

These rituals tend to be of 2 types – as in Turner

Rituals of status elevation

These are typical of the course of a human life

Rituals of status reversal

These are typical of the course of a calendar year

We will focus on the latter

No need to review extensively how all this works, even though I did go rather fast last time

Rituals, of whichever time, are a time outside of time

A special realm = the limens

With special characteristics, often marked by reversals

Life cycle rituals, because they have to do with status elevation, require that the person to be elevated be made low before s/he can be made high

Great description of insulting the person about to be chief in Turner’s book

Consider also things like fraternity/sorority initiation

Need to consider the whole pledge process

People who are going to rush are separated from the rest of humanity

They need to state their intentions to the university

They go about in groups

When they are selected, they are humiliated

Old ones were making them work on the house

Usually dirty labor

Other old were driving someone out to the county naked and leaving them there – they have to somehow make way back in Charlottesville

But then they are initiated and made full brothers/sisters

Get tokens

Get privileges of the house, the organization

Military schools often do long period of humiliation – plebes

Who get insulted and yelled at and told to do sometimes senseless chores

And people cheerfully accept the humiliation for status elevation

Yearly cycle rituals are rituals of status reversal

Low made high and high made low

Already mentioned Pope washes the feet of a beggar before Easter

Special efforts for homeless on most holidays

Often the people who do this are prominent social, political figures

Bush serving Thanksgiving dinner in Iraq was supposed to be this

President is about as high as we can get in US

He goes to dangerous part of world – normally highly protected

He does menial work, as in working mess duty

Had he really done this, this would have had that emotional power that Turner is trying to convey

Unfortunately, Bush uses fake turkey – plastic centerpiece

And the whole think comes across as fake rather than as intense emotional experience

Letter in Post about prominent entertainers who go to Iraq but will venture no further than the airport at Baghdad – Washington Redskins Cheerleaders actually go to a combat zone

Yearly cycle also allows other reversals, in addition to status

Normally prohibited behaviors allowed

And the tension created by the prohibitions released and dissipated

Like being allowed to overeat

Be less discriminate in sexual behavior

In these days when everyone is afraid of other people – get to gather in large groups – like First Night Virginia, the New Years celebration in Times Square

Essentially what we need to get out of this is

Contrast between life cycle and yearly cycle ritual

Elevation versus reversal

Even more important – the nature of the margin/portal/limens

That special time outside of time with its reversals

This is essentially what Turner is after – describing what the limens is and what being in the limens is like

His term – communitas

Before we look at this further – another ritual sample

Easter egg video

Pysanka video example

Totally useless activity

Yet everyone LOVES it

Amount of energy, time, and effort expended on something so extremely fragile

It does keep, but still so delicate

Pysanka has cultural value, but no practical value whatsoever

Turner’s term for this pleasurable state is communitas

Not community because it is different

Community has stratification and differentiation

Has practical goals

There are three types of communitas:

Normative

Ideological

Existential

Normative is what we have been talking about

Occurs on a regular basis, at predictable times, under predictable circumstances

Is socially sanctioned and recognized

So things like a wedding procession going down the street and making noise is fine

Whereas just plain going down the street and making a racket is not

Funeral procession going down the street and going through red lights is fine

Ordinary citizen going down the street and running red lights is not

There might be special traffic regulations for First Night Virginia

Dogwood Festival

For a football game

Ideological would be either religious or that of a millenarian group

Note traits of liminars, Turner pages 106-107

Look at monks, of whatever religion and see how well traits of liminars fit

Or members of a movement such as Heaven’s Gate

Branch Davidians

People at Jonestown, followers of Jim Jones

At least organized religions get concessions

Amish allowed to break traffic laws, or have special modifications of laws

Note religious service as a moment of communitas

All congregants are equal

You humble self, accept dictates of the church, temple, etc.

Note FOOD symbolism, as in Christian Eucharist

Objections in Episcopal Church during AIDS crisis

There might be an individual who chooses a life of communitas for ideological reasons

Academe, to me, was this once

Or who just chooses to forgo status, or money, or appearance

Russian hermits or holy fools

What do you get out of this?

Salvation

Feelings of superiority

Powers of the weak

Note Gandhi

Buddha

Tolstoy

The mothers on the battlefields of Chechnya

Powers of the weak are spiritual rather than physical or social powers

Gandhi’s message is that I have the inner strength not to resist you

I am so strong that I can tolerate all of your physical abuse

Implies strength in body and spirit

Third type of communitas is existential

Spontaneous, more or less

Happening in my day

Rave now?

Surrender of self in a mosh pit

Pleasure of same

Happening was like a party – pleasure to eye and ear, and often palate

Communitas may be very pleasurable, but it is also very dangerous

We know what happened at Jonestown, with the Heaven’s Gate group, at Waco

What can happen at raves or in mosh pits

Or at happenings of the past

Not all peace and love

People did get hurt, emotionally and physically

Accidents at weddings in Russia and Ukraine

Ivan Kupalo “sacrifices”

In US – traffic deaths, esp. during holidays such as New Years

If sports has certain ritual characteristics

For audience: get drunk, eat fatty foods

Scream and yell, including yelling unseemly things at other team (and own team), referee

Communal – lots of people in one place

Olympics has the intent of creating communitas among nations

Get together and be equal

At sporting events also possible accidents, stampedes

Accidents at soccer matches in Europe