Aspect of Passage, or Rites of Passage Within a Festival Context
For the purpose of this case study, there are some key concepts that need to be defined in order to understand the analysis better. The concept of Ritual usually consists of repeating symbolic actions in order to control society guided by a certain set of rules. Falasi theorized that festivals more or less follow a ritual structure, meaning that they adopt certain symbolic rites that are present in terms of festival/event structures. Although there are a lot of components in this structure, this case study will focus on the aspect of Passage or Rites of Passage within a festival context.
Rites of Passage is a process where “individuals or groups acquire new social statuses or undergo processes of seasonal change”. This process contains 3 key phases: separation, transition, and incorporation. Separation entails an individual’s physical and symbolic detachment from their previous place in society, Transition is a period of social limbo where the individual is in between phases, while Incorporation is the individual’s re-incorporation into society with their new social status/identity.
Although rituals can be considered as not applicable to modern societies, Turner argues that modern society has adopted the ritual structure in festival events. This brings us to the next key concepts, which are liminality and communitas. Liminality is defined as the state of being “neither here nor there; they are betwixt and between the positions assigned and arrayed by law, custom, convention, and ceremonial”. Thus, liminality is a state of social limbo, where one’s social status does not matter. It is a state wherein people are free to adopt any identity or put on any performance that they wish to do.
Communitas is a concept that comes from the liminal phase, and it can be defined as “… society as an unstructured or rudimentarily structured and relatively undifferentiated comitatus, community …”. Due to the ambiguous state of liminality, communitas is a concept that promotes a structureless state, and this means that their experiences are highly dependent on what they make of it. This promotes values of equality and solidarity due to the fact that no social taboos exist, along with a sense of anonymity. This provides an avenue for support and forges a deep connection through the form of shared experiences.
A remarkable thing about liminality and communitas is that although these are described as temporary states, the effects that it has on festival-goers last beyond the event. It is argued that all the 3 stages of the rites of passage are evident in festivals. Tying all these concepts together proves that festivals are places where everyday actions and conventions do not exist.
Finally, the last key concept that will be discussed is Festival Time. In the past, festivals usually marked the passage of the year or significant rites of passage. It exists within time while remaining separate from one’s usual interactions, and it is seen as an escape from one’s everyday activities. Therefore, festivals provide a way for people to carry out or perform certain actions they would not have been able to do within a normal setting. According to Harbord, the concept of festival time is based on the experience of contingency. This means that it provides a structure of time in the age of social media because people are starting to value experiences wherein they are required to be ‘in the moment’ or ‘physically present’.
