Steven Chung: Image and Pilgrimage #2

Christian Pilgrimage vs Tribal rituals

In the book, Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture, authors Victor Turner and Edith Turner compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the liminal experiences of Christian pilgrimages and tribal rituals.  These rites de passage (rites of transition) are marked by three phases: separation, limen or margin, and aggregation (Turner 2).  Separation symbolizes the detachment of the individual from the group; the person is disengaged from social structure and cultural conditions.  The liminal phase signifies that the person is in a transitional state; he experiences no attributes of the past and/or what is to come.  In the third phase the subject returns to the normal, secular, structured society and is expected to live accordance with its customary norms and standards.

However, one embarks on a Christian pilgrimage in an effort to stray away from the "occasions of sin" which is very inherent in structured societies.  On the other hand, a tribe member proceeds through a ritual to attain a new sociocultural status.  In the book it states that a "pilgrim seeks temporary release from the structures that normally bind him, the tribal initiand seeks a deeper commitment to the structural life of his local community" (9).  Subjects of both routines separate themselves from their normal cultures but they have different reasons of doing so.  A pilgram wishes to be set free of society's obligations and the evil within the culture.  A tribesman wishes to attain a greater status in order to be of more significance in his community.