First of all, my research is not only my research but our research. It has been made together with my long-time art companion Marjut Hernesniemi. The starting point for our research was our experience of the western modern circus, what it does, and how it cares for the cosmos. From our experience, the western modern circus is based on techniques, risk, danger, and spectacle. Human is in the center of it, often presented as superhuman controlling and manipulating everything. By looking at the current situation in the world, human domination has caused us problems in a form of climate change and other ecological crises such as mass extinction. However, there are different ways of relating to the world. In this research we have looked beyond the western modern circus, to the roots of circus in China and Japan, and to the archaic rituals, to find other ways of relating to the world through circus and trying to bring them to the present day. This research was set out with the question of trying to combine circus and other aspects of life as one sustainable or regenerative practice. The theoretical framework of the research has been ritual. The thought behind that has been the efficacy of the ritual in contrast to entertainment. That is circus can make a difference. From an animistic perspective, the purpose of the ritual is to sustain and renew, preserve or bring back the balance between the psyche, body, social, cosmic, and circle of life. With this in mind, we have made use of the anti-structure of liminality as a playground while working in the studio. In this playground, we have not been bound by the custom, convention, or ceremonials of the western modern circus. Instead, we’ve had the possibility to play. Use the definition of western modern circus as a launching pad and try to run as far as possible, but still have the connection point as the one that we left from. The rules of the play were simple, such as we don’t climb the rope, you are not allowed to hurt the rope, instead of objects, materials of becoming, instead of human exceptionalism, appreciation of the other, what if there was no human on stage. All these rules created different possibilities.  While in liminality we have been bound by another thing that can appear in a liminal phase, communitas. Communitas as an unstructured communion of equal individuals working towards a collective task with full attention. In our communitas, the task has been a sustainable circus. Moreover, in our communitas, ropes and nature were included as equals. Together we have been imagining and making different kinds of possible futures. These relations between us, nature, and the ropes have been intimate relations. During the process of making, humans have been ”affected” as much as the significant other.  Our task was to combine circus and other aspects of life as one sustainable or regenerative practice. As performances in circus consist of ritualized gestures that show the relationship between us and the cosmos, we need to rethink what we are presenting. To find a more sustainable and regenerative future, we need collective survival skills instead of individual ones. These survival skills should include all life in its diversity. For change to happen liminality, communitas and play are all needed. Liminality to open up a playground outside of the structured society. Play to come up with solutions to challenges. Communitas to form a special bond between the players, speak for the weak, and not forget that we work for the same cause.  Circus can transform, however it requires that the artists are willing to go through the liminal space themselves and take circus with them.

Utifrån sex intervjuer med kolloledare, som uppsatsen baseras på, framkommer att en tydlig skiljelinje görs mellan kollo och livet utanför. Kollo beskrivs som en särskild och annorlunda värld. För intervjupersonerna innebär arbetet på kollo att separeras från sin vanliga kontext för att istället bli del av ett nytt och relativt slutet sammanhang. Genom att bland annat tillämpa Michel Foucaults idéer om heterotopier och antropologen Victor Turners tankar om liminalitet och communitas skapas förståelse för hur kollo som rum inverkar på ledarnas villkor, förutsättningar, handlingsmöjligheter, relationer, tankar, sinnesstämningar och kroppsuppfattningar. Uppsatsens övergripande intresseområde är rum, sammanhang och varande som erfars och konstrueras som något utöver det vanliga och vardagliga. / <p>Uppsatsventilering ägde rum den 13-01-2023 på Stockholms universitet. </p>

In diesem Vortrag wird die These verstreten, dass Sinnstiftung und Sinngebung keinesfalls eine Aufgabe sind, die das Symbolische allein bewältigen kann. Ohne das Beisammensein und die kommunikative Interaktion einer Gemeinschaft können Symbole zwar auf etwas anderes hinweisen und somit „Bedeutung“ signalisieren, sie stiften und geben aber keinen Sinn für sich. Das Symbolische bedarf der Gemeinschaft, deren Bildung, Erhaltung und Restituierung im Ritual stattfinden. Die Darlegung dieser These, bedient sich eines kognitionswissenschaftlichen Ansatzes zur Ritualforschung.:1. Einleitung 2. Der Umfang der menschlichen Kognition 2.1 Der Historisch-genetische Ansatz zur menschlichen Kognition 2.2 Embodiment 3. Die Aufführung der Hiramlegende 4. Elemente des Performativen im Ritual 4.1 Erzeugung von Wirklichkeit 4.2 Szenische Aufführung 4.3 Körperlichkeit 5. Die Möglichkeit der Eigentlichkeit von Symbolen (Schlussfolgerung)

1999年，味全龍在三連霸後意外解散，徒留龍迷無限思念，時至今日，許多龍迷仍在各BBS站的龍隊討論板，尋找、分享過去曾有的記憶。只是隨著時空的變遷，與龍隊相關的消息大幅減少，儘管仍有前龍將在球場上征戰，但他們的今日表現也不再與龍隊直接相關。假使網路中的虛擬社群能夠成為龍迷記憶過往的處所，對龍迷而言，社群記憶的形塑過程為何？社群成員之間又存在著什麼樣的關係？ 不同於過去虛擬社群之研究取徑集中於效果論、控制論的範疇，本論文試著從James Carey的傳播儀式觀點出發，從人類的固有行為，特別是儀式活動中，重新檢視社群記憶的產生與成員關係。研究對象為批踢踢實業坊（ptt）的Dragons板，研究分析之理論基礎包括了Maurice Halbwachs的集體記憶理論、Victor Turner的社會劇理論，以及Turner儀式研究的中介性與交融概念，研究方法為文本分析與深度訪談。 研究發現，奧運期間，針對徐生明爭議所引發的各個討論串內容，不僅彼此扣連，也互相影響著，使得討論串的主題發展，宛如社會劇中的情節更迭。在社會劇的修正行動中，龍迷則在討論串的字裡行間透露出對過去記憶的重組與召喚，目的時常是為了合理現狀、弭平對立與衝突。同時，由於社群管理者的管理態度與對自我職權的認識，讓參與者在取得社群身份，以及為文互動的過程裡，展現出類中介性的特徵，Dragons板也成為龍迷面對社會之不規律性與緊張時，自願而非義務結合的交融狀態。 從研究發現進一步延伸，「龍魂不滅」作為Dragons板的社群記憶，並非指成員之間的共同記憶，也絕非永恆不變。事實上，「龍魂不滅」應視為社群記憶形塑過程中的象徵性資源，此象徵不僅是儀式過程中成員行動的力量來源，象徵意義也可能在記憶重組與召喚的動態過程中，被賦予新的意義。另一方面，Dragons板所具有的類中介性，是龍迷遭逢危機與不安時的自發性結合；Dragons板所以能成為記憶社群，從儀式觀點，社群的參與宛如朝聖，社群的意義以及成員之間的關係，則是在選擇之後產生，也就是交融。

Die doel van die navorsing is om vas te stel of liminale prosesse, drumpeloorgange en transformasie deur die verskuiwing van sosiogeografiese omgewing teweeggebring word. Vir die terreinverkenning van die term liminaliteit word gebruik gemaak van die teorië van antropoloë Arnold van Gennep en Victor Turner en word getoon dat die term liminaliteit al hoe meer vryelik in velde buite die antropologie gebruik word. Die toepasbaarheid van die drie fases (pre-liminaire, liminaire en post-liminaire) van die rites de passage en die heropname in die communitas word met betrekking tot die letterkunde toegelig. Die ondersoek van die konsep liminaliteit word ten opsigte van literêre karakters gedoen aan die hand van die oorsake en dryfvere wat tot liminale prosesse lei, asook die uitwerking van daardie prosesse op die geestelike instelling van die verskillende hoofkarakters in die romans ’n Ander land van Karel Schoeman, Die son kom aan die seekant op van Jeanette Ferreira, Lang skaduwees in Afrika van Connie Luyt en die ongepubliseerde roman Paul Roux van die kandidaat self. Die verskillende elemente (dryfvere, karakterisering, milieus, drumpeloorgange en transformasies) wat tot liminale situasies bydra, word behandel. Daar word tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die verskillende elemente dui op die roete wat na die rites de passage toe kan lei. Navorsingsartikels en essays wat die tussenruimtes en oorskryding van grense in verskillende publikasies bespreek, word gebruik om die ondersoek toe te lig. Besprekings van Louise Viljoen (Woordwerk van Breyten Breytenbach), Adéle Nel (Lykdigte en Ruggespraak van Joan Hambidge), Heilna du Plooy (Niggie van Ingrid Winterbach), Dorothea van Zyl (Vaselinetjie van Anoeschka von Meck), Marlies Taljaard (Kleur kom nooit alleen nie van Antjie Krog) is hiervoor aangewend. Daar word ook na ekspat-literatuur soos dié van Laurens van der Post, Breyten Breytenbach en Gérard Rudolf verwys. Dit is ’n vrugbare tegniek om literêre karakters vanuit Van Gennep en Turner se teorieë te ontleed. Soos wat die konsep liminaliteit toenemend gebruik en toegepas word, sal dit ook meer in die literatuur aangewend word, veral in die werk van ekspatskrywers. Wat hierdie bevindings betref, kan ’n mens begin gis oor die Afrikaanse diaspora-letterkunde wat ’n nuwe communitas vir drumpelfigure geskep het. Die gemeenskaplike kreatiewe energie in hierdie liminale sone kan as bewusmaking dien en sodoende verandering teweegbring. ENGLISH : The purpose of the research is to determine whether liminal processes, threshold crossings or transformation can be brought about by the changing of socio-geographical environment. For the exploration of the term liminality the theories of anthropologists Arnold Van Gennep en Victor Turner are used and it is shown that the term is increasingly used in other fields. The applicability of the three phases (preliminaire, liminaire and post-liminaire) of the rites de passage and the reentering of the structural realm, the communitas, is enlightened with the help of literature. The analysis of the concept liminality regarding these literary characters is done by causes and motivations that lead to liminal processes, as well as the effect of those processes on the spiritual/mental inclination of the characters in the novels ’n Ander land by Karel Schoeman, Die son kom aan die seekant op by Jeanette Ferreira, Lang skaduwees in Afrika by Connie Luyt and the candidate’s unpublished novel Paul Roux. Different elements (motivation, characteristics, milieu, thresholds and transformation) that lead to liminal phases, are discussed. It was found that the different elements indicate the route leading to the rites de passage. Applicable essays and articles regarding the liminal phases and transgression of borders in different publications are explored to explain the analysis. Research articles and essays focusing on the phases leading to the rites de passage used for this analysis are those by Louise Viljoen (Woordwerk of Breyten Breytenbach), Adéle Nel (Lykdigte en Ruggespraak of Joan Hambidge), Heilna du Plooy (Niggie by Ingrid Winterbach), Dorothea van Zyl (Vaselinetjie by Anoeschka von Meck) and Marlies Taljaard (Kleur kom nooit alleen nie by Antjie Krog). Reference is also made to the ex-pat literature of Laurens van der Post, Breyten Breytenbach and Gérard Rudolf. Applying Van Gennep and Turner’s theories for the analysis of literary characters is fruitful. As the concept liminality is used and applied increasingly, it will become more relevant in literature, especially in the work of expat writers. Regarding the findings, one can speculate about the ‘diaspora’ literature in Afrikaans that created a new communitas for threshold figures. The communal creative energy in this liminal zone can be effective as to an awakening that can bring about change. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Afrikaans / unrestricted

No description available.

En 2015, j’ai mené une enquête de terrain sur les routes de Compostelle. Inspiré de l’héritage théorique de Victor Turner, l’extraquotidienneté liminaire du pèlerinage de Compostelle est envisagé comme voie d’accès pour comprendre le quotidien normal des pèlerins. Le choix d’étudier l’extraquotidienneté se justifie par son rapport d’interdépendance à l’égard du quotidien. En effet, le pèlerinage est un état de passage où se joue une crise qui tire son origine au sein même du quotidien normal. À la suite des entrevues et observations menées, un dénominateur commun semble caractériser l’expérience pèlerine : l’impression de se sentir « ici et maintenant ». L’impressionnante recrudescence de l’affluence pèlerine sur les routes jacquaires, à une époque où les rites se sécularisent et s’individualisent, soulève deux interrogations déterminantes. Si les rites sont effectivement des soupapes de sécurité de la structure sociale quotidienne, de quelle crise témoigne cette recrudescence? De plus, quels attraits propres au pèlerinage de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle justifient un accroissement marqué de son affluence? Dans ce mémoire, il est démontré les conditions selon lesquelles le pèlerinage de Compostelle s’établit en tant qu’anti-structure extraquotidienne. Je trace ensuite le portrait des étapes que franchissent les pèlerins qui entament le périple : la séparation, la crise, l’adaptation et la communitas. Nous verrons que ledit sentiment de présence témoigne de l’atteinte du seuil de la communitas. Afin d’expliquer le sentiment de présence, j’ai recours au concept de flow élaboré par Csikszentmihalyi. Selon Csikszentmihalyi, l’expérience du flow s’accompagne d’une impression d’être présent « ici et maintenant ». Nous verrons que l’expérience extraquotidienne du pèlerinage favorise le flow. À l’opposé, je défends la thèse selon laquelle les processus au cœur de l’accélération sociale font obstacle au flow, notamment : l’incessante obsolescence des pratiques et savoirs à l’ère de l’information et l’altération des perceptions induite par les technologies, et particulièrement le numérique. / In 2015, I conducted fieldwork on St. James Way. As is demonstrated by Victor Turner’s theoretical work, it is this paper’s belief that liminal phenomena, that are manifested during rites of passage such as St. James Way, provide precious insight into the daily life from which it arises from, namely, social structure. The study of extraordinary temporality here is justified thus, by its interdependence to daily life. In fact, liminal phenomena are known to frame crises in daily life. Results of the fieldwork conducted on St. James Way’s extraordinary temporality led to the observation that the impression of ‘being in the moment’ is a prevalent theme amongst pilgrims. The impressive upsurge of pilgrims walking the paths to Santiago, at a time of secularization and individualization, raises questions. If rites of passage are indeed mechanism acting like pressure releasing valve, to which crisis do they owe this surge? Secondly, which aspects of this pilgrimage explain its current appeal? First, it will be argued that St. James Way’s pilgrimage establishes itself as an anti-structure, or put otherwise, an extraordinary temporality. For the purpose of this demonstration, an overview of the stages pilgrims go through will be presented, namely: separation, crisis, adaptation and communitas. Furthermore, we will see that the impression of being in the moment marks the threshold of the communitas. To explain this ‘impression’, this paper invokes a psychological perspective that St. James Way delivers a proper experience of flow. According to Csikszentmihalyi, the flow is known to trigger a feeling of ‘being in the moment’. On the contrary, this research supports the thesis that the structure of daily life fails to deliver an equally optimal experience. Therefore, this paper investigates the processes through which the society of acceleration hinders the experience of flow. Among these processes, emphasis is given here to the impending obsolescence of knowledge in the age of information technology and the altered perception induced by technologies, more specifically, digital devices.

From the claims of punk rocker GG Allin aiming to shed his own blood for Rock ‘n’ Roll to the religiously tinted narratives of Bruce Springsteen we come to find artists using religious references to color their artistic medium. A question arises: Could these utterances and narratives show a deeper meaning behind Rock ‘n’ Roll such that it can give individuals a way to obtain religious experience? This thesis aims at arguing for the ability of Rock ‘n’ Roll as having a way to incite feelings of religious experience and communitas. Through the usage of auto-ethnography coupled with subsidiary sources from academic to pop culture writers this thesis will investigate if such a creative form helps to enable individuals to experience transcendence and feelings of community while immersed in Rock ‘n’ Roll.

From the claims of punk rocker GG Allin aiming to shed his own blood for Rock ‘n’ Roll to the religiously tinted narratives of Bruce Springsteen we come to find artists using religious references to color their artistic medium. A question arises: Could these utterances and narratives show a deeper meaning behind Rock ‘n’ Roll such that it can give individuals a way to obtain religious experience? This thesis aims at arguing for the ability of Rock ‘n’ Roll as having a way to incite feelings of religious experience and communitas. Through the usage of auto-ethnography coupled with subsidiary sources from academic to pop culture writers this thesis will investigate if such a creative form helps to enable individuals to experience transcendence and feelings of community while immersed in Rock ‘n’ Roll.

China is a world force. Not only is China seen in the daily news but it has produced the largest church in the world. The church is 100 million people strong (Hattaway 2003:13). Since 1978, modern China has begun to populate the world community with her immigrants. Vast Diaspora communities have been created. The church in China shows all the signs of a Jesus People movement. In 1949 the communist came into power. They ordered all Christian missionaries to leave the country (Aikman 2003:44). By 1953 the last missionary had left (Thompson 1978:186). Mao closed the churches, confiscated property, burned books and bibles and had leaders sent to re-education camps. A time of persecution had begun. Rather than destroy the church, this made it stronger. The church grew from 750,000 to 100 million today. Can this Jesus People movement be experienced in the Diaspora community in South Africa? To evaluate this we use Allan Hirsch’s “The Forgotten Ways” (2006). In this he speaks of Apostolic Genius and the six elements that compose it. Thos elements are Jesus is Lord, Making Disciples, Missional-Incarnational Impulse, Apostolic Environment, Organic Systems and Communitas. These six elements are found expressed within a Jesus people movement. When they are all fully involved, a Jesus People movement is underway. There are 14 Chinese Christian churches in South Africa. The Chinese Diaspora community is 300-350,000 people. The Chinese mostly come from the Fujian province in China. Seventy percent are entrepreneurs and businessmen running shops selling Chinese goods. The researcher has found that the leadership of the churches is from Taiwan. Bringing everything together, the researcher finds the churches are growing at a moderate rate. The expected explosive growth of the church in China is not found in South Africa. The elements of Apostolic Genius are present but only partially expressed. There continues to be potential for the Chinese House church movement to field workers in South Africa. There has been some expressed interest. The Back To Jerusalem Movement is putting missionaries all over the Middle East (Hattaway 2003). It is the opinion of the researcher that putting workers in the Diaspora communities would be a natural extension of that that effort. / Dissertation (MA Theol)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted