According to van Gennep the “betwixt or between” period is the liminal period that pertains “rites of passage.” Rites of passage tend to be found in smaller simple societies whose lives follow the cyclical rhythms of nature, being the seasons and the moon cycle, but also “rites which accompany every change of place, state, social position, social behaviour and age” (Turner, 1979, p.234).
As a result of his explorations, Van Gennep marked rites of passage by three phases: separation, margin, and aggregation, to which three-fold structure Turner agreed and
Since both, liminal consciousness and liminal behaviour are associated with allowing one to realise how they are more than their individual egos and the ability to think beyond the boundaries of given structures and identities, hence this can lead to self-realisation.renamed as preliminal, liminal and postlimimal rites.
Share this post