RITES OF PASSAGE 1. Van Gennep: Rites of Passage Phase 1: Separation Phase 2: Transition Phase 3: Re-aggregation 2. Victor Turner: The Ritual Process Focused on Phase 2 - termed it "liminality" Processes involved a) emergence of communitas, comradeship between initiates b) gnosis - teaching of tribal wisdom c) structure vs anti- structure 3 levels of meaning for symbol a) exegetic - indigenous interpretation b) operational - how symbols are used c) positional - how symbols relate to other symbols 3. Creation of Synthetic Ritual -The goddess rituals of modern society -"Wild man" retreats in the men's movement -Appropriation of Native American ceremonials -sweat lodges, medicine wheels, etc. Sources A. Van Gennep: Rites of Passage. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul 1904. V. Turner: The Ritual Process. Ithica: Cornell University Press 1969. S.F. Moore and B. Myerhoff: Secular Ritual. Amsterdam: Van Gorcum 1977.