Reconsidering Arnold Van Gennep’s Les rites de passage from the perspective of ‘Performance Studies’

Abstract

This article probes into the performative dimensions embedded in Arnold Van Gennep’s book Les rites de passage. Focusing on the tripartite structure of Van Gennep’s ritual scheme, I argue that its current reigning interpretations underestimate what “Performance Studies” heightens: not the ritual and its consequences, but the dynamic passage—the durational procession—delineates the affiliation of the individual to society and outlines the transformative actions a community must undergo in order to secure its survival through time. Thus, rather than focusing on liminality as the pivot of rites of passage, this article addresses the agency of the passage between the three phases of Van Gennep’s ritual model. I offer three central dimensions essential to Performance Studies, through which performativity in Les rites de passage is re-examined: the incursion of the fictional into the social sphere, compulsive repetition, and embodied dynamics are inextricably interrelated dimensions of the processual formation of a tightly knit community through rituals.

Культурна Антропологія Та Антропологічний Театр: Взаємодія Дослідницьких Полів

“…Дихотомія «свій-чужий» та до кінця незрозумілий характер переходу інкорпоруються в процес театрально-ритуальної дії, де актор, який знає правила, є «своїм», а глядач, що прийшов ззовні і не знає до кінця всіх правил гри, завжди буде до певної міри «чужим». Невизначеність стану переходу полягає в тому, що під час участі у виставі глядач є і реципієнтом, і творцем, тобто тут прихована глибока діалектика роз'єднання та возз'єднання, що змінює форму взаємної участі та трансформує стан учасників (Abeliovich, 2018).…”

The Brain Emotional Systems in Addictions: From Attachment to Dominance/Submission Systems

“…In particular, those related to the acquisition and learning of warrior skills, as well as tolerance and danger management. The rites of passage (Abeliovich, 2018 ) are, therefore, a window on the modeling of the primary and secondary motivational/emotional systems during adolescence, each characterized by a peculiar intentional organization that guides the behavior of single individuals (Montag and Panksepp, 2017 ). Cooperating to compete is an evolutionary acquisition of the great apes, whereby as in chimpanzees, cooperative behavior can be seen in group hunting, territorial defense, and alliances during male power struggles (Suchak et al, 2016 ; Massen et al, 2019 ).…”

Repetition and reintegration: Van Gennep’s structure and routinized warfare

“…Turner went on to elaborate his theory of transformation, while developing his conceptualization of anti-structure to include both traditional societies (liminal) and modern lives (liminoid) (Turner, 1974). His studies address a number of pre-modern and modern expressions of anti-structure, such as ritual, play, and performance (Abeliovich, 2018). Warfare, my topic of examination, was theorized in relation to rituals and binary logic by another scholar, the French intellectual Roger Caillois.…”