Victor Turner here examines the rituals of the Ndembu in Zambia and develops his concept of Communitas, which he characteries as an absolute inter-human relation beyond any form of structure. The Ritual Process has acquired the status of a small classic since first published in 1969. Turner demonstrates how the analysis of ritual behavior and symbolism may be used as a key to understanding social structure and processes. He extends Van Genneps notion of the liminal phase of rites of passage to a more general level, and applies it to gain understanding of a wide range of social phenomena.

Turner, Victor; Abrahams, Roger; Harris, Alfred

I Planes of Classification in a Ritual of Life and Death 2 Paradoxes of Twinship in Ndembu Ritual 3 Liminality and Communitas 4 Communitas: Model and Process 5 Humility and Hierarchy: The Liminality of Status Elevation and Reversal