Rachel Goodwyn- Image and Pilgrimage- Communitas and Structure

There is a continuous cycle between communitas, structure, and then communitas again. The example Turner uses in his book is that religious vision first becomes a sect and then a church and then a prop for the political system. Finally, the process returns to communitas because of the liminal spaces that the community has caused. These processes of communitas and structure can change each other throughout the passage of time and in the same ritual field. In communitas there is equality, while in structure or community there is an inequality between the participants in the experience. Many times while on pilgrimage this is begun because people come from all walks of life and share in an amazing, yet physically draining experience. The communitas for some is what helps them continue their journey, even when they feel like they could not go any further. In communitas there is an acceptance of this pain and suffering as a group as a whole, because there are others to help you. On the other hand, structure is an avoidance of the pain and the suffering.