Pilgrimage as Liminoid Phenomenon - Nina Salzberg

Pilgrimage is a state of being in between. You are leaving what you know and going to what you don't know. You are passing realms and removed from social status. This is also liminality. Turner describes liminality as "the state and process of mid-transition in a rite of passage". In some religious, pilgrimage is a rite of passage. You have to travel to certain places and leave everything you know behind. For example, the pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims have to travel from different parts of the world to the city of Mecca. It is a rite of passage in their religion because it is one of their Five Pillars. They set off on this journey not knowing what they are going to experience once they get there or on the way. The pilgrimage itself is what defines the experience. Not knowing or being uncertain makes you open to experience the holly. Therefore pilgrimage is liminality.