Image and Pilgrimage 2- Erin Comerford

Communitas is a concept that Turner tackles in this book also. Communitas is a unique form of community that is much stronger than the bonds that are formed in a community. One way to explain this difference would be to say that the Appalachian Trail is a community, but the relationships and the bonds people form on the Appalachian Trail is communitas. Turner says that communitas persists through religious and theological change. Whenever something or someone is going through change, the people and environment around them end up changing too. But the one thing that never will change is the communitas that one is in. These bonds are so strong between people that they won't break. The way people form communitas is through experiences with one another. One good example would be on the Appalachian Trail. People who have never met end up going through a very difficult and challenging time with one another on a pilgrimage. Most people at this point are in a liminal phase and are open to the relationships that are forming around them. The things people share with one another on the AT are things that people who aren't with them at the time can fully understand. The connection people have at that time is one that will hold on tight throughout the future because they shared something unique with one another at a unique time in their lives. The concept of communitas is wonderful and everyone has a communitas too. If you don't feel like you do, then there needs to be a point in your life where you are in a liminal phase so that your mind can be open to these new relationships.