LIMINALITY: RECENT AVATARS OF THIS NOTION IN A SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT

Abstract

The main research question of this article concerns the value of the concept of liminality and its concomitant concepts such as communitas for liturgical studies in South Africa by the year 2012 as pertaining to the wider South African social context. Firstly a brief general historical overview of the origins of the concept and its avatars is provided, followed by discussion of the functioning of the concept in theological literature as it operated during four different periods in recent South African history. Throughout the historical survey ritual examples based on the author’s own experiential truth are provided to illustrate the points made, as well as a selection from the oeuvre of the South African poet and author Antjie Krog.