RT Article
T1 Liminalita na druhou: dynamika rituálních změn v basilejské Fasnacht = Second-degree liminality : the dynamics of ritual change in the Basel Fasnacht
JF Religio
VO 26
IS 2
SP 133
OP 166
A1 Cieslarová, Olga 1980-
A1 Chlup, Radek 1972-
A2 Chlup, Radek 1972-
LA Czech
YR 2018
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1743548176
AB Taking the example of the Basel carnival Fasnacht, the paper shows in what way ritual can maintain the impression of being traditional and unchanging, and yet be open to changes and innovations. As the basic conceptual framework, we use the notion of liminality, which Victor Turner identified as the creative moment of ritual. In the Fasnacht this liminal dimension appears in two degrees. The carnival as such represents a reflexive liminal counterpart to the standard social structure, yet it is itself also highly structured and bound by conservative traditional rules. As a reaction to this, there arises within the Fasnacht a "second-degree" liminality in the form of the so-called wild Fasnacht, which turns the official antistructural Fasnacht rules upside down once again, testing their validity. While the carnival structure offers a regulated opportunity for questioning everyday social behaviour, wild Fasnacht questions even this regulated manner of questioning as such, opening space for its reflection and modification. We use detailed examples to demonstrate how the subtle dialectics of structure and antistructure keeps the tradition of Basel's Fasnacht alive and allows it to evolve without destroying its aura of traditionality.
K1 Fasnacht
K1 antistructure
K1 Carnival
K1 Liminality
K1 ritual change
K1 ritual creativity
K1 Tradition