Sarah Goldsmith- Communitas (Image and Pilgrimage in Christion Culture)

In pilgrimages there has been a common theme of community or more importantly 'communitas.' Victor and Edith Turner write in Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture, "It is only through the power ascribed by all to ritual, particularly to the Eucharistic Ritual (which in part commemorates the pilgrim saint), that likeness of lot and intention is converted into commonness of feeling, into 'communitas'" (p.13). Traditional pilgrimages naturally lend themselves to this 'communitas' due to the ritualistic nature of the mass and of the Eucharist. This can be seen in those who have hiked the Camino de Santiago with a priest to say the Mass for them everyday, like the Polish Family on the Camino Primitivo.

In addition to traditional pilgrimages, this 'communitas' develops in long distance hiking communities. Setting up camps and preparing food around one another is a ritualistic way of building this 'communitas' with others while on the trail. On my brief weekend on the Appalachian Trail, I  learned that setting up a camp, preparing food, and sitting around a fire builds community rather rapidly. This 'communitas' continues past the campsite and on to the trail as many people find their hiking family.

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