Victor Turner’s theoretical analysis of pilgrimage

To understand the experiences and religious practices , the anthropologists of religion study the religious rituals. In the meantime, Victor Turner is one of the most renowned researchers in the field of anthropology of religion. His most significant achievement was his ability to get the necessary tools for anthropological studies on the complex rituals such as pilgrimage. Now, this study seeks to provide a clear picture of Victor Turner’s analysis of pilgrimage, understanding the meanings and categories and the place of these concepts in the realm of religious and cultural practices. This study aims of investigating Turner’s concepts and how to implement in analyzing the pilgrimage. Victor Turner inspired by Van Genp considers the ritual as including three stages of separation and liminality and attachment. That a ritual is a process by nature in addition to key concepts like liminality, communitas, Structure and Anti-Structure, are considered to be Turner’s tool to do a big jump from the study of primitive rituals of primitive tribes to modern religions and more complex rituals. The first chapter is to express general issues and during the second chapter it is attempted to  elucidate the concepts and approaches to the study of pilgrimage and its divisions and express Turner’s thought and life . The third chapter focuses on the Turner’s method to analyze the rituals. In this chapter it has been tried to study the concepts  of  symbols, and community and liminality in Turner’s view. The fourth chapter examines aspects of Turner’s analysis of pilgrimage, so we could actually get the clear picture of the Turner analysis. Chapter V is devoted to conclusions.