The liminality in popular festivals: identity, belonging and hedonism as values of tourist satisfaction

Abstract

A Festa do Boi is a festive celebration linked to the Catholic liturgical calendar, which is celebrated in Allariz (Galicia-Spain). This festival reappears in the 1980s and like other popular festivals, it collects traditional elements and re-builds them into a new festive ritual, more in line with the new temporal and spatial configuration of the late 20th century. They are festivals in which tradition is combined, in representation of the local community, and the tourist approach (Prats, 1997). This event can be analysed as a spontaneous communitas (Turner, 1974a), a happening between hosts and guests (Smith, 1992), where the liminal space can be occupied by tourists as ‘others’ necessary for the identification of ‘ourselves’. The participation of tourists in the festive ritual is carried out from two liminal positions: an unstable state because their daily life has been broken by the movement and involvement required in the festivals with the role of equals, but different. Both actors are required for the exaltation of collective identity. The level of satisfaction of tourists with the liminal experience based on the feeling of belonging and identification with the host community and the hedonistic perception, to provide a more holistic view of the festive ritual. A self-administered on-site survey was conducted on 393 tourists attending the 700th edition of A Festa do Boi in Allariz (Spain). The results suggest that hedonism acts as a precedent for satisfaction evaluation, and satisfaction evaluation for the attendees´ future intentions. In addition, the liminal experience has a two-dimensional structure composed of the individual changes experienced and of the festive ritual.

摘要

亚马逊复活牛节是一个与天主教礼拜日历相联系的节日庆典, 在西班牙西北部的加利西亚阿拉力兹庆祝。这个节日重新出现在80年代, 和其他流行节日一样, 它汇集传统元素, 重新建构成一个新的节日仪式, 以更符合20世纪末新的时空格局。这些节日与传统相结合, 代表了当地社区和发展旅游方式(Prats, 1997)。这个节事可以作为一个自发的共同体(Turner, 1974a) 、一个发生在主人和客人之间的事件(Smith, 1992)进行分析, 在这里, 游客作为’他人’占据了有限的空间, 以表明’我们自己’所必需的身份。游客参与节日仪式有两种阈限立场:一种不稳定的状态, 因为他们的日常生活已经被节日所要求的移动和节日所要求的参与打破了, 它们扮演着同等但不同的角色。这两个行动者都是提高集体身份所必需的。游客阈限体验的的满意程度以他们对当地社区的归属感、认同感还有对享乐主义的感知为基础, 这为节日仪式提供了更全面的视角。本研究对393名参加第700届西班牙阿拉力兹国际亚马逊复活牛节的游客进行了现场调查。研究结果表明, 享乐主义是满意度评估的一个先因, 也是对参与者未来意向的满意度评估。此外, 阈限体验具有由个体经历的变化和节日仪式构成的二维结构。

Keywords:

• Rural landscapes
• liminoid spaces
• liminal experience
• communitas
• hedonism
• individual changes
• festive ritual
• A Festa do Boi (Spain)
• satisfaction
• behavioural intentions

关键词:

• 乡村景观
• 类阀限空间
• 阈限体验;共同体
• 享乐主义
• 个人的变化
• 节日仪式
• 西班牙亚马逊复活牛节
• 满意度
• 行为意向

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lorena Rodríguez-Campo

Lorena Rodríguez-Campo. PhD in Management and Business Administration. Associate professor at University of Vigo. Her research is focused on destination management, marketing, festivals and emotions.

Fátima Braña-Rey

Fátima Braña-Rey. PhD Applied Social Anthropology (University of Santiago de Compostela). Associate professor at University of Vigo. Her research is focused on cultural heritage and territory.

Elisa Alén-González

Elisa Alén-González. Associate Professor of Marketing specializing in tourism marketing at University of Vigo. Her research work lines focused in the area of tourist behaviour.

José Antonio Fraiz-Brea

José Antonio Fraiz-Brea. Professor of Marketing and Market Research. Coordinator of Master´s degree in Inland and Health Tourism Management and Planning. University of Vigo.