FIFA 2010 and the elusive spirit of communitas: A return to Victor Turner (with some differences)

Abstract

This article focuses on two cases of elusive and hyper-transient expressions of ‘communitas’ that seem to have been structured by specific conditions of liminality. These are the FIFA World Cup 2010 and the experiences of young Zimbabwean refugees living in Cape Town. In the course of the analysis we draw attention to the limits and possibilities of Turner's analysis of the ritual process for understanding contemporary forms of sociality. In each case we illustrate how a liminal period establishes an experience of ecstatic solidarity and high connectivity as reactions to, as well as products of, the neoliberal capitalist system which dominates African sociality today. We discuss how the 2010 World Cup created the conditions for South Africans to experience a hyper-transient form of communitas that, unfortunately, seemed seamlessly to morph into the scapegoating of African foreigners just as the sporting event drew to a close. In contrast, we illustrate how a group of Zimbabweans depend upon communitas in order to survive and develop a sense of structure in their liminal positions as foreigners in xenophobic South Africa, especially facing threats of violence at the end of the World Cup. We hope that doing this allows us to illustrate the productivity of Turner's concept of communitas for understanding a wide variety of contemporary social and political phenomena, including that which can be seen as the ‘underbelly’ of communitas.