Books by Victor Turner

In The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure, Victor Turner examines rituals of the Ndembu in Zambia and develops his now-famous concept of "Communitas."

This is a "social drama" study, which focuses on the village life of the Ndembu of Zambia who were then under British rule. The social constraints, such as the matrilineally-inherited headmanship system, and the releases from these constraints, provoked crises which caused disruption and pain.

Victor Turner examines rituals of the Ndembu in Zambia and develops his now-famous concept of 'Communitas'. He characterises it as an absolute inter-human relation beyond any form of structure. Turner demonstrates how the analysis of ritual behaviour and symbolism may be used as a key to understanding social structure and processes.