Abstract
This article examines the concept of liminality as an analytical framework for understanding migration experiences in contemporary migrant literature, with specific reference to Landuit want jy wil mos (2025), the autobiographical narrative by Zirk van den Berg. The book documents the migration of the Van den Berg family from South Africa to New Zealand and offers an intimate portrayal of displacement, cultural disorientation and prolonged emotional instability.
The concept of liminality derives from the Latin term limen, meaning “threshold” or “boundary crossing”. Rooted in the Latin patio (to suffer or undergo), liminality denotes a passage and an incomplete process of transformation, while simultaneously referring to uprooting, uncertainty and the temporary suspension of established identities and social roles. The central premise of this study is that migrants frequently enter a prolonged liminal phase that is not governed by a fixed temporal framework and exerts a sustained influence on processes of integration, identity formation and the experience of “belonging”.
Although the concept of liminality, originally theorised by Arnold van Gennep in the 1900s and further developed by Victor Turner, has been widely applied across disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, cultural studies and literary theory, its systematic application within migrant literary studies remains fragmented, contradictory and conceptually inconsistent, according to Marotta (2025). This study seeks to contribute by proposing liminality as a lens through which the complexities and emotional consequences of migration can be analysed in literary texts. Rather than approaching migration as a linear rite of passage with a clearly defined beginning, middle and end, this article argues that migration frequently unfolds as a prolonged and non-linear process. Migrants often enter a transitional state that extends beyond initial relocation and resettlement, affecting identity formation, social belonging and emotional well-being over extended periods of time. This study does not claim universal representativeness for all migrant experiences. Instead, it adopts a literary case-study approach in order to analyse how prolonged liminality is represented within a specific narrative context. Landuit want jy wil mos is particularly suited, because it is written retrospectively and offers insight into the early phases of migration as well as the long-term psychological consequences over time.
The concept of liminality was first introduced by Arnold van Gennep in his seminal work, The rites of passage (1909). Van Gennep assumes that renewal is essential to the survival of any community and identifies rites of passage as the mechanism through which cultural transitions from one social phase to another are marked (Van Gennep 1960 [1909]:x; Amonyeze 2017:5). Each transition, irrespective of context – such as initiation into a specific group or class, coming of age, marriage, or divorce – consists of three phases: separation, transition and reintegration. Van Gennep’s model represents a clearly demarcated beginning and an anticipated endpoint.
In his influential essay, “Betwixt and between: The liminal period in rites of passage” (1967), Victor Turner identifies the liminal phase as the most significant component of the rite of passage. While Van Gennep conceptualised transition as a movement towards reintegration into a new social order within clearly defined structural and temporal boundaries, Turner argues that the liminal phase is characterised by the absence of a fixed structure and predetermined duration. Instead, it constitutes a continuous process that begins when the individual is separated from a previous status or social reality and ends only when reintegration becomes possible (Turner 1969:106–7). Turner thus extends the concept beyond its narrow anthropological origins and emphasises that liminality should function as an analytical tool for understanding transitional periods across a range of social and experiential contexts. Therefore, liminality does not merely identify in-between phases; it foregrounds individuals’ responses to liminal experiences. The analysis of such responses is particularly important, because they actively shape and transform processes of identity construction (Thomassen 2018:46).
Building on later developments in liminal theory, including the work of Thomassen and Szakolczai, the article introduces the concept of prolonged or stabilised liminality to describe the reasons why migrants struggle to complete the reintegration phase due to social exclusion, cultural barriers, economic precarity and limited acceptance within the social communities in host countries. This article draws on these developments to conceptualise migration-related liminality not as a permanent condition, but as a prolonged and residual state that may persist due to structural, cultural and social constraints.
The article further situates liminality within broader social and cultural contexts. Migration does not occur in a vacuum. It is shaped by ideological frameworks, institutional structures, language, labour markets and different culture frameworks in host countries. These factors influence the migrant’s ability to form meaningful social relationships with other members in the host country. In most cases migrants are prevented from experiencing true communitas – Turner’s concept of spontaneous and unlimited social belonging. The absence of communitas, along with language barriers, employment insecurity, cultural misrecognition and social exclusion, reinforces migrants’ sense of “in-betweenness”. Because both the temporal framework and the eventual outcome remain uncertain, the expectation of successful transition is replaced by doubt, insecurity, fear, ambiguity, contradiction, instability and a perceived loss of control over one’s personal life trajectory (Beghetto 2022:11). Thomassen (2018:54) further argues that prolonged liminality may stabilise over time, rendering exit from this condition increasingly difficult.
When liminality is ignored or left unresolved, it produces serious consequences for both individuals and communities (Szakolczai 2018:35). Individuals who are unable to exit the liminal condition frequently experience boredom, existential meaninglessness and normative nihilism (Thomassen 2014:2). Such psychological states may manifest in socially disruptive behaviour. On the other hand, while some members of host societies display tolerance towards migrants, others resist adaptation and reject changes to established lifestyles that would facilitate inclusion (Dennison and Geddes 2021:549; Hainmueller and Hopkins 2014:225). These conflicting positions generate resentment and hostility, contributing to social fragmentation within host communities.
Migrants who are unable to adapt successfully in host countries often return to their countries of origin, where they may once again become trapped within a liminal condition. In addition to financial constraints and administrative challenges, return migration requires of migrants to confront the emotional reality that their initial decision to migrate may have been misguided. During their absence, countries of origin frequently undergo substantial transformation. These societies no longer correspond to migrants’ memories and may no longer provide emotional security or a sense of existential stability (Bida 2018:8; Allen 2015:8). Friends and family members have also changed, and reintegration into intimate social networks is often difficult. Exposure to alternative worldviews – an inevitable consequence of migration – further widens the gap between returnees and those who remained behind (Marschall 2017:145).
The in-depth analysis of the book, Landuit want jy wil mos, reveals the social inclusion experiences of migrants while trapped in the liminal space. The retrospective, narrative structure allows the author to reflect on the long-term consequences of migration, revealing how liminality is not confined to the moment of relocation, but emerges already during the decision-making phase preceding departure. Despite assumed cultural proximity between the social group to which he and his family belong in South Africa and New Zealand society, the book depicts persistent barriers to inclusion. Factors such as underemployment and professional devaluation undermine the author’s sense of dignity and self-worth. The family tried to cope through various strategies such as maintaining ties to the country of origin, preserving cultural rituals and forming relationships with fellow migrants. Although these coping strategies offer comfort and symbolic belonging, they simultaneously signal the absence of communitas, which presumably will lead to full assimilation into the social structures in the host country.
The Van den Berg family in Landuit want jy wil mos eventually adapts and achieves economic independence; yet the narrator continues to experience feelings of partial belonging, displacement and cultural ambivalence. Stability in this context does not equate to full assimilation or unconditional social acceptance, but rather to a negotiated coexistence with lingering liminal effects. Although the experiences depicted in the book are not universally representative, the narrator’s reflections on emotional exhaustion, loss of confidence and social invisibility illustrate key features of prolonged liminality.
To conclude, the article introduces the concept of liminality not as an inevitable result of the migration process, but uses it to describe the long-term emotional and identity-related effects after migrants have achieved a degree of stability. It offers a valuable conceptual framework for migrant literary studies when understood as a dynamic, context-dependent and temporally extended process. Through the case-study analysis it demonstrates how literature can illuminate the live experiences of prolonged liminality and provide a deeper understanding of the psychological, emotional and social consequences of migration.
Keywords: assimilation; communitas; identity; liminality; migrant literature; migration; prolonged liminality; rites of passage; rootlessness; transitional space