Lễ hội đua thuyền Tứ Linh tại huyện đảo Lý Sơn, Quảng Ngãi: Nhìn từ quan điểm “trình diễn văn hóa”của Victor Turner

Abstract

This study employs Victor Turner’s cultural performance framework to examine the
Four-Spirit Boat Racing Festival as a ritualized process of social transformation, wherein the liminal phase serves as an intermediary stage that facilitates the emergence of communitas and the reaffirmation of cultural identity. The findings indicate that the festival, held on Ly Son Island, Quang Ngai, conforms to a tripartite structure aligned with Turner’s model: separation, liminality, and reintegration. Beyond its ceremonial function, the festival operates as a sociocultural mechanism that reinforces collective solidarity and preserves the distinctive cultural identity of the local community. By situating the festival within the theoretical paradigm of performance and transition, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of ritual in the negotiation, transmission, and reproduction of cultural identity in contemporary society.