the function of liminal events in the succession to a position of power: the transfer of the district officer in Thailand

Abstract

One implication of the linkage of religious merit to power in Thailand is that changes in leadership require complete restructuring of hierarchical relationships. Assuming that descriptions of the merit and power linkage are correct, how can a society with such beliefs handle routine transfers of power that do not allow for much restructuring of subordinate ties? To answer this question, we shall examine the events in a routine administrative succession—the transfer of the District Officer in rural Thailand. In this situation, allegiance must be transferred from one legitimate authority to another without restructuring the organizational context. The problem is how to separate the previous incumbent from the position. We claim that such a transferral is accomplished through the ritualized patterns of contra‐normative behavior associated with “liminal” events. The function of such contra‐normative behavior is to permit the personal merit and demerit of the incumbent to be separated from the unquestioned legitimacy of the superior role. In this way the linkage between merit and power is maintained while orderly succession is assured.