ASSOCIATION FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH

Labovitz School of Business & Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth, 11 E. Superior Street, Suite 210, Duluth, MN 55802

Bodily Experiences and Self-Transformation Jannsen Santana, ESCP Europe, France Olivier Badot, ESCP Europe, France

Physical, mental, and social disorders are hard to deal with. Yet consumers seek to solve their struggles by engaging in bodily experiences. Drawing on a sensory ethnography on pilgrimages in Europe and Latin America, we categorized self-transformations, and proposed an explanation to how people achieve transformation through bodily enactments.

[to cite]: Jannsen Santana and Olivier Badot (2020) ,"Bodily Experiences and Self-Transformation", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 48, eds. Jennifer Argo, Tina M. Lowrey, and Hope Jensen Schau, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 1027-1031.

[url]: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/2661541/volumes/v48/NA-48

[copyright notice]: This work is copyrighted by The Association for Consumer Research. For permission to copy or use this work in whole or in part, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com/. Consuming Extraordinary Experiences: Personal Transformationin the Antistructural Realm Chairs: Chris Hackley, University of London - Royal Holloway, UK Rajesh Nanarpuzha, Indian Institute of Management Udaipur, India

Paper #1: Dissecting Consumption: The Temple Festival as an – Brazil). The study investigates how the extraordinary experience of Extraordinary Experience pilgrimage is experienced as a transformative sensory phenomenon. Rajesh Nanarpuzha, Indian Institute of Management Udaipur, Finally, paper 4 takes a Turnerian approach to the theorization of solo India travelling. Sixteen solo travelers are interviewed in order to generate Sridhar Samu, Great Lakes Institute of Management, India insight into the personally transformative extraordinary experiences Prakash Satyavageeswaran, Indian Institute of Management they sought and gained in the anti-structural realm of adventurous Udaipur, India solo travel. Jossin Shaji, Indian Institute of Management Udaipur, India The papers have in common a focus on consumer experienc- es that can be deemed extraordinary in the dual sense that they are Paper #2: The Extraordinary Experience of Death and Rebirth a) far from quotidian or routine and b) there is an expectation that in a Thai Temple Ritual undertaking these experiences will yield benefits of a spiritual and/ Rungpaka Amy Hackley, Birkbeck College, University of or transformative character. Each paper discusses extraordinary ex- London, UK periences that go beyond the realm of everyday life (Bhattacharjee Chris Hackley, University of London - Royal Holloway, UK and Mogilner, 2014) and hold the potentiality of a personal change Paper #3: Bodily Experiences and Self-transformation and renewal, even bringing joy (Arnould and Price, 1993, p. 25) and Jannsen Santana, ESCP Europe, France magic (Schouten and McAlexander, 1995). Olivier Badot, ESCP Europe, France In this session we explore three main research questions: Paper #4: Personal Transformation Through Extraordinary 1. In what ways can extraordinary consumer experiences be Experiences empirically and theoretically extended/re-framed, particu- Isadora Matsuda Sanchez de Rojas, EAESP-FGV, Brazil larly in the area of personally transformative experiences? Benjamin Rosenthal, EAESP-FGV, Brazil 2. What is the role of socio-historical institutions and rituals in creating extraordinary experiences? SESSION OVERVIEW 3. How does consumer participation affect extraordinary ex- Extraordinary experiences as consumption phenomena remain periences? a fascinating area of academic research (Beverland, Lindgreen, and Vanhamme 2012; Caru & Cova, 2006; Lanier Jr., Clinton, & Rader, Dissecting Consumption: The Temple Festival as an 2015; Turner and Bruner 1986). Within marketing, multiple perspec- Extraordinary Experience tives have been adopted to look at extraordinary experiences (Ar- nould & Price, 1993; Belk & Costa, 1998; Kozinets, 2002; Tum- EXTENDED ABSTRACT bat and Belk 2011). Even as extraordinary experiences have been The consumption of extraordinary experiences has been studied explored in diverse contexts (Tumbat and Belk 2011), these studies as service encounters (Arnould and Price 1993), as a contrast to the have been largely restricted to the consumption sphere in the United consumption of ordinary experiences (Bhattacharjee and Mogilner States and other developed markets (Arnould & Price, 1993; Belk 2014), as a means of consumer emancipation (Kozinets 2002), and & Costa, 1998, Kozinets, 2002). Even as this stream of research has as socially constructed fabrications (Tumbat and Belk 2011). This provided seminal insights about consumer behavior in the consump- is representative of the different lenses through which extraordinary tion of extraordinary experiences, it has left open the opportunity experiences have been conceptualized and examined in consumer to explore this phenomenon using differing consumer cultural per- research. However, a unifying thread connecting these research spectives. In this special session, we aim to explore diverse facets endeavors is an assumption of experiences being consumed by an of extraordinary experiences from hitherto under-explored cultural archetypal consumer, unshackled by the social context. Even as re- perspectives, with the broad aim of theoretically and empirically ex- search in the consumer domain has looked at consumer motivations, tending consumer research on extraordinary experiences. In doing the role of social institutions in shaping consumption experiences has so, we consider diverse empirical contexts, different methodologi- been overlooked. This is in line with Askegaard & Linnet’s (2011, cal approaches to studying extraordinary experiences, and disparate p. 381) contention that what is missing in Consumer Culture Theory types of extraordinary experiences. (CCT) research is the lack of a ‘context of context’. In paper 1, we consider the context of a single temple festival In this paper, we investigate the impact of social institutions in in India, and examine how socio-historical institutions shape con- the consumption of an extraordinary experience. In doing so, we at- sumption. The study takes a naturalistic ethnographic approach to tempt to answer the following broad research question explore the Nemmara-Vallangi vela, a temple festival in Kerala, In- 1. How is consumption of an extraordinary experience shaped dia. In paper 2, we consider a specific Buddhist ritual that occurs at by the social institutions of gender, social class, and caste? the intersection of spirituality and consumption- the Thai Theravada Buddhist Death Ritual for the Living. The theorization seeks to ex- To investigate this, we conducted a naturalistic inquiry of the tend Victor Turner’s idea of liminoid consumption into the spiritual Nemmara-Vallangi vela, a temple festival in Kerala, India. Planned sphere. Paper 3 entails a multi-sited sensory ethnography of four dif- as a multi-year participant observation of the week-long temple fes- ferent pilgrimages in Europe (Lourdes – France, Camino de Santiago tival, we have completed the first round of data collection and analy- – Spain) and Latin America (Juazeiro do Norte and Belém do Pará sis. A total of 25 ethnographic interviews of festival participants have been conducted. We have complemented this with still photographs

Advances in Consumer Research 1027 Volume 48, ©2020 1028 / Consuming Extraordinary Experiences: Personal Transformationin the Antistructural Realm and videos of the festival. In keeping with the tenets of constant ing from within the temple, taking occasional photographs, the lead comparison (Glaser and Strauss 1967), data collection, analysis and researcher translating and reflexively understanding the observed informant selection were done iteratively. events in the light of her own personal life experience of being a We have chosen the Nemmara-Vallanghy vela (temple festival) Thai Buddhist since birth. The devotees gathered in the temple are primarily for the information richness that it offers. This annual fes- invited by the monks to lie down in a row of neatly arranged coffins. tival is ostensibly fashioned as a competition between two adjacent Their palms are pressed together holding flowers, a candle and three villages (Nenmara and Vallanghy, in Palakkad district, Kerala state, incense sticks. The monks’ mesmeric chanting of the funeral ritual India) that share a common temple. Aspects of ritual rivalry as dis- chant Ānisong Sīa Sop: “The Blessings of Disposing of Corpses” cussed by Tarabout (1993) is prevalent in Nenmara-Vallanghy vela. interspersed with the striking of the resonant ceremonial gong adds Held annually, seemingly for the residents of the two villages, the to the sense of religious gravitas of the occasion. In spite of the simi- temple festival is a major tourist attraction, bringing in thousands of larities between this ritual and genuine death rituals in the temple, visitors. Complexity in the context is evidenced in the disparity in the death in this ritual, is symbolic. The coffins and their occupants consumption experiences, which we focus on. are covered with a shroud. When the chanting is finished, the shroud Our findings suggest that the impact of diverse socio-historical is removed and the devotee rises from the coffin. The literal transla- forces at play in shaping consumption experiences is clearly visible tion of Norn-Loeng-Sa-Dor-Cro is ‘laying down in a coffin you can in the Nemmara-Vallanghy vela. Visitors to the vela travel long dis- get rid of bad luck’. Devotees believe that the ritual will cleanse their tances to attend and consume the festival. People of Nenmara and soul by tricking bad spirits into thinking they have died, and hence Vallangy travel home in a process somewhat similar to Thanksgiving the bad spirit will leave them alone. Through the symbolic rebirth, in the USA or Christmas in some other countries. They bring their the devotee can start afresh with a new identity shorn of the negative families (spouse/children) so that they can share the history of the karma of their old identity. As a consequence, their fortune in this festival and can initiate them into the different activities. A mosaic life will improve. of different castes takes up specific roles, performing mandated ritu- In Thai Theravada Buddhism, religious doctrine and practice is als during the festival. One dominant caste (The Nair community) interwoven with folk beliefs and practices, and the realm of death is monopolizes the organization of festivities for one of the competing interwoven with that of the living. Spirits, ghosts and ancestors are villages (Nemmara) while a loose federation of members from dif- a vivid presence in material life, for good or for ill. Monks are often ferent castes takes up organizing activities for the other competing asked to intercede between the spirit world and the material world village (Vallanghy). Consumption of the festival is also gendered, to help devotees, in exchange for gifts of goods, food or money that with women taking up traditional household roles, and also occupy- are donated to the temple. For example, monks might convey propi- ing ‘safe space’ vantage points while consuming the festivities. Men, tious lottery numbers for those devotees hoping for a lottery win to on the other hand, ‘perform’ the festivities, and consume them, by improve their circumstance in life, or the monks might be asked to taking center-stage. Though ostensibly egalitarian in consumption, intercede for an ancestor to improve the ancestor’s lot in the next economic status hierarchies also play a role in festival consumption. life. This, in turn, would bring merit to the devotee who commis- The best elephants and the best music ensembles are bid for, and sioned the intervention, which could benefit them both spiritually, perform for the village with the higher financial capability. Festival and materially. rituals are also broken down and chunks are sold to the highest bid- The Thai Death Ritual for the Living requires some translation ders. For example, the house from which the main festival proces- for Western audiences. Firstly, the notion of death in the East differs sion begins is decided based on a bidding process. It is therefore, the from the Western notion of death as a finality and end point (Tumbat consumption of the overall festival or specific events in the festival and Belk, 2011: Bonsu and Belk, 2003). In Buddhism, there is a viv- that we investigate in this study in the context of the role played by id sense of the continuity of life and death. Life on earth itself, then, social institutions including gender, social class, and caste. is a liminal state (Turner, 1969) in the sense that it is but one of the Askegaard & Linnet (2011) argue that consumer research is Wheels of Life. In the Death Ritual for the Living, the liminality of largely characterized by a focus on the lived experiences of consum- this state, the sense of life being an unfolding state of potentiality, is ers (Thompson, Locander, & Pollio, 1989) without adequate focus rendered especially vivid through the intercession of the monks who on “macro-social explanatory frameworks.” In this paper, we heed mediate between this life and the next. Whilst the continuity of life the call by Askegaard & Linnet (2011) and investigate consumption and death is a reality in many practices of Thai Buddhist daily life, within the context of experiencing a temple festival in Kerala. We such as the belief in ghosts and the presence of a spirit house in most study this context through the different social institutional lenses of dwellings and business premises, there is still a need for frequent for- gender, caste, and social class. We find evidence for consumption mal ritual intercessions mediated by monks in order to connect with shaped by the contextual socio-historical development of these so- the spiritual world for particular reasons and on significant occa- cial institutions, and for intersectionality at the individual consumer sions. Some rituals, such as this one, are exceptional in that they fall level. Our findings point to the fallacy of considering an archetypal outside the usual rites of passage or calendrical rites in the religious consumer of extraordinary experiences and motivate us to look at life of Thai Buddhists and, instead, fall broadly within the realm of differing consumption experiences of the same extraordinary experi- commissioned intercessions. That is, they are consumer experiences ence, driven by larger socio-historical forces. that are paid for by the devotees and undertaken for specific reasons of advancement or benefit in the material world. The Extraordinary Experience of Death and Rebirth in a In this project we extend Turner’s (1969) ideas on the liminal Thai Temple Ritual phase of ritual process to a death ritual in order to draw out new theorizations of extraordinary consumer experiences (Arnould and EXTENDED ABSTRACT Price, 2003). For Turner (1969), liminal experience was confined to The ritual is visually striking, within the dramatic and beautiful compulsory rites, while he characterized consumer experiences as setting of the temple with its giant golden Buddha statues, the huge liminoid (Turner, 1974: 1982) rather than liminal. Liminoid experi- ceremonial gong and the robed monks. The researchers are observ- ences are freely entered into in a spirit of playfulness- they are not Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 48) / 1029 trivial, but neither are they permanent. Just as consumer experiences Our findings demonstrate the recurrent mentions to self-trans- can be disposed and repeated, so too can devotees of the Death Rit- formations in participants’ speech and practices not only in Lourdes, ual for the Living repeat the experience many times if they choose. but at the four pilgrimage contexts. Pilgrims reported different types “The liminoid is more like a commodity- indeed, often is a com- of transformations they’ve been through. They can address their modity, which one selects and pays for, than the liminal” (Turner, transformations to religious and non-religious causes, such as: 1982 p.55). Hence, Turner (1982) explicitly linked liminoid experi- To achieve their aimed transformations, pilgrims engage them- ence to consumer experience. The simulation of death and rebirth in selves in bodily enactments mainly related to (i) the place, and (ii) this case also offers opportunities for cross-cultural insights into the using the materials around. People going to these experiences feel a profoundly different understanding of spirituality, death and escha- connection with the very ground of the pilgrimage site and the con- tology that obtains in the Judeao-Islamic-Christian West, and in the suming interactions between their bodies and the place enables well- Buddhist and Hindu influenced East. In their moments in the coffin, being and self-transformations as expressed in the following quote: the devotees subsist in a state between life and death, and it is the liminal character of this state that opens up the potentiality of a new I think that the very ground of the pilgrimage site reveals a power life, a new spiritual identity and new possible futures both as a hu- that can help people to find their healing. And that is the reason man being, and subsequently as a being on a different Wheel of Life. people come to these religious sites. (Fatima, Lourdes) We frame this ritual as an extraordinary consumption experi- ence because it is consumed as a commercial transaction and trans- Individuals engage their bodies in enactments involving mate- ports the consumer into the realm of the extraordinary. The case rials, such as in the words of Lara explaining how the doing of the illustrates a liminal dimension that we suggest is latent in many Camino de Santiago and the difficulties involved at carrying a 11 extraordinary consumer experiences but foregrounded in spiritual kg backpack paradoxically helps her to leave behind the emotional consumer experiences. The theorization also challenges the use of weight that she was carrying so far. Turner’s ideas in consumer research. “I had around 11kg in my backpack. When you’re walking with this material weight you are letting behind the emotional weight you Bodily Experiences and Self-transformation were carrying with you before arriving here” (Lara, Camino de EXTENDED ABSTRACT Santiago)

Many people come to Lourdes facing difficulties. They are going Religious sites mobilize about 380 million people per year through very difficult situations in life. However, in Lourdes they around the world, which represents a market of around 400 USD learn their lesson. They return home transformed. (Michael, million (UNWTO, 2018). These results are interesting for the com- Lourdes) prehension of the patterns of consumption of such religions and ex- periences and how they are connected to well-being and self-trans- Consumer’s senses have been investigated from the provider’s formation. view in consumer research and psychology, such as in the concept of sensory marketing, defined as marketing that engages the consum- Personal Transformation Through Extraordinary ers’ senses and affects their behaviors (Hultén, 2011; Krishna, 2011; Experiences 2012). In consumer culture, incipient line of research has also been dedicated to understanding the role of body and senses in experi- EXTENDED ABSTRACT ences (Scott & Uncles, 2018), such as through the connection with Extraordinary experiences are characterized as uncommon, nature (Canniford & Shankar, 2013), dancing (Hewer & Hamilton, infrequent, emotionally intense (Tumbat and Belk 2011; Arnould 2010), impacted by time (Woermann & Rokka, 2015), or submitted and Price 1993; Scott, Cayla, and Cova 2017), providing a sense of to pain (Scott, Cayla, & Cova, 2017; Cova & Cova, 2019). Yet there community (Arnould and Price 1993; Celsi, Rose and Leigh 1993), is still space to understand how consumers live extraordinary ex- with identity manifestation being the result of belonging (Arnould periences and how they enable consumer transformations and well- and Price 1993). Extraordinary experiences go beyond the realm of being. We believe that it can be better explained when showing that everyday life (Bhattacharjee and Mogilner 2014), bringing a sense the body sensoriality (Kirmayer, 2003; Roux & Belk, 2018; Vom of newness, originality, and freshness, often changing the individ- Lehn, 2006) is shaped by the place (Castilhos, Dolbec, & Veresiu, ual through “…personal integration, personal control, awareness of 2017) and other materials (Miller, 2005), especially during pilgrim- power, joy and valuing…” (Arnould and Price 1993, p. 25), some- age experiences. times even entering into the realm of the spiritual, the magical and How do consumers live pilgrimage experiences seeking self- supernatural (Fernandes and Lastovicka 2011; Schouten and McAl- transformation? This question guided the design of a multi-sited exander 1995). sensory ethnography approach (Pink, 2015) conducted in four differ- Extraordinary experiences allow participants to create a new ent pilgrimages in Europe (Lourdes – France, Camino de Santiago identity facet (Celsi et al. 1993), to “escape from the rationality, – Spain) and Latin America (Juazeiro do Norte and Belém do Pará rules, and stresses of everyday life” (Tumbat and Belk 2011, p. 44), – Brazil). Sensory ethnography is an emplaced ethnography devoted to temporarily invert one’s social order by engaging in new social to understanding an experience by addressing the relationships be- groups with a certain degree of homogeneity (Schouten and McAl- tween bodies, minds, and the materiality and sensoriality of the en- exander 1995; Kozinets 2002). vironment (Pink, 2015). We employed three main techniques of data Often, the kind of impact and transformation that extraordinary collection, which were (i) interviews, (ii) participant observations, experiences provide is portrayed by researchers in a specific time- and (iii) visual data. We carried out data analysis by coding each in- space, located within the experience per se. As illustrated by one of terview, looking for cultural categories and individual and collective Tumbat and Belk’s (2011) alpinists “I think it [the money] would interpretations mainly related to the concepts of embodiment, place only be worth it if I get to the top. I’ve had a really good time, but and materiality (Spiggle, 1994). [reaching the summit is] the only reason I’m actually here” (p. 53). 1030 / Consuming Extraordinary Experiences: Personal Transformationin the Antistructural Realm

Also, we know that it is through post-fact narratives that individu- through extraordinary experiences using the lenses of rites of pas- als make sense of their experience, for instance for those that are sage, with separation from social roles and status, transition into new physically intensive and immersive (Scott et al., 2017). Traveling roles, and incorporation of new selves, roles and status (Schouten to off-track places often leads to self-accomplishment and personal 1991) marking the lives of our informants. development (Zinelabidine et al. 2018). While some researchers have provided some extended effects REFERENCES of extraordinary experiences, such as learning new skills (Arnould Arnould, E. J., & Price, L. L. (1993). River magic: Extraordinary and Price 1993; Celsi et al. 1993), personal growth and renewal (Ar- experience and the extended service encounter. Journal of nould and Price 1993), personal development (Zinelabidine et al. 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