Surfing the Shifting Boundary between Sacred and Profane: Confluence, Dwelling, and Crossing

Abstract

While a distinct aspect of surfing can be considered sacred, in its contemporary manifestation it is also commercial, political, and territorial. Rather than setting up a dualism between the profane and sacred aspects of surfing, this paper aims to focus on them as interdependent aspects of the same phenomenon. While apparently contradictory, these aspects continually converge to give surfing its unique form and dynamic character. Taking the aquatic tropes established by Thomas Tweed to their logical conclusion, the intertwined spacio-temporal practices of surfing as dwelling and crossing will be applied to the religious phenomenon of surfing as a site of confluence. This discussion is delicately balanced between the solitary and the social aspects of religion, emphasising the permeable boundary that exists between them.