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-Bavarians in Germany. Speak different language yet consider themselves to be germans.
-Sicilians in Italy
-Galicians in Spain. Catalans and Basque people do not consider themselves to be spaniards.
-cossacks in Russia.
-Alsatians in France.
Examples in Americas.
-Texans in United States
-Quebecois in Canada
-Paisa in Colombia
What are the groups in your countries or the countries that you visited that have the strongest ethnic, regional identity yet still consider themselves to be part of a bigger nation?
i would think African and Asian nations would run away with this
Nigeria's three main tribes - Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani - they still consider themselves Nigerian although I wouldn't rule out another civil war somewhere down the line
Last edited by whogoesthere; 10-28-2019 at 08:39 AM..
i would think African and Asian nations would run away with this
Nigeria's three main tribes - Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani - they still consider themselves Nigerian although I wouldn't rule out another civil war somewhere down the line
I would say Nigeria does not really qualify as there is no one major ethnic group in that country that would dominate. I mean countries like in Europe, americas, asia where there is an universal mainstream culture to every particular nation but in every country those are some regional proud ethnic groups with somewhat different culture, dialect but consider themselves neverthless part of the bigger nation.
In Africa there are plenty of small ethnic groups in most countries speaking different languages so those countries did not really developed one distinct culture and national identity does not seem to be strong there as africa's borders were artificially created by colonizers.
I would say Nigeria does not really qualify as there is no one major ethnic group in that country that would dominate. I mean countries like in Europe, americas, asia where there is an universal mainstream culture to every particular nation but in every country those are some regional proud ethnic groups with somewhat different culture, dialect but consider themselves neverthless part of the bigger nation.
In Africa there are plenty of small ethnic groups in most countries speaking different languages so those countries did not really developed one distinct culture and national identity does not seem to be strong there as africa's borders were artificially created by colonizers.
While this maybe true their is still a unified Nigerian culture and some African countries clearly have an ethnic group that defines that country that might be the plurality or majority in some countries. I will agree with you the Nigerian culture is still evolving very rapidly and has it's own spheres- North vs. South that are shaped increasingly by religious piety or lack of religious piety. I will say Northern Nigeria currently has an identifying Hausa culture which the Fulani have merged into so significantly they now call it the Hausa-Fulani ethnic groups even though by all definitions they were 2 different ethnic groups well into the 1980s. Igbos and Yorubas are the two pillars of Southern culture and because of physical distance between these two groups as opposed to Fulani being Nomadic and Hausa being in like 80%+ of the North their is nowhere near the same assimilation between these two Southern giants. I'm not sure if you can consider this because it's not a national culture but on a sub-national level it's one of the largest integrating of two alien cultures anywhere. Like I said the Kano Caliphate ruled the Hausa with a strong central government while the nomadic cattle herders of the Fulani were the exact opposite in terms of organization and more akin to Berbers than traditional Nigerian cultures and now the outside world basically looks as these two groups the same even though they also look physically different with Fulani having a pretty unique hair texture (Look up Fulani Hair on google images) and Hausa known for being skinny and tall people ranging a lot in skin tone while Fulani generally are monotone.
A good example now is the Tutsi in Rwanda. They speak the same language and are pretty culturally similar but nearly 20 years after the genocide they are very proud Rwandans even though the Hutu make up the majority of the population, their's not even a hint of a separatist movement and the current leader of Rwanda is a Tutsi. I don't know if they have their own culture though as the Tutsi don't have a regional identity.
A great example is the Yoruba of Benin even though their linked to Nigerian Yorubas their so Beninized that their is zero talk of unification across borders.
Also groups like the Aja which are the third largest group in Benin mostly speak French and Fon and only like 1-5% of them speak their own language. I definitely think Benin has a unified Benin culture especially compared to Nigeria as both the Yoruba/Aja are extremely assimilated.
While this maybe true their is still a unified Nigerian culture and some African countries clearly have an ethnic group that defines that country that might be the plurality or majority in some countries. I will agree with you the Nigerian culture is still evolving very rapidly and has it's own spheres- North vs. South that are shaped increasingly by religious piety or lack of religious piety. I will say Northern Nigeria currently has an identifying Hausa culture which the Fulani have merged into so significantly they now call it the Hausa-Fulani ethnic groups even though by all definitions they were 2 different ethnic groups well into the 1980s. Igbos and Yorubas are the two pillars of Southern culture and because of physical distance between these two groups as opposed to Fulani being Nomadic and Hausa being in like 80%+ of the North their is nowhere near the same assimilation between these two Southern giants. I'm not sure if you can consider this because it's not a national culture but on a sub-national level it's one of the largest integrating of two alien cultures anywhere. Like I said the Kano Caliphate ruled the Hausa with a strong central government while the nomadic cattle herders of the Fulani were the exact opposite in terms of organization and more akin to Berbers than traditional Nigerian cultures and now the outside world basically looks as these two groups the same even though they also look physically different with Fulani having a pretty unique hair texture (Look up Fulani Hair on google images) and Hausa known for being skinny and tall people ranging a lot in skin tone while Fulani generally are monotone.
A good example now is the Tutsi in Rwanda. They speak the same language and are pretty culturally similar but nearly 20 years after the genocide they are very proud Rwandans even though the Hutu make up the majority of the population, their's not even a hint of a separatist movement and the current leader of Rwanda is a Tutsi. I don't know if they have their own culture though as the Tutsi don't have a regional identity.
A great example is the Yoruba of Benin even though their linked to Nigerian Yorubas their so Beninized that their is zero talk of unification across borders.
Also groups like the Aja which are the third largest group in Benin mostly speak French and Fon and only like 1-5% of them speak their own language. I definitely think Benin has a unified Benin culture especially compared to Nigeria as both the Yoruba/Aja are extremely assimilated.
Interesting post. Thanks.
It seems that even though borders between african countries were artificially established by european powers, african countries may slowly start to develop their national identities that will eventually unite those various ethnic groups into nation states, where people will identify firstly with nation and secondly with ethnic group/region as it has already happened at the beginning of 19th century in european countries such as Italy and Germany for example where sentiment to one's region, ethnic group had always been stronger than to nation as a whole until early-mid 19th century. Who knows, maybe 21th century will be for african countries' national awarness that what 19th century was to european nations. Lets hope for it.
Do Bavarians really speak what could be called a different language from German?
It is classified as different language. It would be pretty hard to understand bavarian for native german speaker if he is not used to hearing it on daily baisis. Basically depends on region. Person from south who speaks herself some upper german language/dialect should rather understand bavarian at least most of it. But person from north Germany (where dialects are low german) would not be able to understand when two bavarian farmers start to talk to each other. Basically when bavarian would not like to be understood by just standard german speaker they would not be. But on the other hand people from northern Germany who speak dialect would not have problem to understand dutch person while just standard german speakers would not understand dutch person. It all depends on region of Germany from where particular person comes from.
Most probably the Kollas and other populations heavily influenced by indigenous cultures in Northwestern Argentina, where cult of Pachamama and traditional celebrations are a big thing, yet syncretized with Christianity and mainstream Argentine culture.
Some strong provincial identities include people from Córdoba and Corrientes.
And not sure if it should count, but I can also mention the Jewish community of Buenos Aires. Even though not geographically separated, the identity and singularity is strong. However, most of them (the orthodox are the obvious exception) completely merge with the rest of the city’s population when not involved in religious/community activities.
Having been in touch with many of them, I’m interested in the case of the ‘NyC’, which stands for ‘Nacido y Criado’ (lit. Born and raised), referring to the born and raised in Patagonia, and I want to write about them. They are a kind of overlooked group, with a strong sense of identity and pride among them, yet a rather loose geographic range to define them. The more southerly you are from, the stronger the sense of identity to this group is, especially if you also come from smaller towns or the countryside.
The wind, cold and snow, as well as the isolation and scarcity of services and infrastructure compared to the northern and central parts of the country, shaped the behavior and activities of the people, giving them their very own character.
As Patagonia is the most recently populated region of the country, and still recipient of immigrants from other parts of Argentina (and the continent) thanks to various development policies established since the 80s, it is also the most rapidly growing region of the country. It means there is a large amount of people born outside the area, the 'VyQ' (Venido y Quedado, lit. Come and Stayed).
Fast demographic shifts cause friction among population, and this case hasn’t been the exception, so many older inhabitants resent how their environment has changed. On the other side, the recent migrants have to face the challenge of adapting to the new setting, with very mixed degree of success. A lot of them leave in 6 months or less, some stay several years solely for economic purposes, whereas a good number manage to make a living there. Their descendants become a new generation of ‘NyC’.
They are far from being a different ethnicity, but it’s like they are part of a demographic experiment that emulates the early stages of the development of national identities via immigration as it happened throughout the Americas, but inside a single country.
Having visited most of Tierra del Fuego for work has been a great experience to appreciate these communities from a non-tourist standpoint. The eerie atmosphere of RÃo Grande remains unchallenged to me among the cities and towns of the country.
Colombia's varied topography has caused regional isolation for centuries therefore the regions feel like different countries. It's one of the few countries in the world that doesn't divide its people/cultures into Northern or Southern, Eastern or Western, NorthEast, SouthWest, etc. - you get the point. Instead you're Pacific Coaster, Amazonian, Caribbean, Llanero (Cowboys from the Savanna), Andean (from such [insert name] valley or such [insert name] range), Guajiro (desert people), etc. The labels are strongly tied to the geographical biomes rather than simple location labels.
Combine this with 89 different Indigenous and Afro-descended "nation" tribes and this adds a completely different level of ethnic/regional identity with 67 official languages and 2 creole languages.
Geographical Regions
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