ABSTRACT
Ethnic identity is an essentially contested concept and there is no formulation for the delimitation of group membership that holds for every recognized group. Nevertheless, ethnic groups can be distinguished from other kinds of groups – nations, races, classes, and interest groups – due to ‘the symbolism which they employ’ (Bates 1986: 154). This symbolism relates to a sense of in-group connectedness and distinctiveness that is rooted primarily in a notion of cultural peoplehood, whereby individuals of different age, status, and wealth are linked (and simultaneously differentiated from ethnic others) through a conjoining of cultural similarity and perception of common descent.
