An ethnos is a group of people united by common features: objective or subjective. Various directions in ethnology (ethnography) include origin, language, culture, territory of residence, self-consciousness, etc. in these signs. In Soviet and Russian ethnography, it is considered the main type of ethnic community.

In Russian, the synonym for the term Ethnos for a long time was the concept of "people". The concept of "ethnos" was introduced into scientific circulation in 1923 by the Russian emigre scientist S. M. Shirokogorov.

ethnicity

Ethnicity can be represented as a form of social organization of cultural differences, consisting of those characteristics that the members of an ethnic community themselves consider significant for themselves, and which underlie their self-awareness. These characteristics also include the possession of one or more common names, common elements of culture, the idea of ​​a common origin and, as a result, the presence of a common historical memory. At the same time, there is an association of oneself with a special geographical territory and a sense of group solidarity.

The definition of ethnicity is also built on the basis of the cultural self-identification of an ethnic community in relation to other communities (ethnic, social, political) with which it has fundamental ties. As a rule, there is a significant difference between the intra-group and external idea of ​​ethnicity: both objective and subjective criteria are present to determine the ethnic community. Differences in anthropological type, geographical origin, economic specialization, religion, language, and even features of material culture (food, clothing, etc.) are used as such criteria.

Concepts and theories of ethnos

Among ethnologists there is no unity in the approach to the definition of ethnos and ethnicity. In this regard, several of the most popular theories and concepts stand out. So, the Soviet ethnographic school worked in line with primordialism, but today the highest administrative post in the official ethnology of Russia is occupied by a supporter of constructivism V. A. Tishkov.

Primordialism

This approach assumes that a person's ethnicity is an objective reality that has its basis in nature or in society. Therefore, ethnicity cannot be artificially created or imposed. Ethnos is a community with real-life, registered features. You can point to the signs by which an individual belongs to a given ethnic group, and by which one ethnic group differs from another.

"Evolutionary-historical direction". Supporters of this direction consider ethnic groups as social communities that have arisen as a result of a historical process.

Dualistic theory of ethnos

This concept was developed by employees of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences (now the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences), headed by Yu. V. Bromley. This concept assumes the existence of ethnic groups in 2 senses:

In a narrow sense, the ethnos was called "ethnikos" and was understood as "a stable intergenerational set of people that has historically developed on the territory, possessing not only common features, but also relatively stable features of culture (including language) and the psyche, as well as the consciousness of their unity and difference from all other similar formations (self-consciousness), fixed in the self-name (ethnonym).

In a broad sense, it was called an “ethno-social organism (ESO)” and was understood as an ethnos that exists within the state: “ESO is that part of the corresponding ethnicity that is located on a compact territory within one political (potestary) entity and thus represents a socially defined -economic integrity.

Sociobiological direction

This direction assumes the existence of ethnicity due to the biological essence of man. Ethnicity is primordial, that is, originally characteristic of people.

Theory of Pierre van den Berghe

Pierre van den Berghe (Pierre L. van den Berghe) transferred certain provisions of ethology and zoopsychology to human behavior, that is, he assumed that many phenomena of social life are determined by the biological side of human nature.

Ethnos, according to P. van den Berghe, is an "extended family group."

Van den Berghe explains the existence of ethnic communities by the genetic predisposition of a person to kin selection (nepotism). Its essence lies in the fact that altruistic behavior (the ability to sacrifice oneself) reduces the chances of a given individual to pass on his genes to the next generation, but at the same time increases the possibility of his genes being passed on by blood relatives (indirect gene transfer). Helping relatives to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation, the individual thereby contributes to the reproduction of his own gene pool. Since this type of behavior makes the group evolutionarily more stable than similar other groups in which altruistic behavior is absent, the "altruistic genes" are supported by natural selection.

Passionary theory of ethnos (Gumilyov's theory)

The original passionary theory of ethnogenesis was created by Lev Gumilyov.

In it, an ethnos is a group of people naturally formed on the basis of an original stereotype of behavior, existing as a systemic integrity (structure), opposing itself to all other groups, based on a sense of complementarity and forming an ethnic tradition common to all its representatives.

An ethnos is one of the types of ethnic systems, it is always a part of superethnoi, and consists of subethnoi, convixions and consortia.

The unique combination of landscapes in which an ethnos was formed is called its place of development.

Constructivism

According to the theory of constructivism, ethnos is an artificial formation, the result of the purposeful activity of the people themselves. That is, it is assumed that ethnicity and ethnos are not a given, but the result of creation. Those signs that distinguish representatives of one ethnic group from another are called ethnic markers and are formed on a different basis, depending on how to most effectively separate this ethnic group from another. Ethnic markers can be: physical appearance, religion, language, etc.

So, V. A. Tishkov gives the following definition: " People"In the sense of an ethnic community - a group of people whose members have one or more common names and common elements of culture, have a myth (version) about a common origin and thus have a kind of common historical memory, may associate themselves with a particular geographic area, as well as demonstrate a sense of group solidarity.

Instrumentalism

This concept considers ethnicity as a tool by which people achieve certain goals, and, unlike primordialism and constructivism, it is not focused on finding a definition of ethnicity and ethnicity. Thus, any activity and activity of ethnic groups is considered as a purposeful activity of ethnic elites in the struggle for power and privileges. In everyday life, ethnicity remains in a latent state, but, if necessary, is mobilized.

In line with instrumentalism, 2 directions are distinguished: elitist instrumentalism and economic instrumentalism.

Elite instrumentalism

This direction focuses on the role of elites in the mobilization of ethnic feelings.

Economic instrumentalism

This direction explains interethnic tensions and conflicts in terms of economic inequality among members of different ethnic groups.

Ethnogenesis

The main conditions for the emergence of an ethnos - a common territory and language - subsequently act as its main features. At the same time, an ethnos can also be formed from multilingual elements, take shape and consolidate in different territories in the process of migration (gypsies, etc.). In the context of early long-distance migrations of “homo sapiens” from Africa and modern globalization, ethnic groups are becoming increasingly important as cultural and linguistic communities that move freely throughout the planet.

Additional conditions for the formation of an ethnic community can be the commonality of religion, the proximity of the components of an ethnic group in racial terms, or the presence of significant mestizo (transitional) groups.

In the course of ethnogenesis, under the influence of the characteristics of economic activity in certain natural conditions and other reasons, features of material and spiritual culture, life, and group psychological characteristics that are specific to a given ethnos are formed. The members of an ethnos develop a common self-awareness, a prominent place in which is occupied by the idea of ​​a common origin. The external manifestation of this self-consciousness is the presence of a common self-name - an ethnonym.

The formed ethnic community acts as a social organism, self-reproducing through predominantly ethnically homogeneous marriages and transferring language, culture, traditions, ethnic orientation, etc. to the new generation.

V. Shnirelman emphasizes that the passionary theory of ethnogenesis does not take into account that ethnic identity (ethnicity) can be floating, situational, symbolic. It doesn't necessarily have to do with language. Sometimes it is based on religion (Kryashens, or baptized Tatars), economic system (reindeer Koryaks-Chavchuvens and settled Koryaks-Nymyllans), race (African Americans), historical tradition (Scots). People can change their ethnicity, as happened in the 19th century in the Balkans, where, moving from rural life to trade, a person turned from a Bulgarian into a Greek, and the language factor did not serve as an obstacle, because people knew both languages ​​well.

Anthropological classification. Ethnos and race

Anthropological classification is based on the principle of dividing ethnic groups into races. This classification reflects the biological, genetic and, ultimately, historical relationship between ethnic groups.

Science recognizes the discrepancy between the racial and ethnic division of mankind: members of one ethnic group can belong both to the same and to different races (racial types) and, conversely, representatives of the same race (racial type) can belong to different ethnic groups, etc.

A fairly common misconception is expressed in the confusion of the concepts of "ethnos" and "race", and as a result, erroneous concepts are used, for example, such as "Russian race".

Ethnos and culture

Culture - to give a universal, comprehensive definition for this concept is difficult and perhaps even impossible. The same can be said about "ethnic culture", since it is manifested and implemented in various ways and ways, so it can be understood and interpreted in different ways.

As you know, culture in general has many definitions. Some experts number up to several hundred. But all these definitions "fit", in fact, into several basic meanings (aspects), due to which they become more or less visible.

There are several approaches to studying culture:

• value (axiological - the connection of universal values);
• symbolic (culture - a system of symbols);
• organizational
• activity approach.

The selected aspects of culture - axiological, symbolic, organizational, activity - are closely interconnected, and seem to be the most relevant. So, for example: the basic ideas about the world and the beliefs of an ethnic group (symbolic aspect) are realized and reflected in the way of life (organizational aspect). And in the end, they are formed into a certain value-normative system - with their own priorities and peculiar connections between individual value orientations (axiological aspect), and the lifestyle and value system, in turn, determine the forms of behavior and methods of activity of members of the ethnic group (activity aspect).

Finally, typical forms of behavior and modes of activity serve to reinforce and support the ideas and beliefs that prevail in an ethnic group (just as, for example, systematic prayer maintains faith in a person, does not allow it to weaken and fade away). It is known that the so-called ethnicity is, first of all, and mainly the culture of an ethnos, it is it that determines the "boundaries" of an ethnos, the differences of each of them from others.

Numerous historical studies of ethnologists from different countries convince us that throughout human history (from the primitive state to the present day) people have had and still have a need for knowledge not only about their lives, traditions and customs, but also about the culture of the surrounding peoples. . The presence of such knowledge now makes it easier to navigate in the world around us, to feel safer and more confident in it. For several millennia, the accumulation of information and data of various kinds about many peoples of the world has been going on, while already in antiquity attempts were made not to limit this knowledge only to a simple presentation or description. So, even in ancient times, some authors attempted to bring numerous empirical materials into a system, to classify various peoples on the basis of their economic and cultural characteristics. However, these attempts were mostly speculative and therefore did not achieve their goals.

Ethnic and interethnic communities

ethnic communities

In Soviet ethnography, the idea of ​​a hierarchy of ethnic communities was put forward, connected with the fact that one person can belong (identify himself) simultaneously to several ethnic communities, one of which completely includes the other. For example, a Russian may consider himself a Don Cossack and a Slav at the same time. This hierarchy is:

• elementary ethnic units (micro-ethnic units). This level mainly includes the family - an elementary social unit, which plays a significant role in the reproduction of the ethnos. It is also possible to classify a person (ethnophore) as a direct carrier of ethnic properties to this level.
• sub-ethnic divisions and ethnographic groups. Sub-ethnoi occupy an intermediate position between consortia and convixions, on the one hand, and ethnic groups, on the other.
• main ethnic division. This is actually "ethnos".
• macro-ethnic communities or meta-ethnic communities - formations covering several ethnic groups, but having ethnic properties of less intensity than the ethnic groups included in it. The following macro-ethnic communities are distinguished: meta-ethno-political, meta-ethno-linguistic, meta-ethno-confessional, meta-ethno-economic, etc.

Ethnographic communities

Unlike ethnic communities, belonging to an ethnographic community is not recognized by people and, therefore, such communities do not have self-names, but are distinguished as a result of scientific research.

• ethnographic group
• historical and ethnographic area

Hierarchical classification of ethnic groups

In the Soviet school of ethnography, in line with the dualistic concept of ethnos, the following gradation of ethnoi in the broad sense (ESO) was adopted, later this gradation was transferred to the ethnos in general:

• A clan is a group of people based on blood ties.
• A tribe is an ethnos of the era of the primitive communal system or the period of its decomposition.
• Nationality is a community of people that has not yet been fully formed, united by a common space, culture, language, etc., in which there are still significant internal differences.
• Nation is currently the most commonly used concept in ethnographic literature. Corresponds to a developed industrial and post-industrial society with a strong self-identification. At the same time, in Soviet ethnography, the division into socialist and capitalist nations was accepted, which, as a result of the collapse of the socialist system, lost its meaning.

Ethnos and nation

Between the concepts of "ethnos" and "nation" is often put an equal sign. In the domestic literature devoted to this issue, it was usually specified that the nation is not just an ethnos, but its highest form, which replaced the nationality.

Nevertheless, some researchers clearly articulate the differences between a nation and an ethnos, pointing to the different nature of the origin of the concepts of "ethnos" and "nation". So, for an ethnos, in their opinion, is characterized by supra-individuality and stability, the repetition of cultural patterns. In contrast, for a nation, the process of self-awareness based on the synthesis of traditional and new elements becomes decisive, and the actual ethnic identification criteria (language, way of life, etc.) of belonging fade into the background. The nation comes to the fore those aspects that provide supra-ethnicity, the synthesis of ethnic, interethnic and other ethnic components (political, religious, etc.).

Ethnos and statehood

Ethnic groups are subject to changes in the course of ethnic processes - consolidation, assimilation, etc. For a more stable existence, an ethnos strives to create its own socio-territorial organization (state). Modern history knows many examples of how various ethnic groups, despite their large numbers, have not been able to solve the problem of socio-territorial organization. These include ethnic groups of Jews, Palestinian Arabs, Kurds, divided between Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Other examples of successful or unsuccessful ethnic expansion are the expansion of the Russian Empire, the Arab conquests in North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, the Tatar-Mongol invasion, and the Spanish colonization of South and Central America.

ethnic identity

Ethnic identity is an integral part of the social identity of the individual, the awareness of one's belonging to a certain ethnic community. In its structure, two main components are usually distinguished - cognitive (knowledge, ideas about the characteristics of one's own group and awareness of oneself as its member based on certain characteristics) and affective (assessment of the qualities of one's own group, attitude towards membership in it, the significance of this membership).

One of the first to develop a child's awareness of belonging to a national group was studied by the Swiss scientist J. Piaget. In a 1951 study, he identified three stages in the development of ethnic characteristics:

• at 6-7 years old, the child acquires the first fragmentary knowledge about his ethnicity;
• at 8-9 years old, the child already clearly identifies himself with his ethnic group, based on the nationality of the parents, place of residence, native language;
• in early adolescence (10-11 years old), ethnic identity is formed in full, as features of different peoples, the child notes the uniqueness of history, the specifics of traditional everyday culture.

External circumstances can force a person of any age to rethink their ethnic identity, as happened with a resident of Minsk, a Catholic born in the Brest region bordering Poland. He “listed as a Pole and considered himself a Pole. At the age of 35 he went to Poland. There he became convinced that his religion unites the Poles, but otherwise he is Belarusian. Since that time, he has become aware of himself as a Belarusian” (Klimchuk, 1990, p. 95).

The formation of ethnic identity is often a rather painful process. So, for example, a boy whose parents moved to Moscow from Uzbekistan even before his birth speaks Russian at home and at school; however, at school, due to his Asian name and swarthy skin color, he receives an offensive nickname. Later, having comprehended this situation, to the question “What is your nationality?” he may answer "Uzbek", or maybe not. The son of an American and a Japanese woman may turn out to be an outcast in Japan, where he will be teased as a “long-nosed” and “oil-eater”, and in the USA. At the same time, a child who grew up in Moscow, whose parents identify themselves as Belarusians, most likely will not have such problems at all.

There are the following dimensions of ethnic identity:

• mono-ethnic identity with one's ethnic group, when a person has a positive image of his ethnic group with a positive attitude towards other ethnic groups;
• the changed ethnic identity of a person living in a multi-ethnic environment, when a foreign ethnic group is regarded as having a higher status (economic, social, etc.) than its own. This is typical for many representatives of national minorities, for immigrants in the second generation (see also the article assimilation (sociology));
• bi-ethnic identity, when a person living in a multi-ethnic environment owns both cultures and recognizes them as equally positive;
• marginal ethnic identity, when a person living in a multi-ethnic environment does not sufficiently own any of the cultures, which leads to intrapersonal conflicts (feeling of failure, senselessness of existence, aggressiveness, etc.);
• weak (or even zero) ethnic identity, when a person does not identify himself with any ethnic group, but declares a cosmopolitan (I am an Asian, I am a European, I am a citizen of the world) or civil (I am a democrat, I am a communist) identity.

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Among the concepts that define and classify the human community, ethnic differentiation seems to be the most important. About what ethnos is and how it should be understood in the context of various branches and theories of ethnology, we will talk in this article.

Definition

First of all, let's deal with the formal definition. So, most often, regarding the concept of "ethnos", the definition sounds like "a stable human community that has developed in the course of history." This implies that this society must be united by certain common features, such as: culture, way of life, language, religion, self-consciousness, habitat, and the like. Thus, it is obvious that "people", "nation" and similar concepts and "ethnos" are similar. Therefore, their definitions correlate with each other, and the terms themselves are often used as synonyms. The word "ethnos" was introduced into scientific circulation in 1923 by S. M. Shirokogorov, a Russian emigrant.

Concepts and theories of ethnos

The scientific discipline that studies the phenomenon we are considering is called ethnology, and among its representatives there are various approaches and points of view on the concept of "ethnos". The definition of the Soviet school, for example, was built from the standpoint of so-called primordialism. But in modern Russian science, constructivism prevails.

Primordialism

The theory of primordialism proposes to approach the concept of "ethnos" as an objective reality, which is external in relation to a person and is conditioned by a number of features independent of the individual. Thus, ethnicity cannot be changed or artificially generated. It is given from birth and is determined on the basis of objective traits and characteristics.

Dualistic theory of ethnos

In the context of this theory, the concept of "ethnos" has its definition in two forms - narrow and extensive, which determines the duality of the concept. In a narrow sense, this term refers to groups of people who have a stable connection between generations, limited by a certain space and having a number of stable identifying features - cultural codes, language, religion, mental characteristics, consciousness of their community, and so on.

And in a broad sense, ethnos is proposed to be understood as the whole complex of social formations united by common state borders and economic and political systems. Thus, we see that in the first case, “people”, “nationality” and similar concepts and “ethnos” are similar, therefore their definitions are similar. And in the second case, all national correlates are erased, and civic identity comes to the fore.

sociobiological theory

Another theory, called sociobiological, focuses in defining the concept of "ethnos" on biological features that unite groups of people. Thus, a person's belonging to a particular ethnic group is given to him, like gender and other biological characteristics.

Passionary theory of ethnos

This theory is otherwise called the Gumilyov theory, after the name of its author. It assumes that the structural association of people, formed on the basis of certain behavioral consciousness, according to this hypothesis, is formed on the basis of serving as the basis for building an ethnic tradition.

Constructivism

The concept of "ethnos", the definition of which is a subject of controversy and disagreement among ethnologists, is defined as an artificial formation from the point of view of constructivism and is considered as the result of purposeful human activity. In other words, this theory claims that ethnicity is variable and does not fall within the circle of objectively given things like gender and nationality. One ethnic group differs from another in features, which, in the framework of this theory, are called ethnic markers. They are created on a different basis, for example, religion, language, appearance (in that part of it that can be changed).

Instrumentalism

This radical theory claims that ethnicity is shaped by vested interests, called the ethnic elite, as a tool to achieve certain goals. But in itself, ethnicity, as a system of identity, she does not pay attention. Ethnicity, according to this hypothesis, is only a tool, and in everyday life it remains in a state of latency. Within the theory, there are two directions that differentiate the ethnos by the nature of its application - elitist and economic instrumentalism. The first of them draws attention to the role played by ethnic elites in awakening and maintaining feelings and self-awareness within society. Economic instrumentalism, on the other hand, focuses on the economic condition of various groups. Among other things, he postulates economic inequality as the cause of conflicts between members of various

ETHNOS AND ITS STRUCTURE

In order to try to understand the essence of modern ethnic problems, it is necessary to dwell in more detail on the subject of study - ethnic groups and describe the ethnic structure of mankind.

concept "ethnos" is not usual in our daily discussion, more often we talk about nations, nationalities, peoples, about national relations, national problems.

Word "ethnos" is Greek in origin and means "tribe", "people", "group of people", "genus". In the modern scientific language there is no common understanding of the essence of the ethnos. Different scholars define the features that make up the concept of "ethnos" in different ways. In the sciences that study national relations, the concept of "ethnos" is central. Ethnic groups are one of the oldest types of human communities.

Ethnos- this is a naturally formed group of people with their own stereotypes of behavior, characteristics of culture, psyche, opposing itself to all other such collectives: “we” - “they”.

From the word "ethnos" there are many derivatives. The basis of the word "ethno" is used most often in the meaning of "folk". The terms "ethnic" (ethnic), "ethnicity" (ethnicity) are widely used, but they also have a special meaning in Western science and most often refer to national minorities, diasporas. In Western science, the meaning of the word "ethnos" is extremely rarely used as a term; in Russian, the term "ethnic" is closely related to the concept of "ethnos".

The concept of "ethnos" in Russian ethnology is often correlated with the concept of "people". The word "people" has several meanings:

the population of any country;

workers, just a group, a crowd of people (in the expression: there are a lot of people on the street, etc.);

in the meaning of "ethnos", "ethnic community".

There are other concepts such as subethnos and superethnos. Sub-ethnos is an ethnic system that is an element of the structure of an ethnos. Superethnos - an ethnic system consisting of several ethnic groups that arose simultaneously in the same territory, and manifested itself in history as an integrity.

Each ethnic group has such an ability as self-regulation, that is, the ability to develop in a direction that ensures existence and adaptation to the environment with the lowest possible costs and losses. Ethnologists even use a measure of the stability of an ethnos - an indicator that determines the degree of resistance of an ethnos to external influences.

Ethnic groups (or ethnic groups) are defined primarily by those characteristics that the members of the group themselves consider significant for themselves and which underlie self-consciousness.

TYPESETHNOS

AndTHEMREGULARITIES

Ethnos is often viewed as a generic concept. There are three historically established types of ethnic group:

clan-tribe (for primitive society);

nationality (for slave-owning and feudal societies);

3) nation (for a capitalist society). Distinctive features of the ethnic group: physical appearance,

geographical origin, economic specialization, religion, language, housing, clothing and food.

There are basic characteristics, common to all ethnic groups:

common language, religion;

the presence of the territory in which this ethnic group lives (not always performed);

general material and spiritual culture;

4) general ideas about the territorial and historical origin;

5) general formalized ideas about the homeland and the state;

6) awareness by members of the group of their belonging to an ethnic group and a sense of solidarity based on this.

Patterns of ethnicity:

behavioral patterns that are typical for all members of the ethnic group;

behavioral, communicative, value, socio-political and cultural models of certain groups within an ethnic group. They regulate relations between different groups within an ethnic group.

Historically, the first types of ethnic communities were clans and tribes. Tribal communities have existed for several tens of thousands of years, and as social life becomes more complex, new types of ethnic groups arise - nationalities. They are formed on the basis of various tribal unions living in a certain territory.

But later these processes are replaced by opposite tendencies of unification, consolidation into a more integral ethnic system - the nation. Nation- this is a type of ethnic groups, consolidating into a single organism, primarily on the basis of a common economic life.

Several thousand ethnic groups live in the world. They differ from each other in their numbers, level of social development, language and culture, racial appearance.

The number of different ethnic groups is very significant. Thus, the number of the largest nations (Chinese, US Americans, Russians, Brazilians ...) exceeds 100 million people. Tiny endangered ethnic groups do not even number 10 people. Differences between ethnic groups are also significant in socio-economic development. Highly developed ethnic groups and those still at the stage of primitiveness coexist nearby. Each people speaks a special language, although it happens that the same language is used by several ethnic groups or, conversely, one ethnic group speaks several languages. However, many languages ​​are related to each other. The range of similarities and differences in the culture of different peoples is also significant.

Such concepts as assimilation, consolidation, integration, mixing are also applicable to the ethnos. For example, interethnic integration is the process of interaction between peoples who are not related by kinship, during which a new ethnic group arises.

Ethnicity is also characterized by socialization, which occurs with the help of such institutions as school, human environment, religious institutions, family, etc.

Unfavorable factors in the development of an ethnic group:

high infant mortality;

high adult mortality;

the spread of respiratory infectious diseases;

alcoholism;

a large number of incomplete families, divorces, illegitimate children, abortions, parents' refusal to raise children;

poor quality of housing, overcrowding;

social passivity;

high crime rate, including juvenile;

unemployment.

ETHNONYMS

All ethnocultural communities are identified by their name. Sometimes self-designations differ from how an ethnic group is defined in scientific literature or in the surrounding society. There are two types - enpre-ethnonyms and exoethnonyms.

Endoethnonyms are self-names that a group itself assigns to itself. Exoethnonyms are names given from the outside in the course of cultural contacts, administrative management or suggestions made by scientists.

For example, the Iroquois is the name originally given by the Algonquin Indians to their neighbors and communicated to European colonists. The term "Bushman" was long used by the colonial administration and later by scholars to refer to the aborigines living in the wooded savannah of South Africa. The names Chechens and Ingush come from the names of the settlements Chechen-aul and Angusht on the territory of the former Russian Empire; Uzbeks, Nogais - from the personal names of the khans of nomadic tribal groups; Georgians - from the distorted name of St. George (Gurji).

The names of a number of peoples were established on the basis of geographical and political-administrative terms and firmly entered the self-consciousness. Sometimes the early tribal self-names in the respective languages ​​simply mean “people” (“Nenets”, “Nivkh”, “Ainu”, “Inuit”), etc. Very often peoples in their native language pronounce their name differently: Georgians call themselves Kartveli, Armenians call themselves Khai etc.

Activists of ethnopolitical movements sometimes advocate changing the names of peoples in favor of "native", especially if the ethnonyms have any negative meaning (for example, "Eskimos" - "those who eat raw meat"). Sometimes renaming is done without special motivations, solely for the purpose of distancing themselves from political regimes (for example, changing the name "Yakuts" to the new self-name "Sakha").

THREE MAIN APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF ETHNOS

There are several main approaches to the study of ethnos.

Primordialism- originated in the 19th century in Germany. The founder of the primordialist (from the English - “original”, “original”) approach is Yu. V. Bromley. Ethnicity is unconditional and not subject to change. The approach is divided into two directions: natural and evolutionary-historical:

the emergence of ethnicity is explained with the help of evolution. The main concept of the approach is nepotism - altruistic behavior that reduces the contribution of an individual to the genotype of the next generation, but increases the likelihood of transferring the genes of this individual in an indirect way;

evolutionary-historical direction, according to which an ethnos is a group of people who speak the same language, recognizing their common origin. The ethnos has common, relatively stable values ​​of culture and psyche. Language is not only a condition for the formation of an ethnos, but also the result of ethnogenesis. According to this approach, the existence of an ethnic group can be determined objectively; ethnic groups can also be objectively distinguished from other social and biological communities such as classes, estates, confessional groups, races, castes, etc. Ethnic groups are seen as based on cultural unity and, therefore, as ontologically real.

Instrumentalism. Within its framework, ethnicity was seen as a tool used by political leaders to achieve their interests, in the struggle for well-being, status, and power. An essential feature of all instrumentalist theories is their reliance on functionalism and pragmatism. Ethnicity is a product of ethnic myths that are created by the elite of society and used by it to achieve certain benefits and gain power. The cultural characteristics, values ​​and activities of ethnic groups are the tools of the elite used to achieve these goals. For the sake of putting into practice the ideas of equality, justice and human dignity, ethnic groups support the elite in its aspirations, mobilizing for their implementation. The approach is focused on identifying those functions that are performed by the community and ethnic groups.

Constructivism(USA, Canada, Australia). Its appearance is explained by the absence in these countries of the natural rootedness of ethnic groups, with the exception of indigenous Indian tribes and Australian Aborigine tribes. According to the constructivist approach, ethnicity is an intellectual construction created by writers, scientists, and politicians. For constructivism, ethnicity is a matter of consciousness, membership in an ethnic group depends on how the individual imagines what this group is. Ethnos in constructivism is a community of people formed on the basis of cultural self-identification. A sign of an ethnic community is an idea or a myth about the common historical fate of this community.

Modern ethnology, based on the philosophy of postmodernism, goes even further and emphasizes the uncertainty, infinity and fluidity of ethnicity. Now the broadest definition of ethnos is used, the importance of the subjective psychological aspect of considering the problem is emphasized: collective consciousness, mythology, imagination.

DOMESTIC THEORIES OF ETHNOS. THE THEORY OF PASSIONARITY L. N. GUMILEV

In modern Russian ethnology, there are two radically different theories of ethnos.

The author of one of them is L. N. Gumilyov, who considers the ethnos as a natural, biological phenomenon. According to Gumilyov, ethnos is a biophysical reality dressed in one or another social shell, it is a biological characteristic. Ethnos is a geographical phenomenon associated with the landscape that feeds and encloses it. At the same time, a person is also a part of the biosphere of our planet. By his activity, a person violates the carefully adjusted mechanisms of self-regulation of the biosphere, and instead of the expected improvement in the conditions of his life, he may face an ecological catastrophe. The onset of such an ecological crisis is one of the reasons for the death of ethnic groups.

Another essential characteristic of an ethnos is its close connection with energy. As part of the Earth's biosphere, ethnic groups must participate in all biospheric processes. Energy source - the Sun, cosmic radiation and radioactive lava in the bowels of the Earth. Gumilyov's hypothesis is that several times in a millennium the Earth is exposed to some type of cosmic radiation of increased activity. Gumilev called this property passionarity, and people - carriers of this property - passionaries. Gathering together, such people set common goals and achieve their implementation. When ethnic groups interact with each other, the rhythms of their passionary fields are superimposed on each other. In this case, either harmony can arise, when the phases of their oscillations coincide, or disharmony. In the first case, ethnic fusion, assimilation, fruitful ethnic contacts are possible; in the second - a violation of the rhythm of one or both fields, which loosens the systemic ties of ethnic groups and, under unfavorable conditions, can lead to the death of participants in such contact.

DEMOGRAPHIC

CLASSIFICATION OF THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD

At classification of ethnic groups the most objective and simple are demographic characteristics, First of all, the number. Let us note in this connection that the size of a people not only characterizes its size, but also reflects its ethnic history. Quantity often turns into quality here too; the formation and development of large peoples usually differs significantly from the formation and development of small ethnic groups. The interaction of peoples and the development of ethnic processes is largely determined by the numerical ratio of contacting groups. In the study of ethnic processes, quantitative relationships are usually considered within one or another territorial framework (administrative boundaries).

According to 1983 data, there were 7 nations in the world numbering over 100 million people: Chinese (1 billion people), Hindustanis (over 200 million people), US Americans (180 million), Bengalis (over 160 million), Russians (about 150 million), Brazilians (about 130 million), Japanese (about 125 million). These peoples make up more than 40% of the total population of the Earth. Another 11 peoples, each of which has from 50 to 100 million people, make up 16 % the population of the planet. At the same time, 170 peoples numbering from 1 to 5 million people represent 8% of the human population. On Earth, there are ethnic groups numbering several thousand and even hundreds of people (for example, the Izhors - the people of the Finnish group living in the Leningrad region, has 600 people, or the Yukagiru in Yakutia - 800 people).

The question arises about the historical perspective of the smallest ethnic groups: does not expect their complete absorption by larger ethnic groups? The possibility of absorption (assimilation) of small ethnic groups by larger ones certainly exists; moreover, this phenomenon has happened throughout human history and is happening now. However, this process of assimilation is quite long and it happens that a small ethnic group is already almost completely integrated into the surrounding ethnic group in cultural and linguistic terms, but for many generations it retains ethnic self-consciousness. In many countries of the world, under the auspices of the UN and UNESCO, measures are being taken to preserve small ethnic groups.

Having carried out the classification of ethnic groups according to their numbers, we have not yet touched on another important aspect of the problem: the dynamics of the numerical composition of ethnic groups. In some ethnic groups there is a rapid increase in their numbers, the number of others has stabilized or is increasing slightly, for others, on the contrary, a decrease is characteristic. Moreover, the distribution of ethnic groups according to the dynamics of their numbers has a pronounced territorial character. The smallest population growth is observed in European countries, the largest population growth is typical for the countries of Asia and Africa, somewhat less in Latin America.

I welcome you again, dear friends! Based on the experience of conducting various courses of preparation for the Unified State Examination in social studies, I realized that one of the most difficult topics is what is an ethnic group? By the way, this topic is included in the KIM USE topic codifier.

If you do not imagine what is meant by this term, then we can safely say that the student does not know the “Social Sphere” and will not be able to adequately solve tests and pass exams. Because in any branch of knowledge, all topics are interconnected. Only by consistently studying section by section, a clear picture and a holistic view is formed in the head, which is so necessary for any exam. However, consider the concept of ethnic communities, types and much more.

Definition of ethnos

The term itself comes from the Greek Έθνος, which was understood both as a people, and as a tribe, and as a crowd, group, class of people. In Antiquity, this word was used to denote a swarm, a flock. But already in the early Middle Ages Today in science there is no common understanding of the meaning of this concept. This is probably what brings confusion into the heads of first school teachers, then tutors, and then future graduates. However, let's dot the i's right away.

Ethnos is, firstly, a social association of people. If you are a graduate, you must clearly understand that the community is the largest social association, after groups, organizations and institutions. Of course, they also talk about ethnic groups.

Secondly, an ethnos is an intergenerational social association united by the unity of language, culture and territory of residence. This is the most precise and capacious definition.

It can be a tribe, and a people, and a nation. According to Yu.V. Bromley (a well-known Soviet historian and ethnologist) singles out ethnicities and ethno-social organisms. Ethnicos are ordinary ethnic groups (peoples, tribes) having a common language, culture, history, territory of residence. And ethno-social organisms are united by political power and, as a rule, exist in the form of states.

Other domestic scientists, such as A.S. Arutyunov, determined it on the basis of a general exchange of information. They say that people living in one place are more densely exchanging various kinds of information - this is where an ethnos arises.

There is also the position of L.N. Gumilyov, according to which an ethnic community is the result of the colonization of a particular territory. They say that people creatively transform nature in their own way, hence the unity of the territory, a common way of life, and, of course, a common language.

From all this, you must understand only one thing: ethnos is a general concept that includes such concepts as “tribe”, “people”, “nation” and other social communities associated with these concepts. Of course, in no case should these associations be confused with class communities (for example, "workers", "managers", "doctors", etc.), territorial (for example, "Permians", "Muscovites", etc.), confessional and others.

Signs of ethnic groups

Self-name, ethnonym. Any such association of people usually referred to itself in a particular way. Moreover, it is important to understand that the self-name is clearly different from the name, as they are called from the outside. For example, the Germans originally called themselves Dotchi (Deutsch), the French called them Alemans (les alemanes), and the Russians called Germans, because they don’t speak Russian like dumb people. By the way, in Russia everyone was called German: both the French and the Dutch.

The antithesis of "we - they." Any social association, which is surrounded by others of the same kind, will oppose its members to other members of social groups. In this sense, these associations are like social groups, if you know what I mean. For example, we Russians are “ours”, while the French (“frogs”), the British (“oatmeal”) and others are different, strangers, not like us. It is this antithesis that is the basis for myth-making by various political forces.

self-awareness is a collective form of reflection of reality, with inherent features. For example, common beliefs, attitudes, stereotypes are characteristic features of one or another such association. By the way, self-consciousness is also characteristic of social groups.

Common historical origin. The historical process is an objective process. In the course of it, separate social communities develop. The herd is transformed into a clan, a clan into a tribe, a tribe into a nationality, a nationality into a people, a people into a nation.

Unity of language. Moreover, the language in which the representatives of this association think. After all, otherwise it would be good: you learned English - and you are an Englishman; learned Japanese - Japanese!

Unity of territory and culture. With these signs, I think everything is clear. If not, ask questions in the comments! By the way, I recommend this post.

Types of ethnic groups

As we said earlier, ethnic groups are formed historically. In the beginning there were herds of half-monkeys, half-humans. Then for a long time there was a clan - where all the members of the community are relatives. Then several genera united into a tribe.

Tribe- the first type of ethnic communities. The power in the tribe is not political, because in the interest of only one and the whole tribe to survive. And the leader there is elected according to the laws of biology.

Nationality- represents a union of tribes, which, as it were, dissolved. Now every person considers himself not a part of his tribe, but a part of the nationality. For example, not a glade, but the Russian land.

Nation This is the highest stage in the development of ethno-social organisms. Its main difference from the nationality is that it has a literary language. In Russia, the norms of the Russian literary language take shape in the Golden Age of Russian literature after the Patriotic War of 1812.

There are also ethnic groups - for example, diasporas. For example, the Russian diaspora in the United States, or the Chinese, or any other.

I hope you, dear reader, have got an idea about ethnic communities! Like, share with friends! They would also benefit from reading this..

Sincerely, Andrey Puchkov

Among ethnologists there is no unity in the approach to the definition of ethnos and ethnicity. In this regard, several of the most popular theories and concepts stand out. So, the Soviet ethnographic school worked in line with primordialism, but today the highest administrative post in the official ethnology of Russia is held by a supporter of constructivism V. A. Tishkov.

Primordialism

This approach assumes that a person's ethnicity is an objective reality that has its basis in nature or in society. Therefore, ethnicity cannot be artificially created or imposed. Ethnos is a community with real-life, registered features. You can point to the signs by which an individual belongs to a given ethnic group, and by which one ethnic group differs from another.

"Evolutionary-historical direction". Supporters of this direction consider ethnic groups as social communities that have arisen as a result of a historical process.

Dualistic theory of ethnos

This concept was developed by employees of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences (now) headed by Yu. V. Bromley. This concept assumes the existence of ethnic groups in 2 senses:

Sociobiological direction

This direction assumes the existence of ethnicity due to the biological essence of man. Ethnicity is primordial, that is, originally characteristic of people.

Theory of Pierre van den Berghe

Pierre van den Berghe (Pierre L. van den Berghe) transferred certain provisions of ethology and zoopsychology to human behavior, that is, he assumed that many phenomena of social life are determined by the biological side of human nature.

Ethnos, according to P. van den Berghe, is an "extended family group."

Van den Berghe explains the existence of ethnic communities by the genetic predisposition of a person to kin selection (nepotism). Its essence lies in the fact that altruistic behavior (the ability to sacrifice oneself) reduces the chances of a given individual to pass on his genes to the next generation, but at the same time increases the possibility of his genes being passed on by blood relatives (indirect gene transfer). By helping relatives survive and pass on their genes to the next generation, the individual thereby contributes to the reproduction of his own gene pool. Since this type of behavior makes the group evolutionarily more stable than similar other groups in which altruistic behavior is absent, then "altruistic genes" are supported by natural selection.

Passionary theory of ethnos (Gumilyov's theory)

In her ethnos- a group of people naturally formed on the basis of an original stereotype of behavior, existing as a systemic integrity (structure), opposing itself to all other groups, based on a sense of complementarity and forming an ethnic tradition common to all its representatives.

An ethnos is one of the types of ethnic systems, it is always a part of superethnoi, and consists of subethnoi, convixions and consortia.

Elite instrumentalism

This direction focuses on the role of elites in the mobilization of ethnic feelings.

Economic instrumentalism

This direction explains interethnic tensions and conflicts in terms of economic inequality among members of different ethnic groups.

Ethnogenesis

The main conditions for the emergence of an ethnos - a common territory and language - subsequently act as its main features. At the same time, an ethnos can also be formed from multilingual elements, take shape and consolidate in different territories in the process of migration (gypsies, etc.). In the context of early long-distance migrations of “homo sapiens” from Africa and modern globalization, ethnic groups are becoming increasingly important as cultural and linguistic communities that move freely throughout the planet.

Additional conditions for the formation of an ethnic community can be the commonality of religion, the proximity of the components of an ethnic group in racial terms, or the presence of significant mestizo (transitional) groups.

In the course of ethnogenesis, under the influence of the characteristics of economic activity in certain natural conditions and other reasons, features of material and spiritual culture, life, and group psychological characteristics that are specific to a given ethnos are formed. The members of an ethnos develop a common self-awareness, a prominent place in which is occupied by the idea of ​​a common origin. The external manifestation of this self-consciousness is the presence of a common self-name - an ethnonym.

The formed ethnic community acts as a social organism, self-reproducing through predominantly ethnically homogeneous marriages and transferring language, culture, traditions, ethnic orientation, etc. to the new generation.

Anthropological classification. Ethnos and race

Anthropological classification is based on the principle of dividing ethnic groups into races. This classification reflects the biological, genetic and, ultimately, historical relationship between ethnic groups.

Science recognizes the discrepancy between the racial and ethnic division of mankind: members of one ethnic group can belong both to the same and to different races (racial types) and, conversely, representatives of the same race (racial type) can belong to different ethnic groups, etc.

A fairly common misconception is expressed in the confusion of the concepts of "ethnos" and "race", and as a result, erroneous concepts are used, for example, such as "Russian race".

Ethnos and religion

Ethnos and culture

Culture - to give a universal, comprehensive definition for this concept is difficult and perhaps even impossible. The same can be said about "ethnic culture", since it is manifested and implemented in various ways and ways, so it can be understood and interpreted in different ways.

Nevertheless, some researchers clearly articulate the differences between a nation and an ethnos, pointing to the different nature of the origin of the concepts of "ethnos" and "nation". So, for an ethnos, in their opinion, is characterized by supra-individuality and stability, the repetition of cultural patterns. In contrast, for a nation, the process of self-awareness based on the synthesis of traditional and new elements becomes decisive, and the actual ethnic identification criteria (language, way of life, etc.) of belonging fade into the background. The nation comes to the fore those aspects that provide supra-ethnicity, the synthesis of ethnic, interethnic and other ethnic components (political, religious, etc.).

Ethnos and statehood

Ethnic groups are subject to changes in the course of ethnic processes - consolidation, assimilation, etc. For a more stable existence, an ethnos strives to create its own socio-territorial organization (state). Modern history knows many examples of how various ethnic groups, despite their large numbers, have not been able to solve the problem of socio-territorial organization. These include ethnic groups of Jews, Palestinian Arabs, Kurds, divided between Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Other examples of successful or unsuccessful ethnic expansion are the expansion of the Russian Empire, the Arab conquests in North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, the Tatar-Mongol invasion, the Spanish colonization of South and Central America.

ethnic identity

Ethnic identity is an integral part of the social identity of the individual, the awareness of one's belonging to a certain ethnic community. In its structure, two main components are usually distinguished - cognitive (knowledge, ideas about the characteristics of one's own group and awareness of oneself as its member based on certain characteristics) and affective (assessment of the qualities of one's own group, attitude towards membership in it, the significance of this membership).

One of the first to develop a child's awareness of belonging to a national group was studied by the Swiss scientist J. Piaget. In a 1951 study, he identified three stages in the development of ethnic characteristics:

1) at the age of 6-7, the child acquires the first fragmentary knowledge about his ethnicity;

2) at 8-9 years old, the child already clearly identifies himself with his ethnic group, based on the nationality of the parents, place of residence, native language;

3) in early adolescence (10-11 years old), ethnic identity is formed in full, as features of different peoples, the child notes the uniqueness of history, the specifics of traditional everyday culture.

External circumstances can force a person of any age to rethink their ethnic identity, as happened with a resident of Minsk, a Catholic, born in the Brest region bordering Poland. He “listed as a Pole and considered himself a Pole. At the age of 35 he went to Poland. There he became convinced that his religion unites the Poles, and otherwise he is Belarusian. Since that time, he has become aware of himself as a Belarusian ”(Klimchuk, 1990, p. 95).

The formation of ethnic identity is often a rather painful process. So, for example, a boy whose parents moved to Moscow from Uzbekistan even before his birth speaks Russian at home and at school; however, at school, due to his Asian name and swarthy skin color, he receives an offensive nickname. Later, having comprehended this situation, to the question “What is your nationality?” he may answer "Uzbek", or maybe not. The son of an American and a Japanese woman may turn out to be an outcast in Japan, where he will be teased as "long-nosed" and "oil-eater", and in the USA. At the same time, a child who grew up in Moscow, whose parents identify themselves as Belarusians, most likely will not have such problems at all.

There are the following dimensions of ethnic identity:

see also

• Ethnopolitics
• Ethnoterritorial conflict

Notes

Literature

• Kara-Murza S. G. "Theory and practice of constructing peoples"
• Shirokogorov S. M. “Ethnos. Study of the basic principles of change in ethnic and ethnographic phenomena "
• Gulyakhin V.N. Ethnocollective unconscious as a determinant of socio-political development // Bulletin of the Volgograd State University. Series 7: Philosophy. Sociology and social technologies. 2007. No. 6. S. 76-79.
• Sadokhin A. P., Grushevitskaya T. G. Ethnology: Textbook for students. higher textbook plant. - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - M .: Publishing center "Academy", 2003. - S. 320. -