Topic > Essay on Primordialism - 1995

Probably neither is satisfactory in providing a complete explanation, so it is necessary to combine both approaches for greater explanatory power. Conner (1994) offers a primordialist view of identity as an evolution of the history and myth of a common homeland, or "a group of people who believe they are ancestrally related" (quote). This belief arises from psychological and emotional attachments developed through a mutual culture, language, or religion. This idea that identity manifests from a group that believes it is ancestrally related stems from the inability of many primordialist claims to describe an actual origin or trace one's roots with certainty. This leads to the emergence of myths of common ancestry or homeland. Other primordialists believe that identity is innate, or a "given", prescribed from birth through ties of blood or kinship, while it can also be achieved through mutual culture, religion, and language. (quote) This biological and psychological attachment forms the ethnic core and is the basis of national identity. These views of identity through the primordialist lens is that it is fixed once given, which also acts to strengthen the primordial bond between the organic community. This also suggests that ethnic identity forms the core of national identity and cannot be separated. This means this