Features of the ethnic identity

Currently, researchers are trying to highlight the features inherent in the ethnic identity. The American cultural anthropologist J. Devos considers the ethnic identity as a form of identity embodied in cultural tradition and oriented towards the heritage of the past, unlike other forms which are oriented towards the present or future [37, p. 239].

1. U. Soldatova believes that one of the features of the ethnic identity is mythology, since «its main support is the idea or myth of a common culture, origin, history» [38, p. 48].

However, it should also be kept in mind that there is not a single feature of ethnic identity that would not be inherent in some other component of social identity.

According to T.G. Stefanenko, the difference between the ethnic identity and other components of social identity should be sought not in individual features, but in their structural relationships among representatives of a particular people in a particular social context.

In the structure of the ethnic identity, two main components are distinguished - cognitive (knowledge, ideas about the characteristics of one's own group and awareness of oneself as a member on the basis of ethno-differentiating signs) and affective (assessment of the qualities of one's own group, attitude towards membership in it, the significance of this membership).

Different researchers use different terms to refer to the elements of the cognitive component of the ethnic identity: ethnic orientations, group concepts, etc. The most important should be recognized as the ethnic awareness, which includes objective knowledge and subjective social ideas about ethnic groups - one's own and others, their history and traditions, as well as the differences between them, and the ethnic self-identification (the use of an ethnic «label» - an ethnonym based on the perception of oneself as belonging to a group).

But the ethnic identity is not only an awareness of one's identity with an the ethnic community, but also its assessment, the significance of membership in it, shared ethnic feelings: «Dignity, pride, resentment, fears are the most important criteria for interethnic comparison. These feelings are based on deep emotional ties with the ethnic community and moral obligations towards it, which are formed in the process of the individual's socialization» [38, p. 49].

Attitude towards one's own the ethnic community is manifested in the ethnic attitudes. Positive attitudes include satisfaction with membership in an ethnic community, a desire to belong to it, pride in the achievements of one's people.

Negative attitudes toward belonging to a group include denial of one's own ethnic identity, feelings of humiliation, preference for other groups as the reference ones.

Some scholars also single out the behavioral component of ethnic identity as a real mechanism not only for awareness, but also for manifesting oneself as a member of a certain group, «building a system of relations and actions in various ethno-contact situations» [39, p. 296].

It seems that the allocation of the behavioral component of the ethnic identity leads to an excessive expansion of this concept. Involvement in the social life and cultural practices of an ethnic group (language use, confessional affiliation, participation in social and political organizations, maintenance of cultural traditions) is quite often considered as an indicator of an individual's ethnic identity.

However, it is still questionable the existence of a stable connection between who a person considers himself to be and how he acts in real life, that is, between the ethnic self-identification and the ethnic involvement.

In addition, one should distinguish between attitudes towards ethnic culture, which are original ethnic prototypes or models worthy of imitation, and real involvement in it.

T.G. Stefanenko proposes to single out not the behavioral component of the ethnic identity, but only the individual’s readiness for collective forms of activity, the desire to achieve group goals. Willingness, which is not always realized in actions. At present, ethnic identity does not always imply interaction with a group where the individual is «one's own», but can be limited to the symbolic appropriation of the ethno-differentiating features.

However, it must be taken into account that in a traditional society, involvement in the social life and cultural practices of an ethnic group is an important component of the formation and functioning of ethnic identity. Moreover, person’s problem-free identification with an ethnic group in a traditional society was achieved precisely due to the inclusion of each individual in the life of a group and the constant confirmation of belonging to it by socially significant intra-group interaction.