ABSTRACT
According to anthropological folklore, in traditional societies, one’s identity was fixed, solid and stable. Identity was a function of predefined social roles and a traditional system of myths which provided orientation and religious sanctions to one’s place in the world, while rigorously circumscribing the realm of thought and behavior. One was born and died a member of one’s clan, a member of a fixed kinship system and a member of one’s tribe or group with one’s life trajectory fixed in advance. In pre-modern societies, identity was unproblematical and not subject to reflection or discussion. Individuals did not undergo identity crises, or radically modify their identity. One was a hunter and a member of the tribe and that was that.
