ABSTRACT
Ethnicity is a presumed identity of a group derived from common descent and shared pasts. The essence of ethnic group is the concept of ‘ethnie’ and the ethnic community. Myths of common ancestry, shared memories, cultural values and historical pasts dene an ‘ethnie’. It is a collective self-consciousness which separates ethnic communities from ethnic categories. All ethnic communities, it is important to note, do not become a nation because of the pressures of assimilation and absorption in the larger societies.
