etnisitas

Etnisitas, or ethnicity, refers to a social category that groups people who share a sense of belonging to a common cultural community. This sense is typically anchored in language, history, religion, ancestry, territory, and customs, and is reinforced through family, ritual practice, and social networks. In Indonesian discourse, etnisitas describes ethnic identity within a multiethnic society.

Etnisitas is not a fixed biological trait; it is a social construct that can be fluid across time and places. Membership is often a combination of self-identification and ascription by others, and it may be recognised by the state in censuses or minority-rights regimes. Ethnic identity can be inclusive or exclusive and can change with intermarriage, migration, or political change.

It is useful to distinguish ethnicity from race, nationality, and culture. Ethnicity concerns perceived common origin and cultural markers rather than visible phenotypic traits alone. In politics, ethnicity can be mobilized for representation, or, in some contexts, for conflict and exclusion, raising issues around affirmative action, minority rights, and ethnically based governance.

Scholars in anthropology, sociology, and political science study etnisitas as a dynamic social phenomenon. Methods include ethnography, self-identification surveys, language use, and religious practice. The literature emphasizes variation across societies, institutions that recognize or suppress ethnic identities, and processes of assimilation, integration, or plural, multicultural coexistence.