Ethnicity is about sharing. We shall see here how many things are shared by members of an ethnic group or in the name of ethnicity. We see that members of an ethnic group share certain norms and values and they have more or less the same beliefs. They share cultural symbols with which they are emotionally connected. Ethnicity is also about sharing cultural practices in everyday ways of living life.

Myths, particularly originary ones, are also shared; for instance the origins of a particular ethnic group, where they came from, how they originated, along with the myths of the gods and goddesses that are supposed to have created their originary homeland. Blood ties and kingship are other important aspects that are shared among the members of an ethnic group apart from a homeland. Thus, a lot is shared, loved and held dear within the framework of ethnicity. Ethnicity entails both sharing as well as the retention of boundaries with regard to shared values and cultural practices. As Barker rightly points out:

“Ethnicity is a relational concept that is concerned with categories of self- identification and social ascription. Thus, what we think of as our identity is dependent on what we think we are not … Consequently, ethnicity is best understood as a process of boundary formation that has been constructed and maintained under specific socio-historical conditions.”