Construction of Baloch Ethnic Identity through Ethnolinguistic Awareness and Cultural Dynamics

Abstract

The paper is based on a qualitative ethnographic study to explore the role of ethnolinguistic awareness and cultural dynamics in the construction of the ethnic identity of Baloch. The data was collected through focussed group interviews of twenty participants who were sampled through non-random criterion sampling and they belonged to at least thirteen different tribes of Baloch. The study was conducted within the theoretical perspective of Smolicz Core Value. The analysis of the rich data found the group members to be consciously self-aware of their distinct ethnic identity and more so in the present political situation of the province. The group members were also found to express their ethnicity through cultural dynamics such as common traditional dress and Balochi as the group language even though Balochi was not the mother tongue of all the participants as they are an ethnic group that speaks at least four different languages.