Miskito or Creole? Ethnic identity and moral economy in a Miskito community in Nicaragua

Abstract

Mainly on his research in the Miskito community of Kakabila, and on another study of the neighboring community of Tasbapauni, the author looks at how dual ethnic identity and bilingualism are reproduced in small and apparently homogenous communities. He questions the conception of ethnicity as something rigid, determined by a through a person's primary sense of belonging to a particular group, He demonstrates that this sense of belonging can be conceived in practical terms, looking at somebody’s actions. He indicates that ethnic identities, if we insist on calling them this way, frequently depend on the context and are negotiable.