The Dynamic Functionality of Borders: A Study from a Cultural Perspective

Abstract

The identity construction processes are becoming more and more complicated in our nomadic world. Globalization and migration make difficult to talk about an identity determined by geographically localized cultural and ethnic factors. In these contexts, identity becomes a kind of polyphony of voices as a result of relations between two or more cultures. In this chapter we use, as an empirical example, an interview with an indigenous young man of the Misak community located in southern Colombia, who has moved to the city to attend university. From the interviews, it was identified that the young Misak built his identity on the liminality of the city’s culture and the traditional and cultural values of the Misak community. The young Misak uses certain symbolic tools that allow him to create new meanings about himself and the history of his people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)