The concept of country, as an identity or descriptive quality, varies widely across the world, although some elements may be common among several groups of people.

Rurality

One interpretation is the state or character of being

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

, regardless of environment. It can be at direct odds with quantitative measures of rurality such as those used by governments for statistical analysis (which are often vague and poorly defined). "Country" in this sense is subjective and often

intuitive Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledge; unconscious cognition; ...

. It encompasses a broad base of ideas and perceptions that may differ at local, regional or national levels.

Social development

Identity is often localized within relatively isolated populations which, having distinct traditions of their own, can often be viewed as an outgroup and marginalized by the dominant culture. Contrast between rural and urban realities not only produces measurable differences politically and economically, but also affects populations in terms of social identification. Country conceptualization shifts the focus away from the prevailing forces in society (usually centered in larger, metropolitan regions) and towards those on the periphery of society in remote areas and small towns. This transition causes rural populations to feel better connected with rural

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

and more empowered. This conceptualization also highlights that rural culture does not necessarily depend on residing in a rural area, and may assist in reversing negative psychological consequences of marginalization.

Cognitive definitions

Country is a subjective state that perceives the rural experience as focal and inseparable to one's

collective identity Collective identity is the shared sense of belonging to a group. In sociology In 1989, Alberto Melucci published ''Nomads of the Present'', which introduces his model of collective identity based on studies of the social movements of the 1980s ...

, regardless of location. This is often expressed in the demarginalization of ideas, values or lifestyles held as being representative of such a character, although a concise understanding of Country is difficult because the essential elements are perceived differently among individuals and groups. It is sometimes also limited by more specific classifications, such as "rural working-class culture" or "

southern culture The culture of the Southern United States, Southern culture, or Southern heritage, is a subculture of the United States. The combination of its unique history and the fact that many Southerners maintain—and even nurture—an identity separate f ...

". It is thus better represented by its subjective symbolism, which recognises that individuals can continue to retain a sense of "ruralness" even in urbanized areas. As there is no definitive, scholarly consensus on precisely what constitutes Country, much of its discourse is manifested in

the arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

, and often described it in romanticized ways.

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

can be important tool for reinforcing this collective identity. This emphasis of

non-material culture Culture consists of both material culture and non-material culture. Thoughts or ideas that make up a culture are called the non-material culture. In contrast to material culture, non-material culture does not include any physical objects or artifa ...

over

material culture Material culture is the aspect of social reality grounded in the objects and architecture that surround people. It includes the usage, consumption, creation, and trade of objects as well as the behaviors, norms, and rituals that the objects creat ...

resonates with the rural experience as being represented through material elements rather than solely consisting of them. Within the United States, country frequently transcends a close relationship with the Southern culture as a source of unity and empowerment of local, marginalized peoples who feel left out from the dominant culture. The preference to identify as country before more traditional means of classification, such as race or class, is reflected of

self-determination theory Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality that concerns people's innate growth tendencies and innate psychological needs. It pertains to the motivation behind people's choices in the absence of extern ...

. Country identification is one way in that an individual strives to better their association with others, by identifying in ways that are more advantageous to rural populations and not necessarily in ways dictated by mainstream society.

Meaning in different cultures

Australia

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

, that is the Indigenous peoples of Australia, have strong and complex relationships with the meaning of country, several of which relate to self-identity. An individual to describe family origins and associations with particular parts of Australia. A

Gamilaraay The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

man, whose traditional lands ("country") lies in south-west

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

might refer to his country as "Gamilaraay country". Aboriginal identity often links to their

language groups A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in hist ...

and traditional country of their ancestors. Land is of great significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, often expressed as "Connection to Country". Country can be spoken about as if it is a person, and it implies an interdependent and reciprocal relationship between an individual and the lands and seas of their ancestors. The relationship is enhanced and sustained by the living environment and

cultural knowledge Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...

. Because everything is connected, animals, trees, rocks, land and sky all deserve respect. Past is connected to present, and there is a sense it is important to acknowledge and respect the country of other peoples, wherever one travels in Australia. The term "on Country", or "on specific peoplecountry" is often used. Connection to country, "the most fundamental pillar of Indigenous identity", is a difficult concept for non-Indigenous Australians to understand, and disconnection from country has been shown to have an impact on Indigenous peoples' health and well-being. The connection to country is frequently expressed in

Indigenous art Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention * Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band * Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehor ...

Bill Neidjie Big Bill Neidjie ( – 23 May 2002), nicknamed "Kakadu Man", was the last surviving speaker of the Gaagudju language, an Aboriginal Australian language from northern Kakadu, after which Kakadu National Park is named. He was an elder of the Ga ...

, Gaagudju elder, expressed that it is by “feeling” country that a person is "made" (exists).

Palyku The Bailgu are an indigenous Australian people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Country Bailgu traditional lands extended over , according to Norman Tindale's estimate, covering the upper Fortescue River, and taking in Roy Hill and e ...

woman Ambelin Kwaymullina:

Aileen Moreton-Robinson Aileen Moreton-Robinson is an Australian academic, Indigenous feminist, author and activist for Indigenous rights. She is an Aboriginal woman of the Goenpul tribe, part of the Quandamooka nation on Stradbroke Island in Queensland. She was th ...

, Professor of Indigenous Research at

RMIT University RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city ...

, has written that the sense of belonging, home and place experienced by Indigenous peoples of Australia stands in sharp contrast to that of non-Indigenous peoples, many of whom descend from the original colonisers. According to her, white Australians' sense of belonging is "derived from ownership and achievement and is inextricably tied to a racialised social status...", and based on the persistence of the idea of ''

terra nullius ''Terra nullius'' (, plural ''terrae nullius'') is a Latin expression meaning " nobody's land". It was a principle sometimes used in international law to justify claims that territory may be acquired by a state's occupation of it. : : ...

''. The deep spiritual connection felt by

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

is related to their continuing occupation of the Australian continent for around 60,000 years, and the belief that Aboriginal lore/law was created by spirit ancestors to look after the land and its people.

Songline A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia which mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Dre ...

s perform several functions, including mapping routes across the continent and passing on culture, and express connectedness to country. "Caring for country" is another term commonly used in an Indigenous context, defined as "participating in interrelated activities on Aboriginal lands and seas with the objective of promoting

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

, spiritual and

human health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

". Caring for Country projects in operation across Australia involve collaborative partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people working to repair Indigenous lands and to preserve the environment using cultural knowledge. A

Welcome to Country A Welcome to Country is a ritual or formal ceremony performed as a land acknowledgement at many events held in Australia. It is intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to the descendants of a particular Aborigina ...

is a

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

or formal

ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

performed at many events held in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to a particular Aboriginal clan or language group who are recognised as

traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

s of the land.

Rurality

Social development

Cognitive definitions

Meaning in different cultures

Australia

References

Further reading