View source for Homeland

{{Short description|Place associated with a collective identity}}
{{About|native lands|the TV series|Homeland (TV series){{!}}''Homeland'' (TV series)|other uses}}
{{Redirect|Old Country|the silent film|The Old Country{{!}}''The Old Country''|the album by Nat Adderley's Quintet|The Old Country (album){{!}}''The Old Country'' (album)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
[[File:La Liberté guidant le peuple - Eugène Delacroix - Musée du Louvre Peintures RF 129 - après restauration 2024.jpg|thumb|280px|''[[Liberty Leading the People]]'' by [[Eugène Delacroix]] personifies the French motherland.]]
{{Nationalism sidebar}}
{{Conservatism sidebar}}
A '''homeland''' is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homeland|title=Definition of Homeland|website=merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2018-12-23}}</ref> When used as a [[proper noun]], the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has [[ethnic nationalism|ethnic nationalist]] connotations. A homeland may also be referred to as a ''fatherland'', a ''motherland'', or a ''mother country'', depending on the [[culture]] and [[language]] of the nationality in question.

== Motherland ==
{{Redirect|Motherland|other uses|Motherland (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Mother country|other uses|Mother Country (disambiguation)}}
{{Further|Metropolis}}
[[File:Bharat Mata bronze.jpg|thumb|[[Bharat Mata]] (Mother India) statue accompanied by a lion at [[Yanam, India]]]]
Motherland refers to a ''mother country'', i.e. the place in which somebody grew up or had lived for a long enough period that somebody has formed their own cultural identity, the place that one's ancestors lived for generations, or the place that somebody regards as home, or a [[Metropole]] in contrast to its colonies. People often refer to [[personifications of Russia|Mother Russia]] as a personification of the Russian nation. The [[Philippines]] is also considered as a motherland which is derived from the word "''Inang Bayan''" which means "Motherland". Within the [[British Empire]], many natives in the colonies came to think of [[United Kingdom|Britain]] as the mother country of one, large nation. [[India]] is often personified as [[Bharat Mata]] (Mother India). The French commonly refer to France as "la mère patrie";<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/ces-tirailleurs-senegalais-qui-ont-combattu-pour-la-france_906248.html |title=Ces tirailleurs sénégalais qui ont combattu pour la France |first=Abdel |last=Pitroipa |date=14 July 2010 |magazine=[[L'Express]] |access-date=14 August 2019 |language=fr}}</ref> [[Hispanic]] countries that were former Spanish viceroyalties commonly referred to [[Spain]] as "''la Madre Patria''". [[Armenian people|Armenians]] refer to [[Armenia]] as "Mer Hayrenik" (lit: mother homeland.). [[Kathleen Ni Houlihan]] is a mythical symbol of Irish nationalism found in literature and art including work by [[W._B._Yeats|W.B. Yeats]] and [[Seán O'Casey]], She was an emblem during colonial rule, and became associated with the [[Irish Republican Army]] in Northern Ireland, especially during [[The Troubles]].

==Fatherland==
{{Redirect|Fatherland|other uses|Fatherland (disambiguation)}}
[[File:WWI postcards German and Austrian soldiers.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Postcard]] of an Austrian and a German soldier in the [[First World War]] with the text "Shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, for God, Emperor and Fatherland."]]
Fatherland is the nation of one's "fathers", "[[forefathers]]", or [[ancestor]]s. The word can also mean the country of nationality, the country in which somebody grew up, the country that somebody's ancestors lived in for generations, or the country that somebody regards as home, depending on how the individual uses it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatherland|title=Definition of FATHERLAND|website=merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2019-01-08}}</ref> It can be viewed as a [[nationalism|nationalist]] concept, in so far as it is evocative of emotions related to family ties and links them to national identity and patriotism. It can be compared to motherland and homeland, and some languages will use more than one of these terms.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/05/identity-crisis-motherland-fatherland/ |title=Identity Crisis: Motherland or Fatherland? |first=Caroline |last=James |access-date=14 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511021937/http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/05/identity-crisis-motherland-fatherland/ |archive-date=11 May 2015 |dictionary=[[Oxford Dictionaries (website)|Oxford Dictionaries]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=May 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Ancient Greek]] ''patris'', fatherland, led to ''patrios'', ''of our fathers'' and thence to the [[Latin]] ''patriota'' and [[Old French]] ''patriote'', meaning compatriot; from these the English word [[patriotism]] is derived. Romans and the subjects of [[Rome]] saw [[Italy]] as the fatherland (''patria'' or ''terrarum parens'') of the [[Roman Empire]], in contrast to [[Roman provinces]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hb6OAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 |title=Historiae Mundi: Studies in Universal History |author=Bloomsbury Publishing |author-link=Bloomsbury Publishing |publisher=[[A&C Black]] |date=20 November 2013 |page=97 |isbn=9781472519801}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ck0wSTQal48C&pg=PA330 |title=Eneid of Virgil |first=Charles |last=Anthon |author-link=Charles Anthon |year=1867}}</ref> The related [[Ancient Rome|Ancient Roman]] word ''Patria'' led to similar forms in modern [[Romance languages]].

The term fatherland is used throughout Europe where a [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] language is spoken. In Dutch ''vaderland'' is used in the national anthem, "[[Het Wilhelmus]]", which lyrics are written around 1570. It is also common to refer to the national history as ''vaderlandse geschiedenis''.

In German, the term ''Vaterland'' became more prominent in the 19th century. It appears in numerous patriotic songs and poems, such as Hoffmann's song ''[[Lied der Deutschen]]'' which became the national anthem in 1922. German government [[propaganda]] used its appeal to nationalism when making references to Germany and the state.<ref name="Wierzbicka 1997">{{cite book |last=Wierzbicka |first=Anna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YJjY9qBv9kC&pg=PA173 |title=Understanding Cultures Through Their Key Words : English, Russian, Polish, German, and Japanese |date=21 July 1997 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-535849-0 |pages=173–175}}</ref><ref name="WoW">{{cite book |last=Stargardt |first=Nicholas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=12PauR6bjrIC&pg=PA328 |title=Witnesses of War: Children's Lives Under the Nazis |date=18 December 2007 |publisher=[[Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group]] |isbn=9780307430304 |page=328}}</ref> It was used in ''[[Mein Kampf]]'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilensky |first=Gabriel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mJN8Bqvp30cC&pg=PA85 |title=Six Million Crucifixions |publisher=QWERTY Publishers |year=2010 |isbn=9780984334643 |quote=What we have to fight for is the freedom and independence of the fatherland, so that our people may be enabled to fulfill the mission assigned to it by the creator}}</ref> and on a sign in a German [[concentration camp]], also signed, [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{cite magazine |date=21 August 1939 |title=Nazi Germany reveals official pictures of its concentration camps |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9EEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22 |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]] |publisher=[[Time Inc]] |page=22 |volume=7 |issue=8 |issn=0024-3019 |quote=There is a road to freedom. Its milestones are Obedience, Endeavor, Honesty, Order, Cleanliness, Sobriety, Truthfulness, Sacrifice, and love of the Fatherland.}}</ref>

Because of the use of ''Vaterland'' in Nazi-German war propaganda, the term "Fatherland" in English has become associated with domestic British and American anti-Nazi propaganda during [[World War II]]. This is not the case in Germany itself, or in other Germanic speaking and Eastern European countries, where the word remains used in the usual patriotic contexts.

Terms equating "Fatherland" in Germanic languages:
* Afrikaans: ''Vaderland''
* Danish: ''fædreland''
* Dutch (Flemish): ''vaderland''<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U2HsdbbDgI Wilhelmus]-YouTube</ref>
* West Frisian: ''heitelân''
* German: ''Vaterland''<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqAKJdv3fqU Vaterland]-YouTube</ref> (as in the national anthem [[Deutschlandlied|Das Lied der Deutschen]], also [[Austrians]], the [[Swiss people|Swiss]] as in the national anthem [[Swiss Psalm]] and [[Liechtensteiners]])
* Icelandic: ''föðurland''
* Norwegian: ''fedreland''
* Swedish: ''fäderneslandet'' (besides the more common ''fosterlandet''; the word ''faderlandet'' also exists in Swedish but is never used for Sweden itself, but for other countries such as Germany).

A corresponding term is often used in Slavic languages, in:
* [[Russian language|Russian]] ''otechestvo'' (отечество) or ''otchizna'' (отчизна)
* [[Polish language|Polish]] ''ojczyzna'' in common language literally meaning "fatherland", ''ziemia ojców'' literally meaning "land of fathers",<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://zpl.lt/2012/04/ziemia-ojcow/ |title = Ziemia Ojców|date = 16 April 2012}}</ref> sometimes used in the phrase ''ziemia ojców naszych''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://83.18.193.5/cku/index.php/component/content/article/244-2014-11-07-11-48-07.html |title=Ziemia Ojców Naszych |access-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514025214/http://83.18.193.5/cku/index.php/component/content/article/244-2014-11-07-11-48-07.html |archive-date=14 May 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> literally meaning "land of our fathers" (besides rarer name ''macierz'' "motherland")
* [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] ''batʹkivshchyna'' (батьківщина) or ''vitchyzna'' (вітчизна).
* [[Czech language|Czech]] ''otčina'' (although the normal Czech term for "homeland" is ''vlast'')
* the [[Belarusians]] as {{lang|be|Бацькаўшчына}} (''Baćkaŭščyna'')
* [[Serbo-Croatian]] ''otadžbina'' (отаџбина) meaning "fatherland", ''domovina'' (домовина) meaning "homeland", ''dedovina'' (дедовина) or ''djedovina'' meaning "grandfatherland" or "land of grandfathers"
* [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] татковина (''tatkovina'') as well as ''otechestvo'' (Отечество)
* [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] татковина (''tatkovina'')

===Other groups that refer to their native country as a "fatherland"===
Groups with languages that refer to their native country as a "fatherland" include:
* the [[Arabs]] as {{lang|ar|أرض الآباء}} ''<nowiki>'</nowiki>arḍ al-'abā<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' ("land of the fathers")
* the [[Albanians]] as ''Atdhe''
* the [[Amhara people|Amharas]] as {{lang|am|አባት አገር}} (''Abbat Ager'')
* the [[Rakhine people|Arakanese]] as {{transliteration|rki|italic=no|A pha rakhaing pray}} (အဖရခိုင်ပြည်)
* the [[Chechens]] as ''Daimokh''
* the [[Estonians]] as ''isamaa'' (as in the national anthem [[Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm]])
* the [[Finns]] as ''isänmaa''
* the [[Georgians]] as ''Samshoblo'' (სამშობლო - "[land] of parents") or ''Mamuli'' (მამული)
* the [[Ancient Greeks]] as πατρίς ''patris''
* the [[Ancient Rome|Ancient Romans]] as ''patria “fatherland”''
* the [[Greeks]] as πατρίδα {{transliteration|el|patrida}}'
* the [[Kazakhs]] as ''atameken''
* the [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] as ''ata meken''
* the [[Latvians]] as tēvzeme
* the [[Lithuanians]] as ''tėvynė''
* the [[Nigerians]] as ''fatherland''
* the [[Oromo people|Oromo]] as ''Biyya Abaa''
* the [[Pakistanis]] as ''Vatan'' (madar-e-watan means motherland. Not fatherland)
* the [[Somali people|Somali]] as ''Dhulka Abaa'', land of the father
* the [[Thai people|Thais]] as ''pituphum'' (ปิตุภูมิ), the word is adapted from ''[[Sanskrit]]''
* the [[Tibet]]ans as <big>{{lang|bo|ཕ་ཡུལ}}</big> (''pha yul'')
* the [[Welsh people|Welsh]] as {{lang|cy|Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau}}, 'the ancient land of my fathers'

=== Romance languages ===
In [[Romance languages]], a common way to refer to one's home country is ''Patria/Pátria/Patrie'' which has the same connotation as ''Fatherland'', that is, the nation of our parents/fathers (From the Latin, Pater, father). As ''patria'' has feminine gender, it is usually used in expressions related to one's mother, as in Italian ''la Madrepatria'', Spanish ''la Madre Patria'' or Portuguese ''a Pátria Mãe'' (Mother Fatherland). Examples include:

* the [[Esperantist]]s as ''patrio'', ''patrolando'' or ''patrujo''
* [[Aragonese language|Aragonese]], [[Asturian language|Asturian]], [[Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal]], [[Galician language|Galician]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]] (in its many dialects): ''Patria''
* [[Catalan language|Catalan]]: ''Pàtria''
* [[Occitan language|Occitans]]: ''Patrìo''
* [[French language|French]]: ''Patrie''
* [[Romanian language|Romanian]]: ''Patrie''
* [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: ''Pátria''

===Multiple references to parental forms ===
* the [[Armenians]], as ''Hayrenik'' (Հայրենիք), home. The national anthem [[Mer Hayrenik]] translates as ''Our Fatherland''
*the [[Azerbaijanis]] as ''Ana vətən'' (lit. mother homeland; vətən from Arabic) or ''Ata ocağı'' (lit. father's [[hearth]])
* the [[Bosniaks]] as ''Otadžbina'' (Отаџбина), although ''Domovina'' (Домовина) is sometimes used colloquially meaning ''homeland''
* the [[China|Chinese]] as ''zǔguó'' (祖国 or 祖國 ([[traditional chinese]]), "land of ancestors"), ''zǔguómǔqīn'' (祖国母亲 or 祖國母親, "ancestral land, the mother") is frequently used.
* the [[Czechs]] as ''vlast'', ''power'' or (rarely) ''otčina'', fatherland
* the [[Hungarians]] as ''szülőföld'' (literally: "bearing land" or "parental land")
* the [[Indian people|Indians]] as मातृभूमि literally meaning "motherland", or पितृभूमि translating to "fatherland" in the Indo-Aryan liturgical tradition
* the [[Kurds]] as ''warê bav û kalan'' meaning "land of the fathers and the grandfathers"
* the [[Japanese people|Japanese]] as ''sokoku'' (祖国, "land of ancestors")
* the [[Koreans]] as ''joguk'' (조국, [[Hanja]]: 祖國, "land of ancestors")
* [[French language|French speakers]]: ''Patrie'', although they also use ''la mère patrie'', which includes the idea of motherland
* the [[Latvians]] as ''tēvija'' or ''tēvzeme'' (although ''dzimtene'' – roughly translated as "place that somebody grew up" – is more neutral and used more commonly nowadays)
* the [[Bamar people|Burmese]] as အမိမြေ (ami-myay) literally meaning "motherland"
* the [[Persian people|Persians]] as ''Sarzamin e Pedari (Fatherland), Sarzamin e Mādari (Motherland) or Mihan (Home)''
* the [[Polish people|Poles]] as ''ojczyzna'' (''ojczyzna'' is derived from ''ojciec'', Polish for father, but ''ojczyzna'' itself and ''Polska'' are [[Grammatical gender|feminine]], so it can also be translated as motherland), also an [[archaism]] ''macierz'' "mother" is rarely used.
* the [[Russians]], as ''Otechestvo'' (отечество) or ''Otchizna'' (отчизна), both words derived from ''отец'', Russian for father. ''Otechestvo'' is [[Grammatical gender|neuter]], ''otchizna'' is [[Grammatical gender|feminine]].
* the [[Slovenes]] as ''očetnjava'', although ''domovina'' (homeland) is more common.
* the [[Swedish people|Swedes]] as ''fäderneslandet'', although ''fosterlandet'' is more common (meaning the land that fostered/raised a person)
* the [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]] as ''Tổ quốc'' ([[Chữ Nôm]]: 祖國, "land of ancestors")

==In Hebrew==
[[Jews]], especially Modern-Day Israelis, use several different terms, all referring to [[Israel]], including:
* ''Moledet'' (מולדת; Birth Land). The most analogous Hebrew word to the English term 'Homeland'.  
* ''Erets Israel'' (ארץ ישראל; Land of Israel). This is the most common usage.
* ''Haarets'' (הארץ; The Land). This is used by Israelis, and Jews abroad, when making distinctions between Israel and other countries in conversation.
* ''Haarets Hamuvtachat'' (הארץ המובטחת; The Promised Land). This is a term with historical and religious connotations. 
* ''Erets Zion'' (ארץ ציון; Land of Zion; Land of Jerusalem). Notably use in [[Hatikvah|The Israeli Anthem]].
* ''Erets Avot'' (ארץ אבות; Land of the Fathers). This is a common biblical and literary usage. Equivalent to 'Fatherland'.
* ''Erets Zavat Chalav Oudvash'' (ארץ זבת חלב ודבש; Land Flowing with Milk and Honey). This is a biblical term which is still sometimes used.
* ''Haarets Hatova'' (הארץ הטובה; The Good Land). Originated in the [[Book of Deuteronomy]]. 

==Uses by country==
* The [[Soviet Union]] created homelands for some minorities in the 1920s, including the [[Volga German ASSR]] and the [[Jewish Autonomous Oblast]]. In the case of the Volga German ASSR, these homelands were later abolished, and their inhabitants deported to either [[Siberia]] or the [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakh SSR]].
* In the [[United States]], the [[Department of Homeland Security]] was created soon after the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|11 September 2001, terrorist attacks]], as a means to centralize response to various [[imminent threat|threats]]. In a June 2002 column, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] consultant and speechwriter [[Peggy Noonan]] expressed the hope that the [[George W. Bush administration|Bush administration]] would change the name of the department, writing that, "The name Homeland Security grates on a lot of people, understandably. ''Homeland'' isn't really an American word, it's not something we used to say or say now".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Noonan |first=Peggy |title=OpinionJournal – Peggy Noonan |access-date=8 September 2007 |date=14 June 2002<!-- 12:01 a.m. EDT --> |url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110001838 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930202405/http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110001838 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Since the [[2020 presidential election]] and Donald Trump's second presidential term, there has been an increase of the term Homeland used in American politics, with the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] and [[United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement|U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] (ICE) often using phrases such as "Defend the Homeland" in campaign media and encouraging an implied defense of America by recruiting "''patriotic, brave Americans"'' to remove "''Murderers, rapists, terrorists, and child pedophiles"'' who are "''criminal illegal aliens"''<ref>{{Cite web |title=DHS Launches ‘Defend the Homeland’ Nationwide to Recruit Patriots to Join ICE Law Enforcement And Remove Worst of the Worst from U.S. {{!}} Homeland Security |url=https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/07/29/dhs-launches-defend-homeland-nationwide-recruit-patriots-join-ice-law-enforcement |access-date=2025-10-21 |website=www.dhs.gov |language=en}}</ref> 
* In the [[History of South Africa in the Apartheid Era|apartheid]] era in [[South Africa]], the concept was given a different meaning. The white government had designated approximately 25% of its non-desert territory for black tribal settlement. Whites and other non-blacks were restricted from owning land or settling in those areas. After 1948 they were gradually granted an increasing level of "home-rule". From 1976 several of these regions were granted independence. Four of them were declared independent nations by South Africa, but were unrecognized as independent countries by any other nation besides each other and South Africa. The territories set aside for the African inhabitants were also known as [[bantustans]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
* In Australia, the term refers to relatively small Aboriginal settlements (referred to also as "outstations") where people with close kinship ties share lands significant to them for cultural reasons. Many such homelands are found across Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland. The [[homeland movement]] gained momentum in the 1970 and 1980s. Not all homelands are permanently occupied owing to seasonal or cultural reasons.<ref>{{cite journal |title= The Encyclopedia of Aboriginal Australia |year= 1994}}</ref> Much of their funding and support have been withdrawn since the 2000s.<ref>{{cite book | editor-last1=Peterson | editor-first1=Nicolas | editor-last2=Myers | editor-first2=Fred | title=Experiments in self-determination: Histories of the outstation movement in Australia [blurb] | doi=10.22459/ESD.01.2016 | url=https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/monographs-anthropology/experiments-self-determination|series= Monographs in Anthropology|isbn=9781925022902|date=January 2016| publisher=ANU Press | access-date=2 August 2020 | doi-access=free }}</ref> 
* In [[Turkish language|Turkish]], the concept of "homeland", especially in the patriotic sense, is "''ana vatan''" (lit. mother homeland), while "''baba ocağı''" (lit. father's [[hearth]]) is used to refer to one's childhood home. (Note: The Turkish word "''ocak''" has the double meaning of ''january'' and ''fireplace'', like the Spanish "''hogar''", which can mean "home" or "hearth".){{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

==Land of one's home==
In some languages, there are additional words that refer specifically to the place where one is home to, but is narrower in scope than one's nation, and often have some sort of nostalgic, fantastic, heritage connection, for example:
* In German language, {{lang|de|[[heimat]]}}.
* In Dutch and Afrikaans, ''t(h)uisland'', equivalent to the term [[bantustan]]
* In Japanese language, {{nihongo||故郷|kokyō, </i>or<i>, furusato}}, or {{nihongo||郷土|kyōdo}}.
* In Chinese languages, {{lang-zh|t=故鄉|s=故乡|p=gùxiāng|labels=no}} or {{lang-zh|t=家鄉|s=家乡|p=jiāxiāng|labels=no}}.
* In Vietnamese language, {{lang|vi|cố hương}}.
* In Korean language, {{langx|ko|고향|translit=gohyang|label=none}}, {{lang|ko-Hani|故鄕}}.

==See also==
* [[Diaspora politics]]
* [[Heimat]]
* [[Homeland security]]
* [[Mother tongue]]
* [[Separatism]]
* [[Secession]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29596504 ''Landscape and Memory''] by [[Simon Schama]] (Random House, 1995)

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110310161750/http://www.caucasus.dk/chapter2.htm#_Toc448816639 Nationalism and Ethnicity – A Theoretical Overview]

{{Indigenous rights footer}}
{{Nationalism}}
{{Conservatism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Nationalism]]
[[Category:Conservatism]]
[[Category:Cultural geography]]
[[Category:Ethnicity in politics]]