Endemophilia: the
particular love of the locally and the regionally distinctive in the people of
that place. The English word, ‘endemic’, is based on the French word, endémique
and has the Greek roots, endēmia (a dwelling in) and endēmos (native in the people) and philia (love of). [Albrecht 2010]
I have created the term, ‘endemophilia’, to posit
an emplaced and home-based counter to traditionally defined nostalgia. Endemophilia captures in one word the particular love of the
locally and regionally distinctive in the people of that place. It is similar
to what Relph called “existential
insideness” or the deep, satisfying feeling of being truly at home with one’s
place and culture.
Endemophilia is a counter to the alienation and
isolation expressed by the term nostalgia when a ‘local’ person is separated
from their home environment. To have an emplaced love of home and its
distinctive ecocultural qualities and characteristics is a precondition for
having a negative experience when absent from home. In order to experience genuine
homesickness, you must have already experienced ‘homewellness’ or endemophilia.
