Abstract. – The indigeny–exogeny dimension has received little attention from sociologists and anthropologists, even though it underlies most of the problems they have been interested in. Exogeny (inherited estrangement from place) is the basis of modernity and of several earlier social forms. Reciprocally, indigeny (inherited embodiment by place) is the key factor in generating the cultural attitudes and social forms that are usually characterised as “traditional.” This claim is discussed with reference to such issues as the difference between tribality and indigeny; relations between indigenes and exogenes; the linkage between exogeny and relative economic success; ideological uses of indigenism and exogenism; the relations between exogeny, politics and culture. [Social theory, cultural theory, Indigenous studies, modernity, colonialism, political anthropology]