Images of Women in African Oral Literature: A Case of Gikuyu and Swahili Proverbs

Ndungo, Catherine Mwihaki (1998) Images of Women in African Oral Literature: A Case of Gikuyu and Swahili Proverbs. PhD thesis, Kenyatta University.

PDF (Images of Women in African Oral Literature: A Case of Gikuyu and Swahili Proverbs) Images Of Women In African Oral Literature - A Case Of Gikuyu And Swahili Proverbs.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (128MB)

Abstract

This study was to examine critically the portrayal of women in selected Gikuyu and Swahili Proverbs. The aim was to describe the images of women that emanate from the selected proverbs. The research concern arose out of the realisation that gender relations and attitudes are important in understanding society. The findings of the study have shed light on the societal attitudes towards women. A content analysis of one hundred and fifty three Gikuyu proverbs and one hundred and twenty seven Swahili proverbs collected from published and oral sources in the Kenyan Coast and Central province reveal that women have diverse and ambivalent images. The images were derived from both literal and underlying levels of meaning of the proverbs. The study shows that women as mothers in both Gikuyu and Swahili societies are portrayed positively in their roles as rearers, teachers and role models of their children. The image of a mother borders on idolisation. However women in general and wives in particular, are portrayed negatively in both Gikuyu and Swahili societies especially with regard to their personalities. Women are generally depicted as treacherous, unreliable, unintelligent, dependent and lacking ln vision and wisdom. According to the feminist literary theory which was used as a guide in the analysis of the data in this study, the images emanating from the proverbs are a reflection of the societal attitudes towards women in the two communities as literature is a vehicle of cultural philosophy. The study concludes that, for the two communities to portray women positively as mothers and generally negatively, there must be a good reason. It could be an indication that women as a category threaten the male domain. It needs to be established why women are perceived negatively and how the negative image translates in real life situations.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GR Folklore H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
Divisions:	Africana
Depositing User:	Mr Patrick Ng'ang'a
Date Deposited:	01 Sep 2017 07:39
Last Modified:	01 Sep 2017 07:39
URI:	http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/1922

Actions (login required)

View Item