| dc.description.abstract | Using the Kirundi proverb as a literary indicator and enhancer of culture, this study demonstrates that the differences in the construction of masculinity and femininity which sometimes result into unequal gender relations serve a social function. It further explores how proverbs as a ‘fixed form’ heritage of tradition adjust to current political, economic and socio-cultural changes that affect gender roles in turn.
The empirical material on which the argument is based comes from fieldwork done in Burundi where the researcher collected a total of 279 proverbs for eleven months. The collection of data was conducted basically through qualitative research which employed various methods. These are interviews, observations and document analysis with a checklist as well as photography of some significant scenes in supporting the argument. The corpus of proverbs analysed in this study is a collection of proverbs that use the images of female and male lexemes plus proverbs of contextualization. They have been collected from field and from one published source. Attention is particularly given to proverbs and variants of proverbs in contemporary use.
The present research is framed by an array of social constructivist theories- ranging from gender social construction theory of Simone de Beauvoir, through Monique Wittig to Judith Butler’s performativity theory. Other approaches such as linguistic approach, discursive interpretation as well as cultural explanations have been used in the discussion whenever it is necessary. In the present study, Kirundi proverbs have been analysed as both a literary and social phenomena.
With evidence from data, the study proves that the societal construction of masculinity and femininity differently reveals society’s aspiration and desire to social order by presenting patriarchy as a stable or immutable part of that social order for the building of a solid nuclear family, contrary to suggestions in previous African oral literature scholarship that women are presented as oppressed and men as oppressors. Overall, it is undeniable, basing on the Kirundi proverb that the differences between men and women are socially constructed on the basis of biology for humanity purpose. From the social construction of gender frame, gender roles are changeable to cater to new challenges just as culture is dynamic. Despite change however, the differences between masculinity and femininity should remain but be inspired by the demands of each epoch and configured in each culture so that society never becomes confusion.
Key words: proverbs, culture, masculinity, femininity, gender differences, social organisation | en_US |
