A Socio-Cultural Discourse Representation of Women in Bukusu and Gusii Proverbs

Abstract

This paper examines the main attributions attached to women in Bukusu and Gusii proverbs. Specifically, the paper reports on how women are represented in proverbs in these cultures; which aspects of their lives are highlighted and how such representations define the social fabric of the society. Data of the study comprised thirty-three (33) Bukusu and Gusii proverbs related to the portrayal of women encapsulated in proverbs. Ethnography was used to collect the proverbs; the data analysis focused on the examination of the respective proverbs as a semiotic system of signification grounded within an African social cultural approach to discourse analysis and in the Africana Womanism framework. The findings reveal that women are expected to promote morality, good conduct, fidelity, respect, productivity, nurturance and beauty which are pillars on which the family as a social unit is anchored as opposed to misconduct, and arguments/gossiping which are vices that may easily break the social fabric of a society. The paper thus concludes that women should embrace the indigenous values in word and deed for a sustainable social growth while also advancing our understanding of the persistence of alternative and resistant gender identities in contexts of domination.