Analysis of the conflicting messages in selected Tshivenḓa proverbs

Abstract

Vhavenḓa is one of the ethnic groups in South Africa which is rich in oral tradition. The oral tradition includes, amongst other practices, folktales, riddles, legends and proverbs. Proverbs are wise sayings that are not rendered independently but form part of the context in communicative situations. Proverbs have been there since time immemorial, and no one single person can claim their authorship. Oral culture experts, chiefs and elders of the society, are considered as sources of proverbs. Proverbs are part of a language and culture. This paper will identify and analyse Tshivenḓa proverbs that seem to be sending conflicting messages to the Vhavenḓa society. This article uses secondary sources as its source of data. Textual analysis methodology will be used to analyse the collected proverbs. The paper theoretically uses Comparative folkloric theory to compare one text of the proverb and another. It is envisaged that this paper will reveal that some Tshivenḓa proverbs send both literal and figurative meanings that are conflicting.