Symbolism in Rukiga proverbs
Abstract
This research was mainly carried out to investigate and show how the aspect of symbolism is applied to construct meaning by analyzing how the concept is represented through the oral literature of proverbs. From the research carried out, the researcher found out that it is vivid that symbolic language is an important figure in Rukiga proverbs and it plays a significant role in constructing meaning depending on the Bakiga culture context. The Bakiga people living in southwestern Uganda in greater Kigezi have significantly used proverbs in their communication mainly when offering pieces of advice and sounding warnings in which they adopt symbolic language. Various methods which include interviews, library research, literature review, and ethnographic methods have been utilized sufficiently using different tools like the smartphone, computer, pen, and notebook to analyze the proverbs. Fifty proverbs have been analyzed and the different aspects of symbolism categorized differently such as color symbols, mythical, natural, and animal symbols have been analyzed and their possible interpretations are given. However, it is important to note that the proverbs have been analyzed using the bakiga culture as the context and the symbolic interpretation follows suit. And finally, this research recommends that curriculum designers of primary, secondary, and universities put more emphasis on the integration of oral literature teaching syllabi to help preserve proverbs that are part of oral literature genres.