The exploration of creative value in the use of proverbs: a case study of selected Bakiga proverbs.

Abstract

This research focuses on the creative value in selected Bakiga proverbs, these proverbs include among others otakareberera ente yamutahiwawe kusinga eyawe (you do not look after your neighbor’s cow better than yours). Shashura eibanja reeru otungye otine okukwata ahamukono (pay what you owe and graze freely). Buri muntu nayegura omugamba gwe ( each person bears his own burden ) okubuza Tibushema ( Asking is not stupidity ) emihanda ebiri ekabuzabuza empisi (Two path confused the hyena) ,agatereine nigo gata eigufa (Two hands are better than one), ahusho agyenda ayinami iwe torabaho oyemereire (Where your father passes upright, one should not bend) Akaremire enku tikateekwa binyasi (one cannot use grass where firewood has failed to cook.), Engaro zihare nizo zakira (The hand that gives is the one that receives), Owayenda enkoro akora omuze), Nyakazana ayerinza ogwaari bukole(A person wasting time is a fool) and many others. They are divided into groups of work and intelligence proverbs, caution proverbs and proverbs on parenting. The creative value and use in these proverbs are analyzed, creative features of writing include, similes, metaphors, irony, personification, hyperbole, alliteration, are explored to find how they influence the significance and message behind the selected Bakiga proverbs.