Discourses of Development in Gurage Proverbs Fekede Menuta

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to investigate how Gurage people address development issues and inculcate them into the community through proverbs. Thedata was collected through elicitation and texts. The analysis method used was qualitative description, hence interpretive aspects of Wemaka ‘proverb’. The proverbs were thematically grouped and the culturally and pragmatically constituted meanings were interpreted. The finding showed that Gurage peopleuse proverbs to discourage laziness as in n ɨ m ə sur b ə- sur j ɨ- bera (lazy with-broken3SGM-eat) 2 ‘a lazy person eats with a broken utensil,’ and to encourage hardwork as in b- ə ʤ j ə- ʧ ə n ə b ə- f ə ʧ ə ʧ ə n ə (with-hand 3SGM-come with-happiness) ‘aresource that comes through hard work makes someone happy’. The proverbs alsoindicated why the Gurage people are business oriented and mobile. The themes revolved around resource and time management, mobility, planning, independence, power relations, and the problems of corruption. Finally, the study recommended a further research on folklores of Gurage in particular and that ofAfrica in general.