Contextual Analysis and Documentation of Normative and Linguistic Aspects of Riddles among Afran Qalloo Oromo

Abstract

Riddles in Oromo are among the children’s oral traditions that serve as the bearers of virtuous behaviors in their society. They contribute, by way of entertaining, to the proper growth and development of children which nurture them to be active and creative constituents of their society. Nevertheless, riddle got very low attention and little is being done to ensure that this genre of oral literature is preserved as part of long-living indigenous education system. This research aimed to document Oromo riddles with their underlined and diverse human experiences, knowledge, artistic expression, creativities, philosophical thoughts, linguistic features and imaginations of the society. Available and purposive sampling methods, structured and non-structured interview, both participatory and non-participatory observations, focus group discussion, and text collection were used to gather data, which were analyzed qualitatively. The fundamental procedures of riddles have been described as they are used in contextual settings. Thematically, their elements, social values, artistic thinking, and experiences of the society, philosophical thoughts and linguistic features have critically been examined. And results are found to indicate riddles in Oromo carry moral value and wisdom which are reliable and relevant to the children’s development and nurture them to be active and creative members of the society. The researchers, thus, recommend that relevant stakeholders need to come and act together to document, sustain and enhance the values of Oromo riddles.