Harari Proverbs in Context: Exploring their Social and Cultural Functions

Abstract

This study was on ‘‘Harari Proverbs in Context: Exploring their Social and Cultural Functions.” As a pushing factor, ‘Harari proverbs have gradually been vanished from the Harari people.’ One among some claims is that these functions and continuity have been declined from time to time, and little attention has been given to the exploration and the documentation of Harari proverbs. To this end, the general objective of this study was to collect, describe, and analyze Harari proverbs based on their contextual functions. As the research design employed in this study depicted, descriptive and diagnostic research approaches and case study methods along with purely qualitative dimensions were employed. Moreover, the Contextual and Functional approaches have been used as a theoretical framework for the study. The results of the study identified themes expressed through functions such as proverbs that depict religious life, societal bonding, depicting women, and criticizing malignancy. Proverbs that revealed on reviewing malevolence, enhancing cooperation, and reflecting boost work morale and uphold social commentary. It also reflects historical events that were examined. Harari proverbs play a major role in strengthening tribal solidarity and creating public responses to social, cultural, and economic obstacles. Additionally, this study sought to show that proverbs can be used for lifting the community up, preserving culture and cultivating responsible individuals.