What Is ‘Old’ in Old Age? An Inquiry into Swahili Paremia

This article is about gerontological proverbs in Swahili folkloric discourses. The question posed in this study is as follows: how is old age depicted according to Swahili paremiology? To answer this question, 49 popular Swahili gerontological proverbs have been analysed. The findings show that Swa...

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Main Author: Ahmad Kipacha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nordic Africa Research Network 2024-12-01
Series:Nordic Journal of African Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://njas.fi/njas/article/view/1157
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author Ahmad Kipacha
author_facet Ahmad Kipacha
author_sort Ahmad Kipacha
collection DOAJ
description This article is about gerontological proverbs in Swahili folkloric discourses. The question posed in this study is as follows: how is old age depicted according to Swahili paremiology? To answer this question, 49 popular Swahili gerontological proverbs have been analysed. The findings show that Swahili gerontological proverbs, like other non-Western gerontological proverbs, pay due respect to elders who are considered wise, knowledgeable, and experienced. How someone is perceived to be an elder is largely socially and culturally constructed. There are several Swahili gerontological proverbs that are equivalent to proverbs in different cultures and languages including Russian, German, Yiddish, French, Chinese, Arabic, and others. This research report has been reviewed by the editors of the special issue but has not been externally peer-reviewed.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 1459-9465
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publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Nordic Africa Research Network
record_format Article
series Nordic Journal of African Studies
spelling doaj-art-a8104732cf5b46aea2c6ff34fffe3c522024-12-22T16:10:11ZengNordic Africa Research NetworkNordic Journal of African Studies1459-94652024-12-0133410.53228/njas.v33i4.1157What Is ‘Old’ in Old Age? An Inquiry into Swahili ParemiaAhmad Kipacha0The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology This article is about gerontological proverbs in Swahili folkloric discourses. The question posed in this study is as follows: how is old age depicted according to Swahili paremiology? To answer this question, 49 popular Swahili gerontological proverbs have been analysed. The findings show that Swahili gerontological proverbs, like other non-Western gerontological proverbs, pay due respect to elders who are considered wise, knowledgeable, and experienced. How someone is perceived to be an elder is largely socially and culturally constructed. There are several Swahili gerontological proverbs that are equivalent to proverbs in different cultures and languages including Russian, German, Yiddish, French, Chinese, Arabic, and others. This research report has been reviewed by the editors of the special issue but has not been externally peer-reviewed. http://njas.fi/njas/article/view/1157Swahili proverbsgerontologyparemiologyparemiographyold ageaging
spellingShingle Ahmad Kipacha
What Is ‘Old’ in Old Age? An Inquiry into Swahili Paremia
Nordic Journal of African Studies
Swahili proverbs
gerontology
paremiology
paremiography
old age
aging
title What Is ‘Old’ in Old Age? An Inquiry into Swahili Paremia
title_full What Is ‘Old’ in Old Age? An Inquiry into Swahili Paremia
title_fullStr What Is ‘Old’ in Old Age? An Inquiry into Swahili Paremia
title_full_unstemmed What Is ‘Old’ in Old Age? An Inquiry into Swahili Paremia
title_short What Is ‘Old’ in Old Age? An Inquiry into Swahili Paremia
title_sort what is old in old age an inquiry into swahili paremia
topic Swahili proverbs
gerontology
paremiology
paremiography
old age
aging
url http://njas.fi/njas/article/view/1157
work_keys_str_mv AT ahmadkipacha whatisoldinoldageaninquiryintoswahiliparemia