Altered Kiswahili Proverbs: The Role of Literary Writers and Blog Users

Abstract

Proverb is one of the important folklore genres in many parts of the world. In many societies proverbs are associated with certain characteristics: they are regarded as succinct fixed artistic forms, that are authoritative, encapsulating some general truth, wisdom and experience of the society and their creators are elders or anonymous. However, these characteristics are increasingly challenged today as the proverbs themselves get altered for various reasons. This paper, therefore, examines how Tanzania’s Kiswahili literary writers and blog users participate in the alteration and spread of Kiswahili proverbs. Data for this study were collected from literary works and websites. It is found that literary writers and blog users play significant role in the alteration and spread of altered proverbs. The paper reveals that the need to cope with today’s environment, change of worldview, political, economic and social phenomena are important factors in the alteration of proverbs. Other factors include the transition from socialism to a free economy, a shift from a single party to multi-party system, technological and scientific advancement, increasing neo-colonialism, globalization, and actions of political leaders, etc. It is also noted that altered proverbs are an important aspect of everyday conversation and are used in various media such as means of transport and mobile phones.