Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142Contents lists available at ScienceDirectJournal of Pragmatics
journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate/pragmaViewing gender through the eyes of proverbs: Reflections of
gender ideology in the Akan and Swahili societies
Josephine Dzahene-Quarshie a, *, Shani Omari b
a Department of Modern Languages, University of Ghana, P. O. Box LG 207, Legon, Ghana
b Institute of Kiswahili Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, P. O. Box 35110, Dar es Salaam, Tanzaniaa r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Keywords:
Akan
Convergence
Divergence
gender roles and society
Proverbs
Swahili* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: jdzahene-quarshie@ug.edu.gh
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2020.12.020
0378-2166/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.a b s t r a c t
In this study, we compare gendered proverbs in the Akan society of Ghana and Swahili
society of Tanzania, focusing on convergences and divergences in their worldviews on
conceptualisation of gender roles and functions. Our analyses of data fromwritten and oral
sources within the theoretical concepts of gender ideology and intertextuality establish
that largely, gendered proverbs in Akan and Swahili are convergent and express similar
gender ideologies. Gendered proverbs in the two societies typically refer to females, and
even when they mention males, they often critically expose the subjugation of women in
relation to male superiority. The main divergent feature between gendered proverbs in
Akan and Swahili societies is the perception of females as sex objects and the use of
explicit expressions of sex organs and sexual acts by Akan proverbs. In contrast, Swahili
gendered proverbs rarely address sexuality, and when they do, they do so discreetly by
implication.
© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.1. Introduction
The proverb is one of the well-researched genres of textual studies. Nevertheless, it continues to be the subject of many
scholarly studies from various disciplinary perspectives including Sociology (Asimeng-Boahene, 2014), Feminist Critical
Discourse Analysis (Diabah and Amfo, 2015), Cultural Studies, Literature (Hussein, 2005, 2009; Jayawardena, 2015) and
Philosophy (Gyekye, 1975) among others. Although it is generally perceived as a universal genre, in its definition, it is referred
to as being traditional or cultural. The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (Speake 2015) defines a proverb as ‘a traditional saying
which offers advice or presents a moral in a short and pithy manner’. Mieder (2004:4) defines it as ‘a concise statement of an
apparent truth which has, had, or will have currency among the people.’ Storm (1992:168) states that proverbs are ‘based on
accumulated experience and transmitted from generation to generation; they reveal many hidden aspects of a people's
culture and way of thought.’ Proverbs reflect the realities of the moral fibre of the societies they belong to, and although they
may be cross-linguistic to some extent; they are not universal. Many scholars, in defining proverbs from African perspectives
have defined them in a way that portrays them as distinct from those of the rest of the world. Ssetuba (2002: 1), for instance,
states that ‘the proverb is regarded as a noble genre of African oral tradition that enjoys the prestige of a custodian of a
people's wisdom and philosophy of life.’(J. Dzahene-Quarshie), shaniom@yahoo.co.uk (S. Omari).
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142Proverbs in various languages are numerous and can be subcategorised under several groups, such as those that contain
animals; humans; objects; instruments; and professionals. Although gendered proverbs may not form high percentages of
the repertoire of the proverbs of particular societies, they have been the focus of many scholars such as Schipper (2006),
Diabah and Amfo (2015), Yusuf (1997), and Hussein (2009). Gendered proverbs refer to proverbs in which males or females
are represented explicitly or implicitly. Although most African languages are not gender sensitive with regards to their
grammar, perceptions of gender with regards to roles and functions are historically significant. The portrayal of masculinity
and femininity in proverbs, therefore represent a society's perceptions of males and females from various perspectives based
on the gender ideology that pertains in it.
Proverbs are said to be figurative and metaphoric (Finnegan, 1970:380); however, Schipper (2006: 28) points out that
some proverbs are direct and literal statements, and this applies to gendered proverbs. The fact that the literal meaning of
some gendered proverbs may or may not have a direct bearing on males or females does not nullify their representation of
real-life perceptions and ideologies (Schipper, 2006). In other words, the perception of gender in a particular way is conveyed
in a proverb literally or figuratively. These perceptions are embedded in the history, culture and traditions of a society.
Significant studies on gendered proverbs in the literature include Yusuf's (1997) article, which examines sexist analogies in
English and Yoruba proverbs and how women are implicitly compared with a range of non-human items including objects,
animals, plants, food, and trouble in them. Schipper's (2006) ‘Never Marry a Woman with Big Feet’ discusses proverbs from
many parts of the world, which explicitly or implicitly mention women. In this study, Schipper (2006) establishes that such
proverbs tend to portray women in similar ways irrespective of their geographical location.
Akan and Kiswahili belong to the NigerCongo language family of Africa. However, they belong to different subgroups.
Dzahene-Quarshie (2016) has established some similarities between the two languages in the way they encode inalienability
grammatically through ‘possessor promotion’ (See Dzahene-Quarshie, 2016). On the basis of “the possibility of a shared
cultural and historical experience in the distant past”, Kambon and Dzahene-Quarshie (2017) compare parallel and near
parallel Twi1 and Kiswahili proverbs employing the framework of the “People Proximity and Proverb Similarity Matrix”. This
Matrix measures the level of similarity of parallel proverbs in terms of Conceptual/Semantic, Contextual, and Lexical Syn-
tactic/Structural similarities with Biological, Cosmological, Cultural and Environmental proximity to indicate the extent to
which the two societies have similar perceptions as reflected in proverbs. The analysis of data confirms the hypothesis that
“The closer these dimensions of proximity are to each other, the greater the degree of similarity between proverbs.” Thus the
PPP Matrix demonstrates that the Pan-African connectedness and unity of worldview and culture that exists among the Akan
and Swahili societies are still demonstrably similar in a variety of dimensions, despite the significant geographical distance
between them. This study focuses on the convergence of Kiswahili and Twi proverbs.
We discuss how gendered proverbs in Akan and Swahili (henceforth AKASWA) characterise and depict the position,
identity, role, and status of men and women in the respective societies, focusing on their convergent and divergent ideas,
perceptions and conceptions within the theoretical concept of intertextuality and gender ideology. We chose these two
frameworks because intertextuality, which deals with how texts dialogue with other texts through incorporation and
recontextualisation of some elements of the texts (Fairclough, 2004:17), is useful for the comparative analysis of proverbs
from the two societies. Gender ideology, is a useful framework, which aids in understanding the perception of gender and
gender roles in these societies that characterise the content and contexts of the proverbs in our data. The study establishes
that although Kambon and Dzahene-Quarshie (2017) demonstrates that often proverbs in Akan and Swahili are parallel or
near parallel, they are largely convergent and can be described as intertextual in their use of similar metaphors that portray
gender ideologies, which are also largely convergent in the way they depict men as superior and women as subservient. At
another level a claim can be made for intertextual relationships between the two sets of AKASWA texts where both the
content of the texts and the cultural contexts are concerned. However, the study also establishes a sharp divergence between
Akan and Swahili proverbs when it comes to proverbs that express sex organs and the act of sexual intercourse explicitly.
While several of such proverbs exist in Akan, none was found in Swahili (See below for discussion).
In terms of the contexts, although mainly drawn fromwritten documents, personal experience shows that these proverbs
arewidely used in speech andwriting. Several AKASWAwriters and speakersmay refer to them depending on the topic under
discussion.
1.1. Cultural and historical backgrounds of the Akan and Swahili societies
The Akan society is one of the major ethnic groups in Ghana and Ivory Coast. In Ghana, they form about 47% of the
population according to the population and housing Census of 2010. Their kingdom has been one of the strongest in West
Africa from the seventeenth century Ghana Statistical Service, 2012. They follow amatrilineal lineage and successionwithin a
patriarchal system. In other words, per Akan culture, children inherit from their mother's lineage not from their father's
lineage. However, the male child, not the female inherits his maternal uncle. Thus, males always come before females. For
instance, the son of a man's sister inherits him, not his son or daughter. Althoughmales hold positions of authority within the
society, and therefore always come before females, females also wield considerable power. Although sometimes portrayed in1 Twi is an alternative term for Akan in Ghana. Akan is a more general term which includes dialects of the language in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Twi is a
dialect of Akan spoken in Ghana.
129
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142a negative way in that while some proverbs present women as powerful, as it is women who give birth to men, some also
present women as using their sexual prowess to overpower men (Diabah and Amfo, 2015). In addition, the Akan society
expects women to submit to and respect their husbands (Diabah and Amfo, 2015).
The Swahili ethnic group live mainly along the East African coast and interior. Gower et al. (1996:255), note that the
Swahili community is a mixed one because from the sixteenth century, ‘the coast received peoples from diverse areas and
cultures, including Hindus from India Muslims and Arabs fromOman and Hadhramaut, and African slaves from the interior of
East Africa.’ From this perspective, we can consider the Swahili society as a combination of African, Asian and Arabic cultural
diffusion (Gower et al., 1996; Mazrui, 2007).
The Swahili society follows a patrilineal systemwithin a patriarchal one. Gower et al.'s (1996) account of the status of East
African women in the nineteenth century indicates that the adoption of Islam by the East Africans indeed strengthened
patriarchy in the region. For instance in Islamic tradition the initiation of divorce is largely the preserve of the husband. Men
could divorce much more easily than women. Traditionally, men are regarded as the heads of the family, as well as bread-
winners while women are seen as subservient to men; in charge of domestic chores.
Thus, the two societies practice male superiority from a matrilineal and a patrilineal one respectively.
Finnegan (1970:381) points out that proverbs arewell represented in Africa, especially in the South Bantu, Congo andWest
Africa areas, which by implication include the Akan and the Swahili ethnicities. That both societies cherish the use of proverbs
is evident in the large collections of proverbs, and many scholarly works, which investigate different aspects of proverbs
(Diabah and Amfo, 2015; Agyemang et al., 2015; Appiah et al., 2007; Wamitila, 2010; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009). In both Akan
and Swahili societies, proverbs have played a vital role in the past and continues to do so today. One's knowledge of proverbs
and his/her ability to use them appropriately is equated to one's level of competence in the language. Proverbs are still used in
the daily lives of the people of these two ethnicities. In the Akan societywhere a chieftaincy system continues to be an integral
part of society, the chief's palace remains an important court of arbitration for members of society under a particular chief's
jurisdiction. It is one place where proverbs come alive regularly during arbitrations. During traditional ceremonies such as
marriage, child naming, funerals as well as ordinary conversations, proverbs are used (Agyemang et al., 2015:19).With respect
to the media, in recent times the influx of Akanmedium FM radio stations has also played a vital role of language invigoration
and through this avenue Akan proverbs are heard constantly during social programmes as well as reading of the news. The
same applies to Akan TV stations where Spanish tele-novellas have been translated through voice-over-dubbing into Akan.
The use of proverbs in these Akan versions of telenovelas is noticeable. Thus, the use of proverbs is very much an integral part
of the Akan society. Agyemang et al. (2015:19) state that “Akan proverbs are popular in advertising and promoting business,
somemedia programmes and naming of businesses”. Nevertheless, proverbs that explicitly mention sex organs or sexual acts
are used more discreetly and not without being preceded by the required apologetic expression ‘sεbe’, which can be inter-
preted as ‘excuse me to say’ Agyekum (2002). Kambon and Dzahene-Quarshie (2017: 119) state that:A major feature of proverbs is their deployment in contexts other than those in which they originated such that they
relate to the situation at hand by means of analogy to the original situation referenced directly. As such, proverbs
exemplify the concept of cognitive economy. In other words, one proverb can be used in various contexts without
imposing upon the speaker the necessity of coming up with new constructions in each new instance in which an
analogous reply is necessary.Similarly, proverbs are also an integral part of the Swahili society. They are used on a daily basis in conversations, in the
media, and they are used as titles of movies and inscribed in the famous Kanga cloth of East Africa. AKASWA proverbs are
usually metaphoric. However, often their literal meanings depict the cultural ideologies of the ethnicities from which they
emanate.
1.2. Methodology and data
Fifty-eight (58) proverbs from Akan and Swahili, 31 from Akan and 27 from Swahili, which explicitly or implicitly refer to
females and males, were gathered and sorted according to the themes of gender they address, such as marriage, gender roles,
and beauty and power. The sources of data for the Swahili proverbs are King'ei and Ndalu (2009) and Wamitila (2010) and
those for the Akan proverbs are Appiah et al. (2007) and Diabah and Amfo (2015). In addition to these, three proverbs, two for
Swahili and one for Akan, respectively, are from the authors' native speakers' competence. Although naturally-occurring data
would have been ideal for the study, we reckoned that it would be challenging to capture a significant number of gendered
proverbs in speech. We indicate the page and number references of the proverb and indicate the examples from authors with
‘Author’. In examining the similarities and differences between Akan and Swahili gendered proverbs, our main research
questions are; (1) How is gender portrayed in Akan and Swahili proverbs? (2) To what extent can the portrayal of gender in
the two languages be considered intertextual? (3) In what ways are they divergent?
1.3. Theoretical concept of intertextuality
Intertextuality is one of the fundamental theories, which attempts to understand literature and culture in society. Julia
Kristeva coined the term in the 1960s in her reformulations of the Bakhtinian notion of dialogism. In Kristeva's words, “every
text is constructed as an ‘intersection of textual surfaces’, ‘a mosaic of quotations’, the ‘absorption and transformation of130
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142another’ (Kristeva, 1980; 66 cited in Alfaro, 1996: 277; Duff, 2002: 58; Lesic-Thomas, 2005: 1; Koutsobina, 2008: 67). The
framework argues that authors do not create their texts from their original minds, but rather compile them from pre-existing
texts. So that, as Kristeva writes, a text is ‘a permutation of texts, an intertextuality in the space of a given text’ in which
‘several utterances, taken from other texts, intersect and neutralise one another’ (Kristeva, 1980: 36 cited in Allen, 2000: 35).
She argues that text is not a unilineal entity but a heterogeneous combination of texts. Thus interpretation should take into
account the relation between text, and society and culture; texts cannot be detached from the social or cultural in-
tertextuality, which constitutes the backdrop fromwhich a text is created. Intertextuality deals with the materialisation of a
text from the social text and its perpetual existence within society and history (Raj, 2015).
Fairclough's (2004) definition of intertextuality is particularly useful for this study. He states “texts draw upon, incor-
porate, recontextualise and dialogue with other texts”. He argues that what is said in a text is always said against the
background of what is unsaid or what is made explicit is always grounded inwhat is left unsaid. Thus, the proverb regarded as
a form of intertextual text is usually linked to a number of texts such as thoughts, norms, social ideologies or concepts of the
society from which it comes. At another level, Fairclough (2004:40) regards intertextuality as constituting “the presence of
actual elements of other texts within a text. Taking these two levels of description of intertextuality into consideration, we
deem it appropriate for undertaking the kind of analysis this study requires. This is because on the one hand the proverbs
discussed in the paper are created against a background of perceptions about gender in the societies from which they
originate. On the other hand, we demonstrate how proverbs in the two societies are intertextual to the extent of using
common elements within some gendered proverbs and thus reflecting similar dynamics of gender ideologies in the two
societies. At the same time, these proverbs are understood intertextually within the context of perceptions of gender inde-
pendently in the two societies. As suggested by Agbemebiese (2016:7e8), to comprehend the ideological underpinnings of
power roles and knowledge in gendered proverbs, one should reckon the complex relationships between discourse, in-
tertextuality and context of use of the proverbs. Other studies on proverbs that have employed the framework of in-
tertextuality include Manyawu (2012) and Jinadu (2009). Jinadu (2009) for instance, in discussing the theoretical constructs
of intertextuality considers the relationship between intertextuality and proverbiality by citing Arabic and Yoruba proverbs
and relating them based on some assumed stereotypes embedded in them that make them parallel to some extent.1.4. Gender ideology and gender representation in African proverbs
Gender is a social construct; a concept that humans create socially through their interactions with one another, and their
environments. However, it relies heavily on biological differences between males and females, that is, society ‘ascribe
particular traits, statuses, or values to individuals purely because of their sex’ (Blackstone, 2003: 336). It has to do, not only,
with biological differences, but also what is expected of a male or female in terms of the differences in their roles and
functions, which partly stem from these differences. Gender has been defined as ‘the organisation of the relationship between
sexes or social classification into masculine and feminine” (Wanjiru and Kaburi, 2015: 121).
Hussein (2005:59) defines ‘gender ideology as a systematic set of cultural beliefs through which society constructs and
wields its gender relativity and practices.’ Thus, it is contained in literary genres such as legends, narratives, myths and
proverbs or sayings about what is expected of males or females in terms of conduct, roles and functions. Proverbs therefore to
a great extent represent what is considered as desired and undesired behaviour of men and women.
Discourse on gender inequalities has been the subject of many studies worldwide, from the developed to the developing
world. Women, for centuries, have been perceived as inferior to men. In the past, they were denied the right to vote, the right
to education and the right to enter into some professions. Even though women have been fighting for equality with men for
many decades, especially, in the developed world, gender equity has not yet been attained (Hussein, 2005: 59; Schipper,
2006:13). Factors, which, have contributed to this perpetuation of various forms of oppression and discrimination against
women, include mainly perceptions, which are embedded in culture and religion (Hussein, 2005).
Although patriarchy has existed among Eastern African societies, factors such as the coming of Islam and later colonisation
affected the status of females, depending on their geographic location and ancestry such as whether they were Arabs, Swahili
or slaves. The Islamic culture, although patriarchal, in suppressing women through seclusion, veiling etc. gave them power in
their role as leaders in their households. In addition, some African societies practised dual gender political and religious roles.
Examples are the role of the Queen mother in the Akan society in Ghana, Egypt, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda. Olasupo et al.
(2012) establish that in the Yoruba society, for instance, men and women have equal status. There are male kings and female
kings.
All the above notwithstanding, the changing phases of the status of women in the African society has not erased the
perception of women as subordinate tomen. Oral traditions such as folktales and proverbs, which depict women as inferior to
men, have contributed to the perpetuation of female subjugation.
Against the background of the general gender ideologies in African societies, several studies on gendered proverbs in
Africa discuss how these ideologies are manifested in proverbs through the representation of women and men. Studies such
as Schipper (2006) demonstrate with the illustration of proverbs from many parts of the world, especially Africa that often
women are represented negatively in proverbs. Gender representation in African proverbs often reflect African cultural
ideologies, which include gender ideologies. Hussein (2009) interrogates the negative representation of women in proverbs.
She illustrates her point with several proverbs that represent Africanwomen as subservient tomen in some African countries,131
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142namely Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. She further explains that negative representation of women are regarded as constituting
wisdom as the African patriarchal system “reinforce the myth of male superiority”.
Yusuf (1997) in his study on the sexist correlation of womenwith non-human in English and Yoruba proverbs establishes
that proverbs in the two languages dehumanise women by portraying them as detestable as the objects such as animals,
plants, food and trouble to which they are compared. Agbemebiese (2016) on his part, explains that the Ewe society of Ghana,
similar to other African societies make phenomenological interpretation of everyday experiences. He states that linguistic
resources such as proverbs are systematically used to perpetuate gender inequality. He cites the Ewe proverb ‘Nomatter how
rich a woman could be, she cannot own a talking drum’ which implies that a woman's space is defined to buttress his point.
Some Ewe proverbs are embedded with provocative images of women and by their nature; they confirm societal norms and
values about gender. It is also evident in these proverbs that often when men are mentioned in gendered proverbs, they are
depicted as superior. It is also evident in these proverbs that often when men are mentioned in gendered proverbs, they are
depicted as superior, but when the aim is to represent a man as weak; his weakness is expressed through the representation
of him as a woman as depicted by this Kenyan proverb, ‘woman and an invalid man are the same thing’ Hussein (2009:102).
Thus, man is to, superior, strong and powerful, as a woman is to, weak, frail and frivolous.
However, despite their often suppressive and derogatory insinuations about women, proverbs have also been used to
depict them as powerful, brave and intelligent but not in comparison to men (Diabah and Amfo, 2015).
2. Gender representation in Akan and Swahili proverbs
In this section, we examine gender identity construction, roles and functions in Akan and Swahili societies via gendered
proverbs. To reach this goal through our analysis and to streamline the data in amore effectivemanner, we categorise our data
under various themes and/or sub-themes. These sub-categorisations though inspired by works such as Schipper (2006),
Diabah and Amfo (2015) and Hussein (2005), have not been adopted directly from previous studies. We arrived at these
particular themes after gathering our data. They are as follows:
a) Marriage
b) Gender roles and positions in the familyi. Reproductive Roles
ii. Productive and management rolesc) Intelligence
d) Beauty and Physical Appearance
e) Behaviour and Manners in societyi. Representation of Virtue
ii. Promiscuityf) Respect and Power
g) Sexuality
The themes are based on the various aspects of gender roles and perceptions the proverbs address. Although some of the
themes may overlap, this categorisation still serves our purpose. They allow us to discuss proverbs under particular themes
together. Under these themes, we discuss the intertextuality in terms of how the conceptualisation of gender in the two
societies are intertextual (overlap) on the one hand and how they reflect societal views on the other hand. Gender ideological
links between the conceptions of male and female as reflected in the proverbs of the two societies are also demonstrated. We
also take note of divergent reflections in the identity representation of men and women in selected proverbs. We undertake
the analysis paying attention to our research questions (1), (2) and (3).
2.1. Marriage
Proverbs from both societies emphasise the roles that males and females play in undertaking marriage. Among the Akan,
marriage is highly valued bywomen compared tomen as it is regarded as a sign of respect for her (cf. Diabah and Amfo, 2015).
Proverbs concerning marriage may be used when parents advise their mature children to get married or to sustain their
marriages. Such proverbs are also used during the traditional marriage ceremony.
Akan:
(1) Ɔbaa animuonyam ne awareε.
A woman's glory (lit. what causes her to be respected) is marriage.
(Appiah et al. (2007:16) No. 70)(2) Ɔbaa biara te sε debεn ara, na ᴐgyae awareε a, n'anim mma nyam.
No matter how outstanding a woman is, if she is always divorcing, she has no respect.
(Appiah et al. (2007:14), No. 39)The two proverbs (1) and (2) portray clearly what marriage is worth and what it should mean to an Akan woman. In (1)
marriage is equated to her glory and (2) indicates that being divorced is equatedwith awoman losing her glory irrespective of
the virtues she possesses.132
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142The Swahili counterpart proverbs of the Akan ones under the marriage theme (3)e(5) also emphasise gender roles in the
marriage institution among the Swahili. Similarly, in the Swahili society, marriage is a sign of respect especially for a woman
and it ‘means being economically and socially protected’ (Schipper 2006:103, 230).
Swahili:
(3) Nguzo ya nyumba ni mke.
A wife is the pillar of the household.
(Wamitila, 2010: 232 No. 1586; Robert, 2007:55, No. 1118)(4) Afadhali ndoa mbaya kuliko ujane mwema.
It is better to have a bad marriage than to be a good widow.
(Robert, 2007:2, 52 No. 20, 1049)(5) Kosa moja haliachi(shi) mke.
One mistake does not divorce a wife.
(Wamitila, 2010: 112, No. 783; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:126, No. 844)As in the case of the Akan, the importance of marriage is mainly depicted via the woman. For instance, (3) conceptualises
the wife as the pillar that keeps the household in place, thus to be strong the household should have a wife. Proverb (4)
implies that marriage is very important for a woman to the extent that even a bad one is preferred to widowhood (with
riches). Thus, the rationale behind (2) and (4) are the same. Staying married is more glorious than being divorced or being
widowed. It is the expectation of the societies therefore that a woman gets married as the society as a whole derives
important benefits fromher status as amarried woman. It is worth noting that although (4) does not refer to a specific gender,
since “ujane” is widow/widower; it is assumed that it refers to a woman, because, certainly, a man is not expected to endure a
bad marriage. After all, he has the preserve to remarry anytime, whether he is widowed or not.
AKASWA proverbs also address divorce. ‘This perhaps is because a wife, being a man's property, can be handled and
disposed of at will’ (Schipper 2006: 260). While (2) depicts that in Akan, a divorced woman loses respect, (5) in the Swahili
society depicts that a man is advised not to divorce his wife when she commits only one mistake. In both societies, the
husband has the power to divorce his wife. This is because he pays the bride price. In addition, he goes to the woman's family
to contract the marriage. Nevertheless, in the Akan society when all attempts to reconcile a womanwho is seeking to leave a
marriage fail, her family can return the drink that was presented by the man's family to initiate the marriage process, and this
frees her from the marriage. In contrast, among the Swahili, especially those from Islamic backgrounds, the act of divorce is
largely the man's preserve. He issues a divorce note to the wife. In the event that she wants to end the marriage, she can only
ask her husband to issue a divorce note to her otherwise she remains married. This shows that ‘historically, in Islamic societies
men have been placed in amore advantageous social status thanwomen. They even have the right to custody of their children
in the instance of a divorce’ (Hecht,1987:10 cited in Gower et al., 1996:257). The above buttresses the point that to understand
any text as intertextuality insists, ‘interpretation has to take into account the relation between text and society and culture’
(Raj, 2015:80). Similarly, this point is in consonance with Agbemebiese's (2016:1) statement that there is ‘strong intertextual
and intercultural threads between the ways proverbs represent the roles, statuses, and identity of women in Ewe proverbs.’
2.2. Gender roles and positions in the family
In this section, we discuss the ideological representations of men andwomen in proverbs from the two societies in terms of
their responsibilities, roles and positions in the family or household. Gender roles are particular traits, statuses, or values that
individuals, groups and societies ascribe to individuals purely based on their sex (Blackstone, 2003). They are sub categorised
into reproductive, productive and socio-political management roles. Reproductive roles have to do with activities that include
child bearing and child upbringing in the home. Productive roles are activities carried out bymen andwomen in order to meet
the needs of the family andmanagement roles are activities that ensure the provision andmaintenance of resources for family
needs and those that involve socio-political decision making. People learn gender roles from institutionalised gender systems,
which are through various means such as social, economic, legislative, political, traditional and cultural structures. Some
proverbs in the Akan and Swahili societies reflect gender role constructs that exist among them. These proverbs can be used in
various contexts such as at an initiation ceremony when teaching the initiatees their gender responsibilities and roles in the
family or at a wedding ceremony when advising a married couple on married life. They are also used in daily conversations
when talking about the role of marriage and childbearing in life (cf. Omari and Senkoro, 2018).
It must be noted that in as much as these gendered proverbs reflect societal perceptions of gender roles historically, our
observation is that in modern Akan and Swahili societies, sometimes the younger generations take these pieces of advice
offered by these proverbs with a pinch of salt.
2.2.1. Reproductive roles
The two societies assign reproductive roles and the act of childbearing and child upbringing towives, although procreation
is a product of both the husband and the wife. In many African societies, children are a source of happiness among married
couples (Mbiti, 2011).
Akan:
(6) Wo na wu a, na w'abusua asa.
When your mother dies, then you have no family.
(Diabah and Amfo, 2015:11, No. 1)133
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142(7)2 This
3 ThisƆbaa na ᴐwo ᴐbarima.
It is a woman who gives birth to a man.
(Appiah et al., 2007:15, No. 67)(8) Ɔbaatan nnim ba bᴐne.
А mother does not know a bad child.
(Appiah et al., 2007:20, No. 166)Proverbs (6) and (7) portray that even though in Akan gender ideology marriage represents a woman's glory (implying
that theman is the source of this glory)2, thewife is the foundation onwhich the family stands, just as is depicted in (3) for the
Swahili society. Again (7) portrays that even though the man is superior to the woman and she derives her glory from him, he
owes his existence to her. Although the woman and the man play mutual biological roles in the reproduction process in the
Akan society, the mother's role is key, hence, (6) and (7) depict that without her there is no family, there is no life while (8)
portrays that she loves her child even if he/she is not a 'good' child.
Swahili:
(9) Ukimstahi mke ndugu huzai naye.
If you are shy of your wife, you will not have a child with her.
(Wamitila, 2010:275, No. 1882; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:326, No. 2185)(10) Maji na tumbawe, Mama na mwanawe.
As a coral reef cannot be separated from the ocean, so is a mother and her child.
(Wamitila, 2010: 137, No. 953; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:154, No. 1049)While awoman is expected to have a child, as children are her pride, (9) delineates that men are also urged not to be shy of
their wives3 otherwise; no children will be born. On the other hand, (10) portrays that in the Swahili society, the role of the
father and mother are equally significant. Therefore, Swahili proverbs portray the perception that both genders are expected
to play their roles to ensure that procreation takes place.(11) Jogoo hawezi kulea wana.
A rooster cannot raise children.
(Wamitila, 2010: 88, No. 619; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:95, No. 639)(12) Mama hawezi kumkana mtoto hata kama ni kilema.
Mother cannot reject her child even if he/she is physically challenged.
(Wamitila, 2010: 142, No. 985)(13) Mke ni nguo, mgomba ni kupalilia.
A wife needs to be taken care of just as the banana tree needs to be tendered by weeding around it.
(Lit. Clothing is to the wife, as weeding is to the banana tree.)
(Wamitila, 2010: 170, No. 1168; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:191, No. 1306, Robert, 2007:42 No. 843)Concerning child upbringing, for instance, Swahili proverb (11), delineates that a rooster, a metaphor for man cannot bring
up its offspring portrays by implication that he can even refuse the responsibility of taking care of his disabled child (see also
Akan proverb (8)) and (12). The point here is that it is the hen's (the wife's) responsibility to bring up her chickens (children).
While the wife occupies herself with her children and husband, the husband is required to take care of his wife by making
provision for food and clothing and protecting her against any form of danger. Proverb (13) portrays that, for a woman to be
attractive and to be able to play her reproductive role of conceiving, child delivery and upbringing, like a cared for ‘banana
tree’ she has to be taken good care of by her husband. As in other parts of the world, ‘many proverbs insist that men are
obliged to support their wife or wives materially’ (Schipper 2006:103).
2.2.2. Productive and management roles
AKASWA proverbs portray that women's activities are mainly confined to indoor activities and domestic chores such as
cooking for the family and raising children.
Akan:
(14) Ɔbaa na ᴐnim ne kunu yεm kᴐm.
A woman knows when her husband is hungry (lit. A wife knows the hunger inher husband's stomach).
(Appiah et al., 2007:15, No. 66)(15) Ɔbaatan na onim de 3ne ba b 3die.
It is a mother who knows what her child will eat
(Diabah and Amfo, 2015:11, No. 4)(16) Ɔbaa wᴐ mpempem a, ᴐbarima na ᴐhwε no soᴐ.
However rich a woman may be (lit. if a woman has thousands and thousands), it is a man who looks after her.
(Appiah et al., 2007:17, No. 99)As said earlier, many AKASWA proverbs portray the woman as a domestic being. The picture that (14)e(16) paint is that,
she is not expected towork to support the family, she is expected to take care of the domestic aspect of family life. Proverb (16)
portrays that irrespective of howwealthy a woman is her security is provided by the man. Thus, her economic independence
does not really make her independent.is because the man marries the woman, not vice-versa. A woman has to wait for a man to do her that honour.
proverb also represents the Swahili tradition of marrying relatives such as nephews and nieces.
134
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142Akan:
(17) Ɔbaa y 3turo mu nhwiren, ne kunu y 3ne ho ban.
A woman is a flower in the garden; her husband is the fence.
(Diabah and Amfo, 2015:12, No. 11)(18) Ɔbaa by yie a, na efiri ᴐbarima.
A woman's success depends on a man. (lit. If a woman will be wealthy/successful, it is due to a man.
(Appiah et al., 2007:17, No. 102)(19) Ɔbaa tᴐ ᴐdwan a, ᴐbarima na ᴐyεn no.
If a woman buys a sheep, it is a man who rears it.
(Appiah et al., 2007:17, No. 95)Akan proverbs (17) portrays thewoman as a flower garden; beautiful yet frail and powerless without themanwho ensures
her safety as a fence does to a flower garden. In the Akan society during traditional marriage ceremonies, the bride is usually
referred to as a flower that the man sees and decides to seek permission from her family to pluck her and take her away.
Proverb (18) portrays that a woman canwork to accrue wealth and property. However, it is believed that her success is due to
man's assistance. Representations of men and women in (17) and (18) further reflect gender role ideologies of the Akans.
Proverb (18) again attributes the success of a woman to a man and (19) does the same by depicting that no matter how hard a
woman tries to be independent, she would, in the end have to rely on a man. If she is able to buy a goat, she will still need a
man to rear it for her.
Although our Swahili data does not include proverbs that mention women's ability to work and acquire property, talking
about women in Swahili society in nineteenth century, Gower at al. (1996:256) argue that ‘Although Swahili women were
marginalised theywere also given opportunities to exert influence and autonomy.’ However, our data indicates that generally
the representation of gender roles in Swahili proverbs indicates that women are expected to make themselves attractive to
their men while the men are expected to work to ensure that their women are well-groomed.
Swahili:
(20) Mwanamume ni mbono hualika kote/kule.
A man is like a castor-oil plant, it creeps far afield.
(Wamitila, 2010: 207, No. 1422; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:239, No.1620)(21) Mume ni kazi, mke ni nguo.
A husband is expected to work; a wife is expected to dress up.
(Wamitila, 2010: 199, No. 1363; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:228, No.1549; Robert, 2007:48, No. 976)(22) Mume ni moto wa koko usipowaka utafuka.
A husband is like a bush fire if it does not burn, it will smother.
(Wamitila, 2010: 199, No. 1364; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:228, No.1550)The representation of men in (20)e(21) point to the fact that the man is expected to go out to work and take care of his
wife's needs. Proverb (22) portrays that hemust be active, tough and spread like fire to ensure he is economically viable. Thus,
AKASWA proverbs representmen as thosewho have the responsibility to take care of women. Nevertheless, while the Swahili
proverbs emphasise on the need for the man to ensure that his woman is well-groomed, the Akan counterpart proverbs
rather emphasise on the sheer authority that the man has over his woman irrespective of her wealth or ability to make
wealth. It is evident that, as the intertextuality theory postulates, the AKASWA gendered proverb ‘is constructed out of already
existent discourse’ of patriarchy in the Akan and Swahili societies (Allen 2000:35), which represent their gender ideology.
In Section 2.1, (3) refers to the woman as a pillar of the home. A pillar is used as a metaphor to represent a woman's
strength in the home, in that among other things, she does the household chores, raises children and takes care of hospitality.
In (13) comparing a woman with a flower in a garden or banana tree portrays that she is to stay at home while the man
goes out to work (see also (20)e(21)). A flower and a banana tree (woman) need watering, weeding and manure in order to
grow well, produce good fruits, and be attractive to their viewers.
2.3. Intelligence
Only a few proverbs address intelligence, and when they do, often they discredit women. Men, in their discussion about
women's intelligence and qualities mainly refer to proverbs about intelligence.
Akan:
(23) Ɔbaa nitefoᴐ kᴐ awareε a, onnya.
If a clever woman gets married, she does not succeed.
(Appiah et al., 2007:16, No. 71)(24) Ɔbaa te sε akokᴐ; yεde aburoo na εsᴐne no.
A woman is like a chicken; maize is used to lure her.
(Appiah et al., 2007:16, No. 92)The Akan proverb (23) portrays the notion that a clever woman does not succeed when she gets married. We argue that
this refusal to acknowledge women's intelligence might be borne out of the fear that an intelligent woman may not be
submissive to her husband, especially when it comes to decision making in the family. It is also depicted in (24) that a135
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142woman's intelligence is comparable to that of a chicken, as she can be easily deceived and lured. (cf. Diabah and Amfo,
2015:14).
In the same way, in the Swahili society, there are also several sayings4 regarding a woman and her intelligence, which
demean her.
Swahili:
(25)4 DueWanawake akili zao ni kama watoto.
Women's intelligence is like that of children.
(Author)(26) Wanawake mwalimu wao kipofu.
The teacher of women is blind.
(Author)(27) Kitu usichonacho usimwahidi mama mkwe.
Do not promise to your mother in-law what you do not have.
(Wamitila, 2010:110, No. 768; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:122, No. 820)In (25) and (26) respectively, a woman's intelligence is likened to that of a child and that of one who is taught by a blind
person. Interestingly, Schipper (2006: 40) cites the equivalent of (25) as a West African proverb. In many African countries,
blind persons are often denied access to resources such as education, thus denying them access to knowledge. This saying
implies that one taught by a blind teacher (that is a woman) is not knowledgeable. Proverb (27) cautions against promising
yourmother in-law (i.e. woman) something that you do not have. This portrays the notion that like a child shewill pester you
until you fulfil your promise, thus she is portrayed in a negative way as being childish. Comparing a woman's cognitive
thinking with that of a chicken (in Akan) or that of a child (in Swahili) portrays how a woman's intellect is demeaned
compared to a man's. Perceptions like these deny women the opportunity to participate in various spheres such as socio-
political decision making for the betterment of the family or society, although the situation is changing in today's world
nevertheless, many are themenwho still do not trust women's intelligence. In fact, mental capabilities of women are depicted
as weak, dependent, immature and inferior compared to men. Indeed, in these proverbs, figuratively ‘women are associated
with shallowness and men with brains’ (Schipper 2006:79); proverbs belittle women's intellectual capacities as much as
possible’ (Schipper 2006:232). ‘This is due to the patriarchal societal view that women do not have the mental and physical
strength that men have’ (Hussein, 2009:103). It has also been argued that ‘there are cross-cutting racial and class statutes
within each gender status that belie the universal pattern of men's domination and women's subordination implied by the
concept of patriarchy’ (Lorber,1994: 4 cited in Gower et al., 1996: 254). The existence of AKASWA proverbs that portray similar
views regardingwomen's intelligence illustrates well Kristeva's notion of intertextuality that posits that the ‘literary word is a
dialogue among several writings’ (Kristeva, 1980: 65 in Alfaro, 1996: 268). This is also in consonance with Fairclough's (2004:
39) broad view of intertextuality that it is “the presence of actual elements of other texts within a text. This is true especially
about (24) and (25). Both refer to woman and both liken her to something; (24) to a chicken and (25) to a child. This confirms
Schipper's (2006:40) assertion that “for convenience's sake, women's ‘nature’ is defined such as to deny them a sharp
intelligence”.
2.4. Beauty and physical appearance
Schipper (2006:35) states, ‘In the humanworld, it has generally been taken for granted that beauty is a feminine trait’. The
concept of beauty and physical appearance in both genders is portrayed in proverbs of both societies though to differing
extents. There are several proverbs in Akan that foreground women's body upkeep.
Akan:
(28) Ɔbaa kᴐ adwareε na ᴐmma ntεm a na ᴐresiesie ne ho.
If a woman goes to the bathroom and she does not come back quickly, then she is grooming herself.
(Appiah et al., 2007:15, No. 57)(29) Ɔbaa nya adwareε pa dware a, ᴐkyεre ne hᴐ.
If a woman gets a good bathroom to bathe in, she takes her time.
(Appiah et al., 2007:16, No. 73)Aspects of grooming that are conceptualised as important include bathing and making up as represented in (28) and (29).
These are generally applied metaphorically. They imply that when one goes to a place that they find comfortable, they do not
hurry to leave.(30) Ɔbaa de fεεfε nko ara kᴐ awareε a, onnya.
If a woman marries only with her ‘beauty’, she will not be successful.
(Appiah et al., 2007:15, No. 47)(31) Ɔbaa ho yε fε a, na εfiri ᴐbarima.
If a woman is beautiful, she owes it to a man.
(Appiah et al., 2007:15, No. 54)to lack of proverbs concerning this topic, we refer to some sayings from our native speakers' competence to illustrate our point.
136
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142About beauty, (30) and (31) respectively delineate that a woman should not take too much pride in her beauty, because it
will takemore than her beauty to sustain hermarriage; if she is beautiful, it is because a man has taken good care of her or has
paid for her grooming and beauty products.
Swahili:
(32) Uzuri wa mwanamke ni nguo, mgomba kupaliliwa.
The beauty of a woman is in dressing as a banana tree is in weeding.
(Wamitila, 2010:299, No. 2045; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:355, No. 2390)(33) Mwanamke mzuri hakosi kilema.
A beautiful woman must have a defect.
(Wamitila, 2010:207, No. 1420; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:238, No. 1617)The Swahili counterparts (32) and (33) also portray that for the Swahili a beautiful woman is not perfect, either her beauty
is attributed to her clothing as depicted in (32) or she certainly has some flaws as depicted in (33). The proverbs (31) and (32)
portray that men contribute significantly to the beauty of women as they fund the necessary accessories that enhance
women's beauty and attractiveness. Both societies perceive beautiful women as not completely praiseworthy: while (30)
portrays that for the Akan, it takes more than a woman's beauty to succeed in marriage, for the Swahili a beautiful woman
certainly has some flaws and this should make her humble.
In both societies, the concept of beauty and physical appearance address mainly women, not men. It can be argued then
that the notion of beauty as conceptualised in the Akan and Swahili societies tie in with Storm's (1992:173) observation that
‘Many proverbs concerning beautiful women reflect men's feelings towards beautiful women.’
2.5. Behaviour and manners in society
We discuss this theme under two sub-categories: representation of virtue, and representation of promiscuity and how
men and women are depicted through proverbs in the light of these.
2.5.1. Representation of virtue
Many AKASWA proverbs address the phenomenon of virtue. The attributes for men and women are clearly set in these
proverbs. For instance, among the Akan the virtues expected of women (in and outside marriage) are subservience,
respectfulness, assiduousness, and neatness, just to mention but a few.
Akan:
(34) Ɔbaa pa ne deε ᴐtie ne kunu asεm.
A good woman is one who accepts her husband's advice.
(Appiah et al., 2007:16, No. 80)(35) Ɔbaa mmᴐdemmᴐfoᴐ/ᴐbaasima na ne ba hyε n’ akyiri a, ᴐsoa nnoᴐma.
It is the hard-working/ideal woman who carries her child on her back and a load on her head at the same time.
(Appiah et al., 2007:16, No. 77)(36) Ɔbaa nyansafoᴐ na ᴐse: ‘Mehwε deε abusua bεka.’
A wise woman says: ‘I look to what my matrilineal clan will say.’
(Appiah et al., 2007:16, No. 75)(37) Ɔbaa a ᴐpε ne kunu, ᴐse: ‘Mehwε wo ara.’
A woman who loves her husband says, ‘I look up to you.’
(Appiah et al., 2007:14, No. 37)The conceptualisation of female submissiveness is represented in (34) and (37); being submissive is equated with the
virtues of goodness and love. Submissiveness is also equated with wisdom in (36) while (35) represents unnecessarily hard
physical exertionwith virtue. On the other hand, the assessment of a man is based on his ability to provide for and protect his
family, and take care of his wife (see (31) in Section 2.4 and (17) in Section 2.2.2).
In the Swahili society, an ideal woman is also measured by her good behaviour concerning living and communicating with
her husband and family. The proverbs portray that a woman is required to have good manners that conform to the standards
of society.
Swahili:
(38) Uzuri wa mwanamke ni tabia.
The beauty of a woman is in her behaviour.
(Wamitila, 2010: 299, No. 2046)(39) Mume ni moto wa koko usipowaka utafuka.
A husband is like a bush fire when it is not aflame, it is billowing.
(Wamitila, 2010: 199, No. 1364; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:228, No.1550)Noticeably, submissiveness is not a theme that is clearly addressed by Swahili proverbs, at least as far as our data is
concerned. The emphasis seems to be rather on beauty as portrayed in (33) and (38).
Swahili proverbs also caution men not be idle and confined indoors like a flower or a banana tree. A man ought to strive
and get out there in search of financial and economic opportunities, and create networks with other people. As portrayed in
(39), he should be visible like a fire or smoke’ in his endeavour to work (see also (21) in Section 2.2.2).137
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e1422.5.2. Promiscuity
Some AKASWA gendered proverbs also touch on promiscuity and often in both societies; they are directed towards
women more than they are to men.
Akan:
(40)5 ProsƆbaa a ne kunu nni hᴐ na yεdi no.
It is a woman whose husband is absent that can be lured into having extra-marital sex.
(Appiah et al., 2007:14, No. 33)(41) Ɔbaa a ᴐbεbᴐ adwaman nnim sε wakᴐ aware pa.
An adulterous woman does not consider the fact that she has a good marriage.
(Appiah et al., 2007:14, No. 31)(42) Ɔbaa de ka a, ᴐde ne twε na εkᴐ.
If a woman is in debt, she uses her vagina to get rid of it.
(Appiah et al., 2007:15, No. 48)Several AKASWA proverbs depict women as naturally adulterous regardless of their marital status. Proverb (40) portrays
that it is a woman whose husband is not around who gets pursued by other men for sex and (41) depicts that if a woman is
promiscuous, even a good marriage will not deter her from committing adultery. Proverb (42) also portrays a woman as
sexually immoral to the extent that she can even use her body to solve her debt problem.
Swahili:
(43)t
Mke kipofu huwa mwaminifu.
A blind wife is faithful.
(Wamitila, 2010: 169, No. 1166)(44) Bibi wa ovyo anampata mume mzuri.
A careless woman gets a nice husband.
(Wamitila, 2010: 41, No. 294)Swahili proverbs also portray that women are sexually unfaithful. This gender ideology, as depicted in (43) is formed from
the premise that it is worth marrying a blind woman as she is somewhat faithful compared to the one who is not. In other
words, it is the physical challenge that can prevent her from being unfaithful. In both societies, men are not portrayed as
promiscuous or immoral as seen in (44) because polygamy is allowed by their cultures. In expressing perceptions of pro-
miscuity, the Akan AKASWA counterparts refer explicitly to sex organs and sexual acts as seen in (40) to (42), while the
Swahili counterparts (43) and (44) only refer to promiscuity implicitly.
2.6. Polygyny
Polygynous marriage is another area addressed by gendered proverbs. Since most African societies are polygynous, both
Akan and Swahili proverbs address the issue of polygyny and the role that males and female play in it. Often, women are
depicted as defective, adulterous/prostitute,5 devious, and unfaithful in a marriage or in general. Likewise, while any human
being can err, in Swahili the commitment of errors is attributed to the woman (wife), not theman (husband), to the extent that
she may be corrected even by physical beating or even thought a lesson by divorcing her as represented in (5) in Section 2.1.
Schipper (2006:266) alludes to a similar portrayal by an Arabic proverb. She states that “to force thewife into awe and respect, a
very popular Arabic proverb suggests, as afirst tactic, to teach the cat: ‘Beat the she-cat and [thatwill] teachyour bride a lesson.’”
Akan:
(45) Mmaa dodoɔ kunu, εkɔm na 3de no.
A husband of many women gets hungry.
(Author)
(Often each wife assumes he's been fed by another)(46) Obi nnyae abawuo nkᴐdi akorasεm.
Someone does not leave the death of a child to go and involve themselves in quarrels of co-wives.
(Appiah et al., 2007:34, No. 489)Swahili:
(47) Fimbo impigayo mke mwenzio ukiiona itupe.
When you see the stick that beats your co wife, throw it away.
(Wamitila, 2010:64, No. 454)(48) Akataaye kula humwongezea mke mwenziwe.
A wife who refuses to eat gives an advantage to her co wife.
(Wamitila, 2010:8, No. 58).The proverbs (45)e(48) reveal that life in a polygynous marriage is full of clashes between not only the co wives as
revealed in (46) but also between a husband and wives to the extent that he can beat his wife as depicted in (47). While ‘co
wives are depicted as rivals’ Kiyimba (2005:256), a husband is depicted as powerful and awife beater. The wives are depicted
as powerless as they fail to confront their husbands to defend themselves. Through the proverb, a co wife is advised to throw
away the stick that was used to hit her colleague to show solitarity. The proverbs portray husbands as disciplinarians who beatitution is illegal in both countries.
138
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142their wives to ensure their ‘obedience, submissiveness, and silence’ (Hussein, 2009:104) and good manners. ‘Women need
battering to have manners’ (Hussein, 2009:105). Nevertheless, as we will see later, proverb (55) advocates that men should
consider their first wives as their biological mothers and accord them a mother's respect.
2.7. Respect and Power
In both societies, a woman/mother is depicted as deserving of respect and even more powerful than man is (Diabah and
Amfo, 2015). Schipper (2006:18) claims that ‘In virtually all societies men fare better thanwomen. Men exercise more power,
have more status and enjoy more freedom’. However, she points out that many proverbs also ‘wholeheartedly acknowledge
procreation as an indispensable female quality and motherhood as a crucial domain of life’ and this is true of AKASWA
proverbs (Schipper, 2006:16).
Akan:
(49) Ɔbaa na ᴐwo ᴐbarima.
It is a woman that gives birth to a man.
(Appiah et al., 2007:15, No. 67)(50) Ɔbaa tᴐn nyaadewa na ᴐntᴐn atuduro.
A woman sells garden eggs, not gunpowder.
(Appiah et al., 2007:17, No. 96)(51) Ɔbaa bεyε yie a, na efiri ᴐbarima.
If a woman will be wealthy/successful, she owes it to a man.
(Appiah et al., 2007:17, No. 102)(52) Ɔbaa da ᴐbarima akyi.
A woman lies behind a man.
(Appiah et al., 2007:15, No. 45)Proverb (49) indicates that in some respects, a woman's ability to give birth to children is perceived as divine. In this
respect, a mother is a parent who is ‘respected and valued’ most. In many African societies, it is believed that the power of a
mother can be revealed for instance via the potency of her curse on her child as it turns out to be more harmful than that of a
father (cf. Mbiti, 2011). Despite the portrayal of power and respect that the woman commands through her reproductive role
by some AKASWA gendered proverbs, many more of them reiterate the superiority of man over her as portrayed in (50), (51)
and (52). For instance, in (50) awoman is expected to sell garden eggs, not gunpowder. Garden eggs are contrasted graphically
with gunpowder, which is by far more potent and powerful.
In addition, the Akan society recognises that a woman has the capability to acquire riches (51) or trade (50), however, this
power is limited, as she is considered not to be the main source of her progress and she is not allowed to engage in some
trades that are strictly reserved for men. A man's power is directed towards economics and politics as he is considered a
leader. For instance, in (52) thewoman is depicted as a subordinatewho needs the protection of aman. Again, (52) reflects the
belief among the Akan that it is a husband's duty to protect his wife from all forms of dangers. So in the bed the man is
expected to lie in front while the woman lies behind him by the wall so that in case of any attack the man will shield and
protect her.
On the contrary, some proverbs portray that among the Swahili the woman is expected to play a leading role within the
household.
Swahili:
(53) Nyumba ni kunga ya mume na mke.
House is composed of secrets/principles of both husband and wife.
(Robert, 2007:54 No. 1117)(54) Mtu mamaye ni Mungu wake wa pili.
Mother is one's second God.
(Wamitila, 2010: 195, No. 1342)(55) Mke wa kwanza ni kama mama mzazi.
The first wife is like your biological mother.
(Wamitila, 2010: 170, No. 1169; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:192, No. 1309)Proverb (53) delineates both the husband and wife as equally responsible for the family, thus they play complimentary
roles. However, (54) and (55) represent the wife as respected and powerful; she is likened to a second God to her husband in
(54) and to the husband's mother in (55). These suggest that wives are valued highly.
Swahili:
(56) Mume ni jaha, si raha.
A man is mighty not joy.
(Wamitila, 2010: 198, No. 1362; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:228, No. 1548)(57) Mume si babe kwa mkewe.
Husband is not powerful to his wife.
(Wamitila, 2010: 199, No. 136; King'ei and Ndalu, 2009:229, No. 1551)Respect or power of man at the family level is due to his ability to work and provide for his family and (56) depicts this fact
(see also (21), Section 2.2.2). In East Africa ‘even though Swahili culture has limited women's participation in public life’139
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142historically (Gower et al., 1996:266), today, women's roles and responsibilities have increased and women have increasingly
become breadwinners and economic supporters of their families (Silberschmidt, 2001).
Furthermore, (57) insinuates the notion that a woman does not revere her husband after all. This is because she is privy to
his weaknesses.
Thus, ‘what was true of religious texts was also made extensible to secular ones’ as illustrated in (49)e(52) (Alfaro, 1996:
270). It is noteworthy that as (49) and (55) portray, a woman's ability to give birth is by far the greatest power that she wields.
After all, if she does not give birth to man, he will not exist.
2.8. Sexuality
In Akan proverbs, women are depicted as sex objects, lovers of money, multi-partnered and even capable of selling their
bodies to earn a living or settle their debts. Schipper (2006: 193) posits, “In proverbs, sex as a source of pleasure for women is
hardly ever referred to in a positive way.
Akan:
(58) Ɔbaa yare a, ne twε nyare bi.
If a woman is sick, her vagina is not sick too.
(Appiah et al., 2007:17, No. 99)Proverb (58) portrays that a wife is expected to play her wifely role of satisfying her husband's sexual desires even when
she is sick. Proverb (58) as well as (40) and (42) in Section 2.5.2, use explicit words for sexual organs and the act of sexual
intercourse. Swahili proverbs in contrast do not make direct reference to sex organs and the act of sex itself.
Swahili has scanty data concerning sexuality in proverbs. In Swahili society, women are portrayed as recipients of men's
sexual advances. They are not expected to initiate intimacy in their relationship with their husbands. Hence, the proverb (9) in
Section 2.2.1, states that if a man is shy of his wife, hewill not get children. If a man is shy of his wife, it implies that hemay not
be able to make sexual advances, which will lead to the act of sexual intercourse, which will in turn lead to conception and
ultimately childbirth. Thus, Swahili proverbs do not make explicit reference to sex organs and the act of sex itself although
they do by implication. It is interesting, that Akan proverbs express sex organs and sexual act explicitly because, in Akan
society, certain words including sex organs and related words are supposed to be taboos (unmentionables) Agyekum
(2002:371). For the sake of decorum, euphemisms are used instead, but it seems there is an exception when it comes to
proverbs. Perhaps the justification for this may stem from the Akan custom, which demands that, the apologetic word sεbe
‘excuse me to say’ is used before the utterance of a taboo or ‘unmentionable’word. Indeed, this apologetic word is quantified
depending on the magnitude of the unmentionable word/s in question. An apology can be demanded from one who utters
such a proverb without a preceding apologetic word.
3. Further discussion
In both Akan and Swahili societies, direct mention of men in gendered proverbs is minimal; it is almost as if they are
sacred. Often reference to men are by implication, and in comparative reference to women rather than direct mention. All
these are underpinned by the African patriarchy ideology and cultural system which uphold men as leaders who rule in
society by occupying the important positions within the family, political, economic and social jurisdictions. Msibi (2013: 261)
defines patriarchy as ‘a systemwhich broadly privileges the dominance of men over women in all forms of social, institutional
and structural organisation.’
Hussein (2009) posits that habits in the African patriarchal system reinforce the myth of male superiority. Thus, as is often
said among the Akans, whatever the achievement of a woman, her real place at the end of it all is in the Kitchen.
4. Conclusion
The data discussed in this papermainly reveal that manymore AKASWA proverbs address women thanmen, but relatively
few of them describe women in a positive way. This conclusion is in line with other studies concerning proverbs worldwide
(cf. Storm, 1992; Schipper, 2006). It has illustrated that both societies use metaphors of items such as rooster, chicken, plants,
etc. to portray gender roles. Men are mainly depicted as tough, powerful, outgoing, and controllers of resources. Women
though often depicted as dependent and devious, are also conceptualised as powerful and worthy of respect especially, in
their roles as mothers and caretakers of the home (Storm,1992:180; Diabah and Amfo, 2015). Although Kambon and Dzhene-
Quarshie (2017) demonstrates that, there are many parallel proverbs in Akan and Swahili, our data indicate that gendered
proverbs in the two languages tend to be more convergent than parallel. They often address similar issues but from different
perspectives. Themain diverging point in Akan and Swahili gendered proverbs in our data is seen in proverbs that express sex
organs and sexual acts explicitly. While several Akan gendered proverbs explicitly mention sex organs and sexual intercourse,
Swahili gendered proverbs do not. Perhaps the reason for this difference is that in Akan, the apologetic word sεbe offers a good
excuse, while no such word exists in Swahili. Another diverging point is that some Akan proverbs depict that a woman can
work and create wealth, but no such proverbs were identified in the case of Swahili.140
J. Dzahene-Quarshie, S. Omari Journal of Pragmatics 174 (2021) 128e142The intertextual nature of AKASWA gendered proverbs attest that ‘intertextuality promotes a vision resistant to ingrained
notions of originality, uniqueness, singularity and autonomy’ (Allen, 2000: 6). Clearly, they reflect an appreciable level of
convergence in gender ideology in the two societies. Thus, the study has demonstrated that proverbs are a good source of
representation of the conceptualisation of gender roles and relations in many societies, including Akan and Swahili.
Declaration of competing interest
There is no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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Josephine Dzahene-Quarshie is a Senior Lecturer of Kiswahili. She holds a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Her research interests
include Syntax of Inalienable Possession, Language Contact phenomena between English and Kiswahili and other languages, Sociolinguistic topics such as
the globalization and localization of popular culture genres in Africa as well as cross cultural studies and recently language and gender.
Shani Omari is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Literature, Communication and Publishing at the Institute of Kiswahili Studies, University of Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Education), MA (Linguistics) and PhD (Kiswahili Literature) from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Her academic interests include youth popular culture, oral and written Kiswahili literature, and language and gender.142