A SURVEY OF ANYWAA (ANUAK) PROVERBS RELATED TO ANIMALS

Abstract

Ethiopia, a nation of more than eighty ethnic groups and a similar number of languages,
some of them having no written form, has a great heritage of orature. Reflections on
historical events and legends as well as expressions on religious, political, social and
cultural life of the people dominate this vast treasure of oral literature. Though the
Anywaa (Anuak) people, living in the Gambella Region of Ethiopia, are a small ethnic
group in the country, their oral literature is very vast. Their social gatherings like
‘Achonga’ and ‘Wimaach’ are occasions for oral performance. Even their conversations
are packed with proverbs related to occupations, like farming, hunting and fishing. This
study concentrates on some of their proverbs related to animals. These proverbs
represent the culture of the concerned society and, most importantly, they influence the
day-to-day life of the people. Moreover, the samples of oral sayings selected for the
study are typical as they serve the pedagogic, etiological, and entertainment functions of
the genre.