The Social Function Of Amharic Folk Poetry With Reference To Shn In Rayya Qobbo

In countries like Ethiopia, where the rate of literacy is very low, and thernwritten word is deficient to wave public opinion, the role of folk literature isrnmammoth. Contrary to this fact, folk literature in Ethiopia is overwhelmedrnby western cultures and many such heritages are on the verge of oblivion, inrnthe country in general and in Rayya Qobbo in particular; and Shänä a folkrnpoetry is among the victimized assets. Bearing such assumptions in mind,rnthis study was designed to record Shänä a folk poetry in Rayya Qobbo andrnto examine its social functions through thematic as well as contextualrnanalyses.rnThe study embraces six chapters, of which the first provides a generalrnbackground to the study, physical and social setting of the study area andrninsights about the magnitude of the problem, the objectives, significancesrnand scope. In the second chapter, different theories, approaches and studiesrnare reviewed and definitions of terms are given to substantiate the researchrnwith guiding framework. In chapter three, the different methods employed inrncollecting Amharic Shänä a folk poetry using audiotape recorder andrnclassifications used in the study are described. In the fourth chapter, a briefrndescription of the ceremonial process of Shänä a and major occasions ofrnperformances of Shänä a folk poetry are given. Chapter five, mainly dealsrnwith a contextual analysis of Shänä folk poetry to brought to the fore itsrnthemes and social functions. Thus, forty poems were selected, transcribedrnon paper, translated in to English and analyzed accordingly. Chapter six,rnthe conclusion, gives a succinct summary of the social functions ofrnShänä a folk poetry as reflected in the data collected and analyzed.rnThus, the study revealed blessing, curse, praise, socio-political commentary,rnhistorical record and cherishing patriarchy as the major social functions ofrnShänä a folk poetry. Blessing appeared as the most common functionrnserved and wealth, power and fame, victory, successful marriage, health,rnlong life and righteousness were identified as the main focuses. Regardingrncurse, contrary to blessing, weak sides of individuals got expressions. Praisernalso appeared playing roles in upraising individual’s generosity, wealth andrnheroic deeds. In the category of socio-political commentary, criticism of thernmanner of the society like envy and malevolent and protest against arngovernment were reflected. In recording history, historical places, names ofrnheroes and heroic deeds appeared as points of focuses. Finally, Shänä arnfolk poetry was also found playing roles in maintaining conformity to malernsupremacy by cherishing patriarchy.

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