This study is based on analyzing gender relations as reflected in Amharic oralrngenres of West Gojjam zone- with special emphasis on poetry and proverbs. Thernstudy has four chapters. These are Introduction, Review of Related Literature,rnAnalysis as well as Summary and Conclusion.rnThe first chapter introduces the statement of the problem, objectives of thernstudy, significance of the study, scope and limitations, organization, methods ofrndata collection and analysis and translation. The second chapter discussesrntheoretical issues of the study. The concepts of folklore and oral literature havernbeen discussed as background. As the study mainly revolves around oralrnliterature, attempts have been made to clarify its characteristics and functions .rnDefinitions and some other aspects of proverbs and oral poems have also beenrnprovided specifically.rnThe data collected reveal the patriarchal view of the traditional community ofrnWest Gojjam. Most of the proverbs and poems reflect superiority of men andrninferiority of women. Women are subordinated in many instances.rnTherefore, some aspects of gender relations and images of women have beenrnassessed from the feminist theoretical point of view. In addition, chapter twornhas incorporated assessments of previous researches on gender based oralrngenres. The-socio cultural background of West Gojjam zone has also beenrndiscussed in the last part of this chapter.rnChapter three , deals with the analysis of the data. The proverbs and oral poemsrnhave been classified into two broad categories. The first category which is subrndivided into 13 topics shows negative images of the society towards women. Thernsecond one depicts positive images of women in West Gojjam though only in arnfewer cases.rnThe last chapter, which is chapter four, tries to summarize what has been donernin the study. Based on the findings of the study conclusions have been drawnrnand some recommendations have also been made.