This thesis is concerned with studying the oral prose narratives of Anyuaarnsociety, one of Ethiopian Nilo- Saharan groups bordering the Sudan. The majorrnproblem of the research arises from the need for paying due attention to study andrnappreciate the indigenous ways of catagorizing folklore in general and oralrnliteratures in particular in various parts of the country. Thus, identifying the logicalrnprinciples underlying the Anyuaa systems of generic classification of oral prosernnarratives, describing the distinctive features of genres and showing their mostrnrecurring social functions in the society are the main objectives of the study attainedrnthrough descriptive methods of literary analysis. By so doing, the researchrncontributes to the future tasks of categorizing oral prose narratives on national levelrnor a larger scale. Folklore data within their social contexts are made apposite to therngoals to be achieved and problems formulated. Therefore, the study dependsrnprimarily on extensive fieldwork A total of 118 narratives have been recorded usingrnthe methods of observation, interview and focus group discussion through survey,rndepth, local and incidental research projects. With the purpose of maintaining therncontextual meanings conveyed by the source language, "word-for - word," "free"rnand "dynamic equivalent" translations have been employed and then validated byrnknowledgeable natives. After a close examination, selection, and interpretation ofrndata, the research come up with the following original findings. (1) Three genres ofrnoral prose narratives exist in their own rights as integral parts of the whole systemrnof Anyuaa culture sharing common social functions identified as perpetuatingrnculture, justifying social norms, controlling deviations, maintaining societal valuernsystems, enculturing the youths through entertainment (2) Generic names arerndesignated as the" Leere" , the "Wae" and the " Angade" in their localrnlanguage. (3) The research also arrives at three indigenous principles with which thernnatives themselves make use of in delineating genres of oral prose narrativesrnidentified as (a) cultural meanings of generic names (b) narrative contents, and (c)rnperformer's age. (4) Genres are actualized in seven natural contexts determined byrnthe purposes of institutionalized or incidental social actions.