A literary figure or patriarchal reality? Reflections on the ‘ēšet hayil in light of depictions of womanhood from selected Yorùbá and Sotho proverbs (original) (raw)
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PhD Thesis, 2023
The Akan culture does not treat women the same way it treats its men; there are gender related roles among the Akan cultural practices. Matrilineal inheritance notwithstanding, the Akan woman always plays the second option to her male counterpart. This is obvious in the selection for inheritance which always goes for a male even for nephews, appointments to public office, which follows the same trend no matter her contribution to that society. The objectives of the study included the investigation of the context of the marginalization and dehumanizing cultural practices among the Akan of Ghana and to ascertain how the virtues of the industrious woman in Proverbs 31:10-31 and the cultural situation of the Akan woman can elucidate each other. Inculturation and Liberation hermeneutical methodology were used to study the poem. In this methodology every aspect of the explanation is carefully influenced by the perspectives of the receptor community (Akan of Ghana), their past experiences and cultural practices as a people. Proverbs 31:10-31 is well preserved with few variants which suggest that the poem could have been an adaptation from a male heroic poem. This is made manifest by the several masculine variants in a poem that is meant to eulogise a woman. The presence of Late Biblical Hebrew (LBH) vocabulary and Aramaisms suggest post-exilic Persian period influence on the text. It is most probable that the industrious woman in Proverbs 31:10-31 is a literary creation by a post-exilic poet, as an antithesis of the historic moral and social failures of the Hebrew womanhood during the 8th century B.C.E. for didactic purpose. This is aimed at the moral and social reengineering of the Hebrew society. It is most probable that Ezra might have had a hand in either the writing, redaction or the editing of the poem of Proverbs 31:10-31. With the help of contextual methodology (inculturation and Liberation Hermeneutics) the cultural condition of the Akan woman of Ghana is seen as silent champion instead of a slave and marginalized gender. The Akan woman is empowered for the good of the Akan society with the emulation of the virtues of the Industrious woman of Proverbs 31:10-31. Future studies could aim at the contribution of some Akan women who managed to shatter the glass ceiling of male dominance for the good of the Akan society, the role and identity of such women would help demystify the misconception about the role and place of women in the Akan society.
Old Testament essays, 2013
The book of Proverbs falls within wisdom literature with 31:10-31 as part of its epilogue. The Hebrew poet here has both theological and literary purpose - to instruct the covenant community in godliness through realistic reflection on society. As such, the characteristic attributes of the godly and industrious female figure portrayed in this acrostic poem may well be taken as an existing reality rather than a mere literary poetic imagination. Therefore, functioning as an epitome of womanhood for all generations, this acrostic poem finds close affinity with the characteristic attributes of the cultured traditional as well as the godly Miship woman of Nigeria. This article basically endeavours to show the resemblances between the qualities of the human woman of Prov 31:10-31 and the Miship woman within the Nigerian context.
Feminism and Deity Personification in Yoruba Proverbs
Journal of Gender and Power, 2022
In Yoruba social context, male is seen as comptroller and central in gender status because of the cultural perception that makes male hegemony a priority. If Yoruba people by chance through their tradition could encroach the social order of the family structure by maintaining the biological dominance of male ahead of female, then it means that women have no say. In the oratory aspect of this tradition however, the construct of women acceptability in terms of their sacred features undermine the biological concept of male dominance. This is the area where Olupona (2011) itemised the role of female goddesses in Yoruba religion as more of important discussion and that balancing their role with that of male, particularly in the aspect of religion, will improve the cultural variables and etiquette of the Yoruba people. This paper however intends to look at this balancing through Yoruba oral proverbs, which personified women symbolically from the angle of deity specific. The paper argues that Yoruba epistemology through proverbs is a means of deconstructing the usual male hegemony in Yoruba tradition, and further concludes that ascribing dominance to male echelons is a reflection of social inequality because "what a man can do, a woman can do better". The paper will use semiotic analysis to portray the significant aspect of feminism in the proverbial sayings of the Yoruba people.
Old Testament Essays, 2016
The poem appearing in the epilogue of the book of Proverbs (Prov 31:10-31) is classically a paean poem that eulogises the outstanding qualities of the female figure assumedly portrayed as an epitome of womanhood. This article seeks to address the unbalanced portrayal of the couple in the paean by inviting readers to pay close attention to the mention of the male figure in vv. 11, 23, 28-29 and to discover his salient role often glossed over or overlooked by interpreters. It draws attention to the civilised and humane personality of this male figure who, suggestively, is to be seen to serve as the architect of the achievements and public praise of his wife, given the patrilocal and patriarchal context of ancient Israel. In view of this, it is argued, he also deserves to elicit praise. By implication, it also invites the contemporary African male figure, particularly the Nigerian one, to follow the legacy of this husband by exhibiting the characteristics of responsible African manhood as he functions as husband and father.
Being Wise and Being Female in Old Testament and in Africa
Scriptura, 2013
Woman Wisdom in the book of Proverbs is viewed as an enigmatic figure who performs multifaceted roles of a teacher, builder, and nourisher, among other things. Drawing on Proverbs 9:1-6, this paper looks at the depiction of Woman Wisdom as a hospitable woman who beckons to others to come and share of her bounty. The association of the seemingly affluent Woman Wisdom with hospitality calls to mind the image of the African woman who carries out her own hospitality and accommodativeness often in the midst of aggravating poverty. The paper therefore urges the wealthy to take a cue from Woman Wisdom and be more ready to share freely of their overflow and of their space as a way of alleviating poverty in Africa and upholding the dignity of all. It also calls on women and women groups to emulate Woman Wisdom (and the lyI x; tv, ae) by offering alternative strategies to the chronic poverty on the continent.
Woman Wisdom and the ethical vision of the book of Proverbs: An African reflection
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2015
An observable gap in scholarship is a comprehensive ethical reflection on the portrayal of wisdom as feminine in the book of Proverbs and its implication for wisdom ethics. Besides this lacuna is the observation that the few existing studies on the ethics of the book of Proverbs take their point of departure essentially from a Western conception of ethics. This article as approached the book of Proverbs from an ethical perspective and has argued that the African view of ethics has a rich quality embedded in communitarian values that can be explored heuristically to interpret the ethical vision of the book of Proverbs. Such an approach, it is suggested, has pedagogical relevance to the teaching of biblical ethics especially in Africa.
Women in the Esan Proverbs of Nigeria
Jumuga Journal of Education, Oral Studies, and Human Sciences (JJEOSHS)
This research article adopts interpretive and descriptive approaches in the study of derogatory Esan proverbs that are geared towards demeaning women in the Esan indigenous society of Nigeria. Our main aim here is to assess whether the content of such anti-women local proverbs in Esan are valid or anachronistic. This is in the light of the message that indigenous knowledge is ideally meant to convey; and will be done by a comparative judgmental approach to the cultural and modern realities. Esan people are an ethnic group in Edo State of Nigeria whose research on women in Esan proverbs or proverbs about Esan is investigated in this treatise by researchers who speak the language under consideration. Can this insider-researcher perspective help us to deconstruct the negative portrayal and eventually reconstruct Esan proverbs as we strive to build an all-inclusive society for all? Methodologically, we harvested Esan proverbs through our public interactions with elders, and young and ol...