Negotiating womanhood: the bird metaphor in Southern African folklore and rites of passage
In spite of its evident presence in Southern Africa’s rich cultural heritage, the bird metaphor has received surprisingly little attention. The cultural materials analysed in this article include children’s stories, songs, heroic poetry and ethnographic accounts of rites of passage. At first the data seems to suggest that bird symbolism could be interpreted in terms of a simple dual conception of gender identity. Some magical birds signify the prowess and authority of men. Others could be linked symbolically to the procreative powers of women. On further reflection, however, we identified a third category of more ambiguously gendered birds. It is contended that this additional bird type can be explained in terms of the female-male dialectic that shaped gender relations in small-scale societies. It is further proposed tentatively that the bird metaphor could have provided women with a symbolic means to negotiate their identity..
| Medienart: |
E-Artikel |
|---|
| Erscheinungsjahr: |
2018 |
|---|---|
| Erschienen: |
2018 |
| Enthalten in: |
Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:55 |
|---|---|
| Enthalten in: |
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde - 55(2018), 2 |
| Sprache: |
Afrikaans ; Englisch ; Französisch ; Niederländisch |
|---|
| Beteiligte Personen: |
Jean-Marie Dederen [VerfasserIn] |
|---|
| Links: |
doi.org [kostenfrei] |
|---|
| Themen: |
African languages and literature |
|---|
| doi: |
10.17159/2309-9070/tvl.v.55i2.2934 |
|---|
| funding: |
|
|---|---|
| Förderinstitution / Projekttitel: |
|
| PPN (Katalog-ID): |
DOAJ048619574 |
|---|
| LEADER | 01000caa a22002652 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | DOAJ048619574 | ||
| 003 | DE-627 | ||
| 005 | 20230501191251.0 | ||
| 007 | cr uuu---uuuuu | ||
| 008 | 230227s2018 xx |||||o 00| ||afr c | ||
| 024 | 7 | |a 10.17159/2309-9070/tvl.v.55i2.2934 |2 doi | |
| 035 | |a (DE-627)DOAJ048619574 | ||
| 035 | |a (DE-599)DOAJ49e630c6625a44e1a27f11e3c7ca1fee | ||
| 040 | |a DE-627 |b ger |c DE-627 |e rakwb | ||
| 041 | |a afr |a eng |a fre |a dut | ||
| 050 | 0 | |a PL8000-8844 | |
| 100 | 0 | |a Jean-Marie Dederen |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Negotiating womanhood: the bird metaphor in Southern African folklore and rites of passage |
| 264 | 1 | |c 2018 | |
| 336 | |a Text |b txt |2 rdacontent | ||
| 337 | |a Computermedien |b c |2 rdamedia | ||
| 338 | |a Online-Ressource |b cr |2 rdacarrier | ||
| 520 | |a In spite of its evident presence in Southern Africa’s rich cultural heritage, the bird metaphor has received surprisingly little attention. The cultural materials analysed in this article include children’s stories, songs, heroic poetry and ethnographic accounts of rites of passage. At first the data seems to suggest that bird symbolism could be interpreted in terms of a simple dual conception of gender identity. Some magical birds signify the prowess and authority of men. Others could be linked symbolically to the procreative powers of women. On further reflection, however, we identified a third category of more ambiguously gendered birds. It is contended that this additional bird type can be explained in terms of the female-male dialectic that shaped gender relations in small-scale societies. It is further proposed tentatively that the bird metaphor could have provided women with a symbolic means to negotiate their identity. | ||
| 650 | 4 | |a animal symbolism | |
| 650 | 4 | |a gender constructs | |
| 650 | 4 | |a folklore | |
| 650 | 4 | |a rites of passage | |
| 650 | 4 | |a bird metaphor | |
| 653 | 0 | |a African languages and literature | |
| 700 | 0 | |a Jennifer Mokakabye |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 773 | 0 | 8 | |i In |t Tydskrif vir Letterkunde |d Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association, 2016 |g 55(2018), 2 |w (DE-627)DOAJ000037621 |x 23099070 |7 nnns |
| 773 | 1 | 8 | |g volume:55 |g year:2018 |g number:2 |
| 856 | 4 | 0 | |u https://doi.org/10.17159/2309-9070/tvl.v.55i2.2934 |z kostenfrei |
| 856 | 4 | 0 | |u https://doaj.org/article/49e630c6625a44e1a27f11e3c7ca1fee |z kostenfrei |
| 856 | 4 | 0 | |u https://journals.assaf.org.za/index.php/tvl/article/view/2934 |z kostenfrei |
| 856 | 4 | 2 | |u https://doaj.org/toc/0041-476X |y Journal toc |z kostenfrei |
| 856 | 4 | 2 | |u https://doaj.org/toc/2309-9070 |y Journal toc |z kostenfrei |
| 912 | |a GBV_USEFLAG_A | ||
| 912 | |a GBV_DOAJ | ||
| 912 | |a SSG-OLC-PHA | ||
| 951 | |a AR | ||
| 952 | |d 55 |j 2018 |e 2 | ||