Proverbs as Cultural Symbols: An Analysis of Galo Proverbial Symbols

Abstract

All aspects of human behavior do tell something. Folklore, a kind of human behavior, too, tells many things. Alan Dundes' opinion that the folklore elements "provide serious reflections of our culture” corroborates this. The elements of folklore include several genres, of which, the proverbs are a very popular genre. They are prevalent in all human societies across the globe. Functionally, the proverbs serve legal, ethical, and moral purposes in the society. Besides these, the proverbs also seem to reflect the cultural ethos of a society. But this function of the proverbs is not a very obvious one; rather this reflection is subtle and hidden. Proverbs work symbolically and in their symbols, the cultural essence is disguised. Careful examination of the symbols used in the proverbs reveal that proverbs are indeed the cultural symbols. Dwelling upon some three proverbs of the Galo tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in India, the paper seeks to establish this supposition.

All aspects of human behavior do tell something. Folklore, a kind of human behavior, too, tells many things. Alan Dundes' opinion that the folklore elements "provide serious reflections of our culture” corroborates this. The elements of folklore include several genres, of which, the proverbs are a very popular genre. They are prevalent in all human societies across the globe. Functionally, the proverbs serve legal, ethical, and moral purposes in the society. Besides these, the proverbs also seem to reflect the cultural ethos of a society. But this function of the proverbs is not a very obvious one; rather this reflection is subtle and hidden. Proverbs work symbolically and in their symbols, the cultural essence is disguised. Careful examination of the symbols used in the proverbs reveal that proverbs are indeed the cultural symbols. Dwelling upon some three proverbs of the Galo tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in India, the paper seeks to establish this supposition.