Do people still use proverbs or is it a dying oral literature form?
Dr Schipper: Today, in many cultures proverbs seem to be abandoned for adverts and commercial slogans in many cultures and proverbs are no longer used in daily conversation as they were in the past. Nevertheless, the impact of their messages is not automatically lost. Quite some of the basic ideas diffused by means of proverbs of previous generations are still present in the minds of innumerable young people today, consciously or subconsciously. We continue to have images in our heads-images of what male and female behaviour ought to be like, and such ideas are visibly reflected in the ways we relate to each other as men and women, publicly and privately. We have imitated and internalised customs following the example of others around us, as expressed in the following amusing Oromo proverb: ”The hen imitating people stoops down as she enters the house.” People who believe they are expected to behave in a certain way, will feel pressured into such behaviour without questioning its con
