Bachitheka Bugayiwe: Relevance of Zulu Proverbs amid the Covid-19 Context in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Proverbs fall within the ambit of folklore. Folklore is knowledge, cultural expressions, and traditions of a particular group, originally oral and passed along by word of mouth. This article examines Zulu proverbs applicable to the critical incident in which a wedding was forcibly dispersed by the South African Army on the first Saturday of the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. A deluge of research has been done on proverbs. One can mention scholars such as Masuku who analysed the use of proverbs from the Africana-womanist perspective. Proverbs in isiZulu may be used to express a variety of emotions such as dismay, shock, and sadness when phenomena occur. It can also be used as a tool to educate and correct human behaviour through warnings and providing advice. In this article, proverbs will be analysed in the context of this discussion. Using the pragma-sociolinguistic theory, this research interviewed 30 purposively selected participants residing in King Cetshwayo District in Zululand and uMkhanyakude District in the northern KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The findings reveal that proverbs still have a place in contemporary African society and that as a people, we need to use and apply them in our daily conversations and occurrences to avoid their extinction.