AN ANALYSIS OF SETSWANA FOLKTALES FROM A GENDERED PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

In Botswana, gender is constructed in many different ways including but not limited to the names given to children, the games children play, through songs and proverbs and through messages presented in mainane (folktales). The important role that folktales play in the socialisation process of members of a society is well documented. Like in most societies, mainane play many different functions such as being didactic, moralistic, cultural records, therapeutic as well as forms of entertainment. However, this paper focuses on the gendered messages conveyed in Setswana folktales. It discusses how societal expectations of men and women can be understood from Setswana folktales. It further argues that the values transmitted in the folktales have clear ideological goals, and they encourage and perpetuate gender stereotypes between men and women. A few mainane will be analysed from a gender perspective to validate the argument of this paper.