Fauna in Archaic Greek and Kalanga oral wisdom Literatures

316 Pages·2016·1.84 MB·English

FAUNA IN ARCHAIC GREEK AND KALANGA ORAL WISDOM
LITERATURES
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MADHLOZI MOYO
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Thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Phpilosophy (PhD) in the School of
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Languages and LiteratureCs, Classics Section.

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Faculty of Humanities
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University of Cape Town
November 2016

Supervisor: Professor Clive E. Chandler, School of Languages and Literature,
Classics Section
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The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No
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quotation from it or information derived from it is to be

published without full acknowledgeement of the source.
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The thesis is to be used for private study or non-
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commercial research purposes only.

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Published by the Universit y of Cape Town (UCT) in terms
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of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author.
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The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived
from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be
used for private study or non-commercial research purposes only.

Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license
granted to UCT by the author.

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Abstract
Animals play an important role in the communication of wisdom. In songs, proverbs, aphorisms,
riddles and other oral modes of communication, animals sometimes play the roles of human
beings. Homeric similes, Hesiodic and Aesopic fables, and numerous oral figures of speech in
Greek lyric poetry often incorporate animals in their figurative language. Likewise, Kalanga
folktales, proverbs, and other didactic modes attest to the importance of animals within this
culture as vehicles to teach moral lessons. This tendency is visible among many cultures across
the world. As such, the broad concerns of this thesis are to compare the way Archaic Greek and
Kalanga wisdom literatures resort to animal imagery in the dissemination of moral lessons. The
study evaluates the way animals are deployed as metaphors to signify and express human actions
and human attitudes in oral thought. In a narrow sense, I study the deployment of animals insofar
as they shed light upon the human attributes of cleverness and stupidity; the use of animals’
characters in political commentary; as well as in the economic and erotic didactics in Archaic
Greek and Kalanga oral wisdom literatures. Judging from the frequency of their appearance, it
seems that animals are one of the preferred ways through which people offer insights into
themselves. Commenting on the human habit of integrating animals into one’s religious and
moral views, Peter Lum says ‘The animal world seems to the mind of primitive man to be only a
very short step from the human.’1 This dissertation seeks to arrive at answers to a number of
questions through a comparative study of selections from the two traditions. What are the
premises and presuppositions behind the deployment of each animal in such literature? What are
the bases for building a human character on an animal? How do we compare and contrast the
human and animal natures? And, what makes an animal assume a specific role, and not another,
in folklore? What ecological and ethical concerns can be observed in this type of literature? Most
importantly, what similarities are there between Greek and Kalanga oral modes of expression?
By revealing similarities in animal imagery between two diverse wisdom traditions, this work
explores what may be described as a natural, cross-cultural basic component of didactic poetry: a
common denominator that gets to the root of archaic wisdom. Furthermore, as a poetic element
seemingly rooted in the realities of agrarian society, such symbolism leads us to consider
whether the moral authority it represents is purely poetic or whether it actually holds cultural
capital. This exercise entails using the dynamics of a living tradition to understand more about
one we access through texts and commentaries.

1 Lum (1951), 11.
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Acknowledgements
This is the most difficult part of dissertation writing, because in mentioning some people, one
also omits others. As such, I begin by acknowledging those people whom I will not mention by
name: your contribution to this thesis is duly noted and highly appreciated. Among those I will
never forget, I begin by giving thanks to my supervisor, Professor Clive E. Chandler, who agreed
to supervise a thesis of this nature, for reasons that I may never fully understand. Thank you for
your patience, especially, the superb guidance and high level of scholarship. I also thank the
Department of Classics at the University of Cape Town, for granting me the opportunity to
undertake my studies there, and funding my stay at All Africa House. I am also grateful to the
University of Cape Town and the people of South Africa for funding my studies through the
International Students’ Scholarship Fund.

I also thank Professor Jeffery Wills whose generosity and nimbleness in gathering information
furnished me with the biggest Kalanga database known to me. Father Krystian Traczyk (SVD) at
the Budiriro Parish (Harare) shared a collection of Kalanga proverbs with me, and as such I use
his name for this collection. I also acknowledge the Kalanga people of Dombodema (Plumtree)
who contributed to the creation of the manuscript. Professor Kathleen Coleman of Harvard
University recommended that I attend the Celtic Conference in Classics of 2014 (Edinburgh),
and also read parts of this thesis. At the Celtic, I was hosted by Dr. Lilah Grace Canevaro and
Dr. Donncha O’Rourke who also read a version of Chapter Six of this thesis, ‘Fauna and erotic
didactics in Greek and Kalanga oral wisdom literatures’. The paper will appear in a book
publication by Canevaro, L.G. and O’Rourke, D. (eds.), Didactic Poetry: Knowledge, Power,
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Tradition, The Classical Press of Wales (forthcoming). Their suggestions and recommendations
for further reading helped in the shaping of the whole thesis, and for this I thank them.

I am grateful to the University of Zimbabwe where I teach for granting me a comfortable
livelihood, office space and the access to numerous resources like reliable internet and the best
online resources. My workmates and students informed my study in numerous ways. I also thank
the elders at my rural home in Diba, Plumtree, some of whom are now deceased, for taking a
keen interest in my studies and agreeing to take part in my interviews. Their knowledge on
wisdom literatures is very educating. Mr. Pax Nkomo and my father Mr. Phineas Moyo were
always available and willing to hold discussions about the Kalanga parts of this thesis. My
mother kept us good company throughout.

At Cape Town, I was hosted by my uncle Manny and his wife Nosipho and their children. Thank
you for housing and feeding me. I also made good acquaintances at the University of Botswana,
and at the University of the North West (Potchefstroom, South Africa) where I also read a
chapter of this work. The comments and criticisms of the participants were very helpful. Other
people who read and commented on parts of this work include Professor Kathleen Coleman,
Professor Jefferey Wills, Jessie Maritz, Obert Mlambo, John McClymont, Luca Graverini. Ben
Lee at Oberlin sent me a couple of books that are central in the thesis. Barbara Chibvamushure
and Clive Zimunya helped with the final typeset. My wife Juliet and daughter Nomhle stuck with
me throughout. I love you more than my eyes. The real hero of this thesis is my laptop, Slim.
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Research Ethics Declaration

I have studied the Faculty of Humanities Guide to Research Ethics and the Research Ethics
Committee of the School of Languages and Literatures has approved the method for dealing with
human agents in this research. In all cases, my respondents were all made aware of the fact that
their words would be recorded and possibly disseminated in a doctoral thesis or any other
publication that emerges from the thesis. All my respondents agreed to be interviewed before the
interviews commenced.

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CONTENTS PAGE
1.0 CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
1.1 Preamble..................................................................................................................................1
1.2 Statement of the research problem........................................................................................5
1.3 Definition of terms ..................................................................................................................9
a) Wisdom literature...............................................................................................................9
b) Fauna.................................................................................................................................10
c) Aphorism or sententia ......................................................................................................11
d) Proverb .............................................................................................................................12
e) Didactic literature.............................................................................................................14
f) Formula..............................................................................................................................14
g) Theme................................................................................................................................14
h) Totem and praise song.....................................................................................................14
1.4 Kalanga ..................................................................................................................................15
1.5 Kalanga corpora ....................................................................................................................20
1.6 Pitfalls of Kalanga data ........................................................................................................24
1.7 Greek corpora.......................................................................................................................30
1.8 Pitfalls of Greek data.............................................................................................................34
1.9 Rationale................................................................................................................................35

CHAPTER TWO: Methods and Methodologies
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................39
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2.2 Methods..................................................................................................................................39
2.3 Methodologies........................................................................................................................40
2.4 Literature Review..................................................................................................................50
2.5 Analysis of Data.....................................................................................................................57
2.6 Research Design.....................................................................................................................59

CHAPTER THREE: Cleverness and stupidity in the animal world
3.1 Introduction...........................................................................................................................60
3.2 Critical Approaches...............................................................................................................62
3.3 Intrigue in the animal world.................................................................................................63
3.4 Canidae as agents of intrigue................................................................................................65
3.5 Fox/ jackal..............................................................................................................................65
3.6 The cunning fox......................................................................................................................69
3.7 The cunning hare in Kalanga folklore.................................................................................81
3.8 The dupes in the processes of intrigue.................................................................................89
3.9 Canidae as victims of cheating..............................................................................................89
3.10 ‘The fox outfoxed’................................................................................................................90
3.11 Hyena...................................................................................................................................94
3.12 Primates...............................................................................................................................95
3.13 Can animals be clever/stupid?............................................................................................98
3.14 Observations and conclusions...........................................................................................100

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CHAPTER FOUR: Power relations
4.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................................104
4.2 What is power?.....................................................................................................................105
4.3 The lion as a symbol of attack.............................................................................................107
4.4 Symbols of political power..................................................................................................118
4.5 Lion as symbol of political power in Greek literature......................................................120
4.6 Kalanga symbols of political power...................................................................................125
4.7 The attacking lion in Kalanga folktale...............................................................................131
4.8 Leopard................................................................................................................................135
4.9 Wolf and hyena....................................................................................................................136
4.10 Guardians (symbols of defence) .......................................................................................140
4.11 Powerful herbivores (symbols of defence) ......................................................................141
4.12 Weak herbivores (symbols of defence)……………………………………………….....143
4.13 Mapungubwe.....................................................................................................................146
4.14 Avian power (hawks and eagles)......................................................................................149
4.15 The mouse as a symbol of the innocent sufferer.............................................................154
4.16 Divine agency .....................................................................................................................155
4.17 Conclusions.........................................................................................................................156

CHAPTER FIVE: Moralising wealth: Animals and economic didactics.
5.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................................159
5.2 Critical Approaches: Marxism vs. Ubuntu .......................................................................161
5.3 Faunal assemblage: humans and their animals................................................................164
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