Aesthetic analysis of Gonja proverbs

Abstract

This study presents an aesthetic analysis of some Gonja proverbs with particular reference to the East Gonja District dialect of the Gonja language. It discusses the structure of the Gonja proverbs, themes and some literary devices as well as the aesthetic qualities embedded in the Gonja proverbs. Purposive sampling technique was adopted for the study and the design of the study was qualitative research because the analyses of the data was mainly descriptive. The sample size of the study was twelve (12) made up of the chief and his elders as well as a woman dirge singer, one local praise singer of the Kpembe traditional area and three sections of the language community namely Abrumase, Kigbatito and Slimuchu in the East Gonja District of the Savanna Region of Ghana and one lecturer of the Gonja language from the University of Education, Winneba. The instruments used in the study for the data collection were unstructured interview. The findings of this study confirmed that Gonja proverbs have structures in their compositions; themes and varied literary devices as well as their aesthetic qualities which have been clearly displayed in the analyses of the proverbs.