{"title":"亨利·奥勒·库莱《大草原之花》中倒退的社会文化实践的批判性阐释","authors":"Jennifer Koskey, Catherine Amimo, Edward Mooka","doi":"10.46606/eajess2023v04i03.0276","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Retrogressive socio-cultural practices are rooted in cultures and traditions and they directly or indirectly violate human rights. One function of literature is to highlight such practices and invite the society to reflect and change for the better. Henry Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah is a Kenyan novel approved for study in secondary schools in Kenya and was the basis through which this paper was done. The study adopted a comparative research design. The novel was selected purposively to examine how it interrogates retrogressive socio-cultural practices in the Maasai culture. Data was collected using a close reading of the text and was subjected to content analysis. The study found that four major retrogressive socio-cultural practices are highlighted in the novel, namely female genital mutilation, polygamy, patriarchy along with male chauvinism and early or planned marriages. These practices deprive women of their dignity and right to make decisions as individuals. They work by exerting control over women’s bodies and limiting their decision-making options within the social spaces. Some women have resigned to the status quo, having been socialized and oppressed for a long time. However, others, due to their young age and exposure to western formal education, assert strive to break free from these retrogressive practices. Ole Kulet envisions the possibility of women breaking free from these practices and finding a chance to improve their lives through education. There is need to sensitize women, men, children and communities on the detrimental effects of retrogressive cultural practices, especially FGM, and on the value of girl-child education.","PeriodicalId":375627,"journal":{"name":"May to June 2023","volume":"133 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Critical Exposition of Retrogressive Socio-Cultural Practices in Henry Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah\",\"authors\":\"Jennifer Koskey, Catherine Amimo, Edward Mooka\",\"doi\":\"10.46606/eajess2023v04i03.0276\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"Retrogressive socio-cultural practices are rooted in cultures and traditions and they directly or indirectly violate human rights. One function of literature is to highlight such practices and invite the society to reflect and change for the better. Henry Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah is a Kenyan novel approved for study in secondary schools in Kenya and was the basis through which this paper was done. The study adopted a comparative research design. The novel was selected purposively to examine how it interrogates retrogressive socio-cultural practices in the Maasai culture. Data was collected using a close reading of the text and was subjected to content analysis. The study found that four major retrogressive socio-cultural practices are highlighted in the novel, namely female genital mutilation, polygamy, patriarchy along with male chauvinism and early or planned marriages. These practices deprive women of their dignity and right to make decisions as individuals. They work by exerting control over women’s bodies and limiting their decision-making options within the social spaces. Some women have resigned to the status quo, having been socialized and oppressed for a long time. However, others, due to their young age and exposure to western formal education, assert strive to break free from these retrogressive practices. Ole Kulet envisions the possibility of women breaking free from these practices and finding a chance to improve their lives through education. There is need to sensitize women, men, children and communities on the detrimental effects of retrogressive cultural practices, especially FGM, and on the value of girl-child education.\",\"PeriodicalId\":375627,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"May to June 2023\",\"volume\":\"133 1\",\"pages\":\"0\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.0000,\"publicationDate\":\"2023-06-30\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"May to June 2023\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1085\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.46606/eajess2023v04i03.0276\",\"RegionNum\":0,\"RegionCategory\":null,\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"\",\"JCRName\":\"\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"May to June 2023","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.46606/eajess2023v04i03.0276","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
摘要
倒退的社会文化习俗植根于文化和传统,它们直接或间接侵犯人权。文学的一个功能就是突出这些做法,并促使社会反思和改变。Henry Ole Kulet的《萨凡纳之花》是一本肯尼亚小说,被批准在肯尼亚的中学学习,也是本文完成的基础。本研究采用比较研究设计。这部小说是有目的的选择,以检查它如何询问倒退的社会文化习俗在马赛文化。通过仔细阅读文本来收集数据,并进行内容分析。研究发现,小说中突出了四种主要的倒退的社会文化习俗,即女性生殖器切割,一夫多妻制,父权制以及大男子主义和早婚或计划婚姻。这些做法剥夺了妇女的尊严和作为个人作出决定的权利。他们的工作方式是控制妇女的身体,限制她们在社会空间内的决策选择。有些女性已经接受了现状,她们被社会化了,被压迫了很长时间。然而,其他人,由于他们的年龄和接触西方正规教育,坚持努力摆脱这些倒退的做法。Ole Kulet设想了妇女摆脱这些习俗并通过教育找到改善生活的机会的可能性。有必要使妇女、男子、儿童和社区认识到倒退的文化习俗,特别是切割女性生殖器官的有害影响以及女童教育的价值。
Critical Exposition of Retrogressive Socio-Cultural Practices in Henry Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah
Retrogressive socio-cultural practices are rooted in cultures and traditions and they directly or indirectly violate human rights. One function of literature is to highlight such practices and invite the society to reflect and change for the better. Henry Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah is a Kenyan novel approved for study in secondary schools in Kenya and was the basis through which this paper was done. The study adopted a comparative research design. The novel was selected purposively to examine how it interrogates retrogressive socio-cultural practices in the Maasai culture. Data was collected using a close reading of the text and was subjected to content analysis. The study found that four major retrogressive socio-cultural practices are highlighted in the novel, namely female genital mutilation, polygamy, patriarchy along with male chauvinism and early or planned marriages. These practices deprive women of their dignity and right to make decisions as individuals. They work by exerting control over women’s bodies and limiting their decision-making options within the social spaces. Some women have resigned to the status quo, having been socialized and oppressed for a long time. However, others, due to their young age and exposure to western formal education, assert strive to break free from these retrogressive practices. Ole Kulet envisions the possibility of women breaking free from these practices and finding a chance to improve their lives through education. There is need to sensitize women, men, children and communities on the detrimental effects of retrogressive cultural practices, especially FGM, and on the value of girl-child education.