BEMBA PROVERBS AS INSTRUMENTS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN MUFULIRA, ZAMBIA: A SOCIO-SEMANTIC ANALYSIS
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Abstract
This study presents a socio-semantic analysis of the role of Bemba proverbs in conflict resolution within Kamuchanga Township, Mufulira District, Zambia. Proverbs, as condensed forms of cultural wisdom, serve as functional instruments for social regulation and harmony. Guided by Speech Act Theory, the research employed a qualitative case study methodology, utilizing semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation with fifteen key informants, including elders and adult community members. The findings elucidate a multifaceted framework in which Bemba proverbs operate proactively to prevent disputes, reactively to facilitate resolution, and normatively to promote social cohesion and impart moral counsel. The analysis demonstrates how these proverbs function simultaneously at locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary levels, enabling indirect communication that preserves social face and reinforces communal values. The study also notes an observed difference in proverb recall between the elders and adult participants in the sample, a difference that participants themselves attributed to urbanization, formal schooling in English, and reduced intergenerational oral transmission. Because the original study design did not set out to measure generational change, this observation is presented as an incidental finding and a recommendation for future research rather than as a primary empirical conclusion. The study concludes that Bemba proverbs constitute an indispensable, culturally embedded conflict management system and advocates for their documentation, integration into educational curricula, and revitalization within community mediation practices.
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