The folktale and gender identity among the Banyankore

Abstract

This study examines the representation of gender, themes, characterization and images in the Runyankore folktales. It specifically addresses the role the Folktale plays in shaping community beliefs and attitudes on questions of gender identity, as well as the way the community generally defines itself. The work examines 26 folktales, taking note of how men and women are portrayed on issues such as marriage and work. The folktales are analysed as a symbolic and ideological discourse of signs encoded by the performer and decoded by the audience at the time of performance. The study establishes that patriarchal structures and values are transmitted through the tales, with the female performers being active agents in their struggle for space within the culture. At the same time, they are also unwitting accomplices in transmitting the tales that carry messages that consciously and unconsciously construct them into positions of subservience to the male counterparts