Browsing by Author "Masele, Esther Julius"

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    Gender relations in the discourse of Sukuma songs
    (The University of Dodoma, 2017) Masele, Esther Julius
    This study examined gender relations in the discourse of Sukuma songs in Kishapu district, in Shinyanga region. The study had three specific objectives: to examine Sukuma cultural lives with regard to gender relations in the discourse of Sukuma songs; to examine the aspects of gender inequalities in the discourse of Sukuma songs; and to assess the power of discourse of Sukuma songs in enhancing sensitization on gender equality and in bolstering gender inequality. The study adopted an ethnographic research design. Purposive and snowballing sampling procedures were used to get a total of 26 singers; 11 key informants; and 30 participants for focused group discussions. The study used primary and secondary sources of data, which were collected through interviews, direct observation, focused group discussions and document analysis. An eclectic procedure, which combined Thematic Coding Approach (TCA) and Discourse Analysis (DA) based on Poststructuralist and Third World feminist theories were used to analyse the data. The study found that the life of the Sukuma people is controlled by unfair gendered roles in such aspects as leadership and authority, social organization, and the institutions of marriage. Besides, patriarchal ideology was found manifested in male chauvinistic tendencies exercised over the less privileged groups, such as women and children, who had no power to influence changes, to inherit and/or own family properties and take responsibilities in family care and management, in relation to men. Moreover, it was found that these songs played a great role in bolstering gender inequality, which in one way, led to gender sensitivity among the people. On the other hand, these songs, in some ways, were found to encourage loss of courage and confidence causing despair among the women, leading to their passive acceptance of the low status in the Sukuma society. Finally, based on the findings, it is recommended that, in order to solve the problems that encourage gender inequality among the Sukuma people, the organizations and institutions which deal with gender issues should extend their emancipative services, particularly, to the villages where women suffer from the consequences of inequality resulting from inherited cultural practices.
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    Manifestations of power and marginality in marriage practices: a qualitative analysis of Sukuma songs in Tanzania
    (Bridgewater State College, 2021) Masele, Esther Julius; Lakshmanan, Venkatachalam
    This study examined manifestations of power and marginality in Sukuma marriage practices. The study was conducted in Kishapu District, Tanzania. It drew its materials from Sukuma marriage rituals, which include singing and performance of songs. The study adopted an ethnographic research design and used both primary and secondary data to analyse the construction of gender roles in songs and societal views. The songs were observed at live performances, and data related to their composition, interpretation, and impact were gathered through interviews with the singers. Thematic Code Analysis was used to analyze the data, which were then interpreted based on poststructuralist theory. The results obtained showed that Sukuma marriage songs present and propagate imbalanced gender roles. It was further found that these songs impliedly bolster gender inequality leading to women’s subordination and men’s authority over women in Sukuma society.
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    Moving a mountain with bare hands: the expository analysis of Bru-tus’ ‘for a dead African ‘through pragmatic approach
    (Ruaha Catholic University, 2021) Masele, Esther Julius
    The purpose of this paper is to analyse Dennis Brutus’ ‘For a Dead African’ based on context to shed some lights on the use of pragmatic approach in the study of poetry. The paper employed qualitative approach in all the processes of data collection, interpretation and presentation. In the discussion of the findings, pragmatic approach is linked up with the New Criticism and Marxist theory to widen up understanding of the concept of context and its applicability to the study of literature. The study found that situational and background context are the major determinant of knowledge or meaning within a poem. The situational context in this study is revealed through various linguistic properties including demonstrative pronouns, personal pronouns and figures of speech. The study proves that the situational context is significant in showing the relationship between what is said by a persona and the society refered within a poem while background context provides clue of the intention of the poet and hence, simplify understanding of the meaning. The paper ends with a remark that although the concept of context in pragmatic approach is extremely excellent in providing meaning in poetry, it also needs to blend with knowledge of language in literature for readers to comprehend messages carried in poetry. It is recommended that other studies to be done closely to examines Brutus and other poems using different theories to high light their mechanism on revealing meaning they intend to portray