ምስላታት ኣድጊ ኣብ ትግርኛ፦ ቴማዊ ትንተና [Proverbs of Donkey in Tigrinya: A Thematic Analysis]

This study was carried out to identify and analyze donkey proverbs in the Tigrinya language. Data were collected from purposefully selected books, studies, social media posts, and daily conversations. The proverbs were then thematically categorized and thoroughly analyzed, focusing on the general messages that they convey and the linguistic and communicative features. On account of the language users’ knowledge and views of and proximity to donkeys, there are many proverbs that chiefly convey negative messages in the language. The proverbs show high interaction with the animal and, most importantly, beliefs, thoughts, and philosophy of the overall life of the language users. The majority of the proverbs are used as social tools to depict things like tradition, truth, derision, mockery, and stupidity. This way, they are used to indicate proper and unacceptable behavior as well as to establish, sustain, mentor, disparage, and excommunicate as the need arises. Apart from an anthology of proverbs and limited efforts, a lot remains to be done as far as Tigrinya proverbs in general and specific animal proverbs are concerned. Thus, it is high time this aspect of paremiology got due attention.