Wazha Lopang

Laughing with Caution. Ikalanga Trickster Tales and the Gender Question Wazha Lopang

Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Literature - Africa, grade: Undergraduate, University of Botswana, language: English, comment: The essay will help students determine if oral literature does pay attention to gender stereotyping even when the characters appear androgynous. This androgyny will clarify how patriarchy at times fails to ensure that fiction imitates reality , abstract: The essay looks at the role of the trickster in oral literature and argues that the trickster is neither male nor female. The essay argues that the trickster is androgynous and it is this concept that makes the trickster able to outwit the larger and more powerful creatures in the tales. As such, the essay makes a point that the trickster's success at outwitting animals in folklore has nothing to do with it being male!