Language, as the heart of communication, is the system of words that people use to express thoughts and feelings to each other. According to Hudson [1], language is the main medium of education; literacy as the mode of education is one of the foundations of education; verbal intelligence is one of the most-used predictors of educational success; foreign or second languages are traditionally an important part of the school curriculum; language has a profound effect on education. With these connections, the importance of teaching in indigenous and vernacular languages surfaced in the 1950s. Vernacular language is defined as a language which is the mother tongue of a group which is socially or politically dominated by another group speaking a different language. Indigenous language, on the other hand, is “the language of the people considered being original inhabitants of an area”. 

Folklore is ascertained to be one of the best pedagogies because it promotes oral communication and is believed to be ideal for bridging the gap between home and school. Folklore known to the public as a source of learning will make learning more meaningful because studying folklore can spread positive cultural influences by realizing that cultural differences have many advantages to enrich the nation's cultural heritage in recognizing local wisdom and also can provide benefits in language learning. 

Folklore is part of cultural and historical richness owned by the Agiryama people. In general, folklore is one of the old oral literary genres called the fairy tale of the archipelago. The purpose of this study is to explore an alternative source of language learning materials through folklore so as to seek the creation of media during the learning process.

The debate on the use of mother tongue in education has been unresolved not only in Kenya but also in a number of African countries. The language of instruction in an education system determines the quality of education in the country and overall learner achievement. Prah [3] describes the language or medium of instruction as the language in which basic skills and knowledge are imparted to learners. 

In Kenya, the official language of instruction policy states that children have a right to be taught in the language of the catchment area in classes (grades) 1-3, in schools in the rural areas, during which English is taught as a subject in the curriculum. Kiswahili is used as the language of instruction in lower primary in schools in urban areas. From grade 4 English is used as the medium of instruction.

According to the Constitution of Kenya 2010, Kiswahili and English are the country’s official languages, while the former is also the national language. The Constitution also recognizes and protects the local languages. Furthermore, the country is a host to over forty two local languages making the country multilingual, a number of the languages have dialects. The use of mother tongue for instruction has always been challenged as well as supported by parents, teachers, scholars and other stakeholders in the education sector.

This paper argues that the use of mother tongue though beneficial is the least preferred medium of instruction in lower primary in schools in Kenya and provides teachers with different forms of Kigiryama folklore for teaching language in lower primary schools. The key contribution of this paper to the Kenyan basic education is to equip teachers with the techniques of teaching using folklore. The paper will be guided by the following objectives:

• To identify the advantages of using literature as a popular technique to support language teaching and learning in language in lower primary schools
• To establish the benefits of different forms of Kigiryama folklore as a means of teaching the linguistic components and cultural aspects of English language
• To provide teachers with approaches and techniques that can be used to teach languge in lower primary schools

Functionalism theory

This theory is of the view that any cultural activity must have a utilitarian value for its people. Functionalist theory  see the society  as a stable entity perpetuated by the various cultural activities, narratives are seen as an embodiment of the beliefs, customs, rituals, and structure that needs to be maintained. Functionalism is by far the most persistent theory in the study of oral literature Miruka. The theory was proposed by Bronislaw Malinowski and Radcliffe Brown. By using the Agiryama society as a case study we discuss the way functionalism theory can be applied in oral literature of the Agiryama people and in turn show the benefits of using Folklore in the teaching of language among students of lower primary.

The following section provides detailed procedures, techniques and methods applied in the research.

Research Design

The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Survey is a method of collecting information by interviewing or administering a questionnaire to a sample of individuals Orodho. It is the most frequently used method for collecting information about people’s attitudes, opinions, habits or any of the variety of education or social issues.

Lokesh notes that descriptive survey research studies are designed to obtain information concerning the current situation and other phenomena and whatever possible, to draw valid conclusion from facts discussed. Survey design helps collect .data from the population that is too large to be observed directly. The aim of survey design is to collect information from a sample that is a representative of the population as a whole, and generalizability that is, it will enable the researcher to use the data to make plans for, or predictions regarding the total population, it helps the researcher to ascertain attitudes and opinions as well as factual information. A survey design was appropriate because, it enabled the researcher to obtain pertinent and precise information concerning status of the role of language policies in teaching/learning of Mother tongue in Kilifi North Sub-County.

Area of the study

The study was conducted in Public schools in Kilifi North Sub county. This area being a Peri-urban was ideal for the study because it is a cosmopolitan and home to almost all the 42 tribes in Kenya.

Target Population

The study was carried out in 2 schools, where 10 teachers of Lower primary were selected for the study. The teachers were selected because the area being a cosmopolitan one, was one where most schools  have language policies in place, however, the mother tongue language policy was likely to face problem in its implementation because of having students belonging to various tribes in the same school.

Sample and sampling techniques

Purposive sampling was used to select the 10 teachers of lower primary because these teachers are directly involved in the implementation of the language policies in the schools.

Data Collection Methods

A structured interview schedule and questionnaires were administered. The questionnaires had both open and close ended questions. Section A of the questionnaire included the Demographic information, section B was used to identify the advantages of using literature as a popular technique to support language teaching and learning in language in lower primary schools while section C outlined the benefits of different forms of Kigiryama folklore as a means of teaching the linguistic components and cultural aspects of language and section D,  provided teachers with approaches and techniques that can be used to teach language in lower primary schools

 .

Data Analysis and Procedures

After administration, the questionnaires and structured interview schedules were then collected; data was then appropriately organized into themes categories and objectives relevant to the study. The results were presented in tables on the basis of the research objectives. Analysis and interpretation was done to determine clear characteristics and relationships that exist between the variables.

Benefits of using folklore in teaching language to learners in lower primary

Narratives: A narrative refers to a prose account of people, events, places, that may be factual or fictional, the account are principally handed down from one person to another, and generation to generation through words mouth.

Narratives are not only useful for teaching language items but also for imparting values, morals, worldviews and cultural awareness. This therefore means the use of narratives in teaching language serves a double purpose, i.e teaching language items and imparting values, morals and cultural awareness as well.

Chausa Cha Fisi kutsetsera

Wakathi mumwenga, fisi wakala ni mnyama mudzo na kisha mwenye bidhii. Anyama angine Makala manamuhendza fisi sana. Siku mwenga fisi wagwirwa ni ukaha na k’adimire kuhenda kazi ilia pate chakurya cha adamue. Akiandza kuiya vit’u zha anyama andziye. Mara nyinji fisi were anahendza kwambola usiku. Fisi were akambola usiku akenda iya. Akikala munyama mui. Wana unji wa anyama angine were ukangamika kwa sababu ya fisi. Fisi na adamue Makala makirya wana wa anyama angine. Nyama angine osi makiandza kumunena zhomu fisi kwa sababu ya th’abiaye mbii.

Siku mwenga kabila kakudzatwsa, fisi wambola p’angoni mwakwe akiamua kwenda mala chakurya. Akiriinga malo kundi ra up’ala ili agwire kana kamwenga. Fisi wagwa kahi za wina mure. Akijeza kwambola ela k’adimire. Akipiga k’ululu, ela k’ahana ariye kudza mwaviza.

Kunadzachakwe, fisi akikala achere mo winani. Akisikira misindo. Kwa vizho akipiga kululu avde avizwe.. Nyahi akidza malo kulola ni h’ani ye apigaye k’ululu. Arihomanya ni fisi, akiuka malo achenda. Fisi akipiga k’ululu zhomu kurira. At’u anji makudza maone ni h’ani ye ariyekala adzagwa winani. Marihoona kukala ni fisi, makichimbira machenda.

Wakathi uwo mbuzi zosi were zina mikira mire. Mbuzi mwenga ikikira hehi na ho winani na ikimona ye fisi ako ts’ni winani anarira. Mbuzi ikiamua kumwaviza fisi. Ikimwamba fisi agwire mukirawe ili imwamboze mo winani. Fisi akizulia mukira wa mbuzi kuwunya na mbuzi ikianza kumuvuha konze. Fisi were ana nzala na akiamua kuiluma yo mbuzi mukira ilia pate ut’u wa kurya. Mbuzi ikianza kisikira kukala inalumira zhomu. Fisi waenderera kuluma mukira na kuno mbuzi yaenderera kumuvuha fisi na mukirawe. Wo mukira ukitoka na fisi akiuya mo winani. Mbuzi akichimbira malo na kurira ikiriricha ro fisi mo winani.

Fisi waenderera kukala mo winani bila ut’u wowosi wakurya, akionda sana kwa kukosa chakurya. Adamue osi makiandza kumudengereka, na baba ya wiki mwenga makimona adzafa mo winani. Osi makiguluka machangira, makimwamboza lo lufulwe. Makimubanda magulu. Vizho ndo vihendazho hatha mafisi gosi ganatsetsera. Why Hyena walks with a limp.

At one time the hyena was a very good animal. He was very hard working. The other animals liked the hyena a lot. One day the hyena became lazy and was not able to work so as to get food for his family. He started stealing things belonging to other animals. Hyena liked going out at night.he would go out at night to steal. He became a very bad animal. The young ones of animals would get lost because the hyena and his family would eat them. All the other animals started hating hyena because of his bad behavior.

One day, before the sun set, hyena went out to look for food. He started chasing a group of gazelles so as to catch one of them. Hyena fell into a big hole.he tried to climb out but was not able. He cried loudly but no one came to assist him.

The following morning when hyena was still in the hole, he heard a heavy sound. He cried loudly again so as to be helped, then the monkey came to see who was making noise. When he saw the hyena, he ran away very fast. Hyena cried very loudly. Many people came to see who had fallen into the hole. When they realized it was hyena, they also ran away.

At that time all the goats had long tails. One goat passed near the hole and saw the hyena very deep inside the hole and he was crying. The goat decided to help the hyena. It told the hyena to catch its tail so that he can be pulled out. The hyena held the goat’s tail steadily and the goat started pulling him out. The hyena was hungry and he begun eating the goat’s tail. The goat begun feeling very painful. The hyena continued biting the tail and the goat continued pulling, and finally the tail was cut and the hyena fell back into the hole. The goat ran away and left the hyena in the hole.

The hyena remained in the hole for some time. He did not have anything to eat for a long time. His family started looking for him. After one week, they found him dead inside the hole. They removed his corpse and they broke his leg. That is why all hyenas walk with a limp.

Songs

There is a difference between poetry and song. These two are not exactly the same, song is just one way of delivering poetry, A poem may be sang, declaimed or recited, likewise song may be devoid of poetry. It may convey any feeling, thoughts, or ideas and may be nothing but a set of sounds set to a tune. Among the Agiryama society songs are performed to mark different socio-political aspects for instance during the traditional ceremonies such as at weddings, funerals, naming, and even while working or playing. During these occasions, the songs are sung to perform various functions like to entertain people and sometimes to educate people.

        For purposes of this paper, we will only concentrate with children play songs. These are songs sung by children for their own amusement and entertainment when they are playing. Such songs are useful in teaching various skills. For example, when children are playing they may sing the following singing games below,

Song 1

Ahoho angu jameni.’ Hee? (My children Yes! )
Mimi mami yenu. Hee? (It is me your mother. Yes! )
Sina nguvu keheri. Hee? (I don’t have strength anymore. Yes!)
Za kumwalaga Simba.Hee? (To kill the lion. Yes!)
Simba ni mukhali. Hee? (The lion is fierce. Yes! )
Wamwalaga babiyenu, na ndugu zenu. (He killed your father and your brothers. Yes!)
Ahoho angu jameni. Heee? (My children please. Yes!)
Ndzoni simba kaho. Haya Wee! (Come the lion is not there. Okay!)

As the children come towards their mother, the lion comes out of his hiding place and tries to run after the children to eat them. The children in turn try to avoid being eaten by the lion as they run towards their mother which is a safety haven. Such a game enhances the development of socialization, motor and comprehension skills not forgetting communication skills, listening skills, language and cognitive skills. Another children play song includes,

Song 2

Chula eeh chula? Eehe (Frog oh frog. Yes!)
Unendahi? Nenda ziani (Where are you going? I am going to the river.)
Ukahendeni?Nikahale virunchi (What are you going to do? To pick water lilies.)
Ha hinde hosi (Then let us go together. Okay!)
Hencho, hencho, henchoo. Hencho, hencho hencho!)

This game and song 2 when sung requires that the children imitate the frogs sitting posture and even its movement. Particularly at the time when they say the words, ‘Henchoo, henchoo henchoo!’ This song too enhances not only the development of socialization, motor and comprehension skills, but also communication skills, listening skills, language and cognitive skills. Motor skills are particularly developed because in the process of singing the song, at the time of saying ‘hencho, hencho, hencho,the learners have to imitate the frog in terms of jumping. In addition, learners show knowledge of the environment when they imitate sound made by the frog.

Song 3

Kino ni noni? (Which finger is this?)
Simanya! (I don’t know!)
Haya kino? (What about this one?)
Ni musindo mukulu! (It is a big loud sound)
Haya kino? (What about this one?)
Bwaragwada kauya. (Bwaragwada is never coming)
Hee kino? (What about this one?)
Mbli na mbilizo X2 (Two and two X2)
Kuya kuya dzumbe rikiuya kanyama kaza wito (Lazy on, when the chief returns work hard)
He kino? (What about this one?)
Dzalagumbe, dzalagumbe, gwira jembe urime kanyama kaza wito. (The big finger, catch the hoe and dig, and work hard).

The song 3 above helps learners in the knowledge of parts of the body particularly the fingers.

Song 4

Kadonje kanahola X2 The ugali is getting cold X2 Hindeni malo fukakarye X2 Let us run and go and eat it X2

Song 4 is usually sung at lunch time when the bell for lunch rings. It is mainly sung to remind the learners that their mothers have prepared food at home for them to eat.

Proverbs 

Proverbs refer to the saying in more or less fixed form marked by shortness, sense and salt, and distinguished by popular acceptance of the truth tersely expressed in it. According to Longman dictionary, a proverb is a short well known saying in popular language. Among the Agiryama society proverbs are constructed to perform various functions. For example; 

Proverb 1

• Ndzovu karemerwa ni pembe ze
• An elephant is never burdened by its tusks

This proverb may be used to encourage anybody in the society who is facing difficulties in his everyday tasks. This is used to make people sharp and responsible to perform various tasks at the right time without delaying.

Proverb 2

• Burangeti riki kukuyakuyato na dzoho, ndo maishago ganakala ga peho
• ‘The warmer the cuddling blanket is, the colder the future’

This proverb is used to warn people against the act of laziness and preferring to sleep a lot as demonstrated by the activity of ‘the blanket cuddling you with warmth’. It means that if someone prefers to continue being kept warm by the blanket in their bed, then their future is likely to be ‘cold’. It further encourages people to prefer waking up early and to start getting their jobs done rather than to prefer to continue sleeping.

Proverb 3

• Ariye dzulu mutharize tsini
• Whoever is up, wait for him down

This proverb is used to advice people not only to be ambitious in the society but also functions as a warning to people who are rude and arrogant to others whenever they find themselves in positions of power. Such people are advised to be considerate to others because the people they mistreat while in positions of power are the same people they will find when things go wrong and they have lost their jobs and hence will need these people to assist them.

Proverb 4

• Mubomu ni dzala
• ‘A chief or a leader is like a dumpster’

This proverb means that a leader is compared to a dumpster. A dumpster is a place where everyone can dump their garbage in. In this case the people always present their problems such as marriage and crime issues at the chief’s desk. It is used to advice leaders who are facing difficulties in his task of leadership on behalf of their subjects. This is used to encourage the leader to remain focused sharp and responsible to perform various tasks for a right time without delaying.

Proverb 5

• Ng’ombe akilumira urisani, nikudzikokota akadza mudzini kuoya
• ‘When a cow is hurt while grazing, it huttles back home to be treated’

This proverb functions to encourage people that when faced with problems anywhere in life, they should go home for treatment. Another proverb that has the same meaning and function include ‘East or west but home is best’. This means that ‘home’ is where one can get the best treatment in terms of physical, psychological, health and even social support.

Riddles

Riddle refers as a word puzzle in which an object or situation is referred to in unusual figurative terms and one is expected to discover or decipher in literal terms what it meant. Nandwa & Bukenya [3]. A riddle is a short oral puzzle which presents the peculiar characteristics of a concept whether those characteristics are physical, behavioral, or habitual and requires the unraveling of the concealed literal reference riddle may not be considered as complete without the response. The answer must therefore be regarded as an integral part of the riddle. Infact, a person needs to use his/her wits to unravel the riddle. In the Agiryama society riddles are used to perform different functions.

The riddling session among the Agiryama usually starts with the following introductory words:

Chondoni (Is the word used by the challenger to call for attention from the respondents) Dekeha! (This word is used by the respondent to signal that he/she is ready for the riddle. For example;

Example 1

Challenger: Nyumba yangu kaina muryango.
My house has no door
Respondent: Iji Egg.

This example is used to measure the level of understanding on the environment of a particular person. That is to say a reader should associate with different things and know what they mean. In this example learners can associate an egg with a house that has no door.

Example 2

Challenger: Kavure tenga My bowl cannot be touched
Respondent: Madzi ga moho Hot water

This example too, is used to measure knowledge and understanding of the environment with regard to knowing that hot water can burn.

Example 3

Challenger: Mudhao (lugwe) wangu mure ela k’aufunga k’uni.
My rope is very long but it cannot tie firewood

This riddle similarly used to measure knowledge of the environment in terms of understanding that a road or a pathway can be very long however, it cannot be used to tie things like firewood or even animals.

Example 4

Challenger: Zula kipi uzike kipi.
Uproot a kipi’ and bury a ‘kipi’ Respondent: Mugazija

This riddle also functions to test the knowledge and understanding of the environment in farming. One must have knowledge of the cassava farming methods which require that one plants cassava by burying a stem for them to harvest the cassava tuber.      

Example 5

Challenger: Hawe anaoha moho na mongo My grandmother is sitting at the fireside with her back facing the fire.

Tongue Twisters

Tongue Twisters are very helpful in teaching sounds that are similar in many languages. Tongue twisters are made of a string of words with similar sounds placed close together and therefore difficult to pronounce. As the speaker tries to say the utterance, the tongue gets twisted thereby causing the speaker to stumble over words and hence causes laughter among the audience. See the examples below

Example 1

Kabuzi ka dzuzi katsama mutsuzi. 

‘The goat we ate two days ago was sweet.’

 Kifo cha Masha chamumasha mameye Masha

‘Masha’s death surprised his mother.’ 

Ninoni cho kikusikithisacho? ‘

What is it that is making you sad?’

Folklore Selection as a Teaching Material

One of the rich literary genres of knowledge about culture, the system of knowledge, values and worldviews of the people’s world of literary owners is a folk lore.

Folklore is ‘spoken art’, in addition to functioning to entertain; it also can provide moral education. According to Danandjaja [4] Folklore is part of a collective culture, which is passed down from one generation to generation, among which includes any kind of traditional collections in different versions, whether in oral form or in other examples its performance is accompanied by use of gestures, facial expressions or body movement and musical instruments. It is known as folklore because this story lives among the people and almost all communities recognize this story. So it is said that the people’s folklore belongs to no one but the people or society it belongs to. Folklore becomes a life’s journey path with a moral message that contains the meaning of life and how to interact with other creatures.

One of the language learning materials is learning of the language and understanding the culture of the Agiryama. For this purpose, literary works, in this case folklore is one of the most valuable support materials. The introduction and learning of language and culture through literature, especially folklore, as supporting materials will be more lively and interesting, and provide different colors. Folklore has more value than just reading for entertainment, because folklore is rich in the treasures of values, traditional beliefs, morals, worldviews and cultural awareness.

Folklore as a literary work has a position in the life of society in general both in past societies and in today’s society. Folklore of the Agiryama will be meaningful when viewed from the content aspect that is theme and message in addition to reviewing it from the aspect of its form. The study of the theme basically does not merely find the main problem contained in the literary work. It also deals with the message as the opinion, inclination and vision of the author of the story on the proposed theme.

Folklore as a literary form that tells of the human life problems which can be the human life problems that have happened, it is happening, and it will happen.

The issue of human life is basically spoken of in literature. Folklore as a reading material will provide an inner experience that can be happy. Therefore, in the language that includes folklore should be introduced early in order for the literacy ability to grow so that the reading culture develops. In language learning, folklore has material that connects it with regional literature which can be found in folklore, narratives, poems, songs that have been popular among the Agiryama people of the Kenyan coast.

Contribution of Folklore to Kigiryama Language Learning

Language has an important role in human life, because the main function of language is as a communication tool or interaction tool that only owned by humans, Language is one element of culture. This is based on the opinion of Cateora which stated that language is a medium of communication. Among the Mijikenda there is a variety of languages, one of them is the Kigiryama language. As a local language, Kigiryama language is used as the first language by the native speakers in the community to express their feelings and thoughts. Thus, it is expected that local languages will continue to grow along with the development of Kigiryama in an effort to enrich the vocabulary of these local languages. 

Local languages also have an important role to play in the Kenyan life as a nation’s cultural heritage.

In this case, folklore can be used as a medium of learning of other local languages like Kiswahili.

For example this can clearly be seen through the use of the Kigiryama kinship terms. Kinship names in Kigiryama include; b’aba, m’ama, h’awe, tsawe, ndugu yangu,, mulumangu, muchangu, bamu zhere, bamuhoho, tsangazimi, ahu, mukaza ahu, mulamu, wifi, mutsedzangu, muzhere, mamuhoho and kizhere. Such examples of kinship vocabularies reflect how the Agiryama value the extended family and kinship relations. In the Agiryama community and language, there are eighteen lexicalized kinship distinctions but the way in which these terms compare with the Eglish equivalents reveals much about differences between the two societies. The term b’aba in Kigiryama is a single kinship relation but which can be translated in different ways according to context: father, uncle, male cousin of parent and so on. Clearly the distinction between father and mother’s brother/ father’s brother does not have the same importance in Agiryama society as in English. English employs the term uncle for father’s brother and mother’s sister’s husband. Agiryama uses bamuzhere for father’s elder brother and bamuhoho for father’s younger brother. Other Agiryama kinship terms distinguish paternal and maternal relations. For example mother’s brother is Ahu and his wife is mukaza ahu.

Yule [5] stated that the word greeting as a word or phrase can be used by the speaker to greet his fellow speakers, both in spoken and written languages. Furthermore, according to there are several reasons why a person may use the word greeting. These include using the greeting to attract the attention of others, to reflect the status of a friend about the position (professional status), or the relationship between the speaker and the friend; and even use the greeting to indicate modesty and social class differences and degree of appreciation at every opportunity; Furthermore, the word greeting is used to reflect on information about identity, gender, age, status, and complicated social relationships between members within a community and more so information about time. For instance, in the morning, one may say; mudzalamukadze, meaning ‘how was your night’, mudzasindadze, meaning ‘how was your day? Kigiryama greeting words used to greet in everyday life such as greeting words to greet the biological mother is mudzalamukadze mama greeting to greet the biological father is mudzalamukadze baba greetings to greet the husband or your grandfather is k’una u’tu tsawe. The word greeting for the wife of your grandfather or grandmother is called k’una u’tu hawe.

The existence of Kigiryama folklore is very popular because it contains the customs, associations, advice, responsibilities and social obligations as well as issues of social life of the Agiryama society. The following is an example of a narrative which shows values and customs of the Agiryama people: 

• Kwakala na muhoho mumwenga arekala muhanda sana. Dzinare were anaifwa Kalume. Kalume were anahendzwa sana ni azhazie
• Siku mwenga Kalume were anazaziga naandzie mudzini hao. Akipewa maembe ni ts’angazimiye. Akiagazhira asenae. O asenae makigarya malomalo. Mariho marigiza makikumbukira kukala tha were madzarya bila kugagesa
• Baada ya muda mufuti, Kalume akikala mukongo tha azhazie makimuhirika sipitali. Kalume wapimwa ni dhakitari akionewa were yo ndaniye ina minyolo. Dakitari wamupa mihaso ya kunwa kwa siku t’ahu. Baada ya siku t’ahu, Kalume wapata kabaha. Ahazie mamukanya Kalume kukala tha siku nyingine akipata maembe asigarye kabila kugagesa t’ot’ot’o

There was a boy who was very tidy. His name was Kalume. Kalume was loved by his parents.

One day Kalume was playing with his friends outside his house. His aunt gave him mangoes and he shared with his friends. His friends ate the mangoes very quickly. When they had finished, they remembered that they had eaten the mangoes without washing them.

 After a short while, Kalume fell sick such that his parents took him to hospital. Kalume was examined by the doctor who diagnosed him of having worms in his stomach. The doctor gave him medicine that he should take for three days. After three days, Kalume felt better. His parents warned him against eating mangoes or any fruits without washing them before eating.

Using folklore in local language teaching is a very suitable and attractive option for local language learners. This choice is very unique and produces satisfactory results in the development of the ability to collect local language vocabulary, especially Kigiryama language.

Preserving the Local Wisdom of the Agiryama Folklore

Local wisdom can be understood as a human effort by using the mind to act and behave towards something, the object, or events that occur. Imron also tried to examine the phrase local wisdom from an etymological point of view, so it is concluded that local wisdom is an explicit knowledge. One of the local wisdom that exists throughout the archipelago is the language and culture of the region.

Language is an important part of culture. As a tool of communication in society, local languages have an important role in maintaining the culture of a society.

Furthermore [6] local wisdom can be defined all forms of knowledge, beliefs, insights or insights and customs or ethics that guide human behavior in life within the ecological community, is the human intelligence possessed by certain ethnic groups acquired through peoples’ experience. To that end, local wisdom is the norm possessed by a particular society that is related to the view of life and knowledge and to regulate the relationship between man and God, man with man and man with nature.

Folklore has a very important position and function in its supporting society which contains the noble values of the nation, especially values or moral teachings. In every folklore, there is a variety of noble values to be emulated and learnt. A good example is the story about the disobedient child who did not heed his parent’s advice. The moral of the story is that a child should not be arrogant and disown his mother even though his condition might be better than his mother.

Folklore contains noble characters as a means to teach morals to children. The noble character that is contained in the folklore can be used as teaching material.

Disclosure of the wisdom of cultural values in folklore can be useful for improving the quality of cultural values understanding and also considered to have uniqueness because it is associated with the philosophy and a unique view of moral values of Agiryama

Socio-cultural identity of the Agiryama people comes from values, beliefs, and socio-cultural heritage The Agiryama can be referenced in behavior in daily life in villages areas. The cultural values in folklore can be reflected in man with God, Nature, Society, others and self. Like the following quote of folklore.

Muthumia Karisa were achenda kaya Giryama kila siku kuvoya koma za babaye na mameye ili apate ana. Mzee Karisa mbali na kuvoya were pia anamboza sadaka za uchi, unga nahata kutsinza kuku hedu mbuzi ho henye vigango zha koma za babaye na mameye [7].

There was a man who was called Karisa. Karisa would go to Kaya Giryama to pray to his ancestors of his father and mother for him to get children. Karisa would apart from praying he would also offer sacrifice by pouring libation, and give flour as well as slaughter a chicken or a goat as sacrifice to his ancestors. 

The quotation above illustrated that a man who wants a child, in addition to trying, also needs to pray to God and offer sacrifices to his ancestors.

Chaho Cha Vuu Na Jogolo Kukala Asena

Jogolo rinahendzana sana na vuu kwa kukala haho

kapindi jogolo ramwambira vuu kukala asihende

wasiwasi kala anarisa na usiku kwani 

rindamwavwiza.

Vuu akimuza jogolo akiamba, ‘undanavwizadze

musena?’. Jogolo rikiamba, ‘Kala kuhehi na kucha

nindaika. Bai nikiika undamanya kukala kudzacha

nawe unda uya muhoni. Bai vuu akikuluhira.

Kurikokala kuhehi na kucha, jogolo rikwera dzulu ya

 nyumba rikiika.

Bai vuu akimanya kuhehi na kucha naye achangira

muhoni.

Kula haho, jogolo na vuu ni asena hatha rero.

Why the Hippo is Friends with the Cock

Long time ago, the cock was a very good friend with the hippo. This is because the cock told the hippo that he should not worry when grazing at night for he would help him.

The hippo asked him, ‘How will you help me my friend?’

The cock replied and said, ‘When it is about to get to dawn, I will crow so that you will know that it has dawned and you will return to the river.’ So the hippo believed.

When it was about dawn, the cock climbed on top of a house and crowed. So the hippo knew that it was about dawn and entered the river.

From then on the cock and the hippo have been very good friends up to this day

The moral responsibility of the above story is to teach attitude and behavior of a person to carry out their duties and obligations that should be done. As a responsible and devoted friend, (the cock) to his friend (the hippo), he should help meet the hippo’s needs by crowing when it is about dawn so as to warn him early enough to get into the river before the human beings wake up and hunt him.

Folklore can be used as a teaching material. Many things are contained in folklore, in addition to attracting interest to read because the stories are interesting. Similarly, the values contained in folklore are also very suitable to be planted for future generations. Thus by utilizing folklore in learning, this can not only introduce the literature of the Agiryama people, but also preserve the Kigiryama culture.

Folklore, which is a great heritage of Agiryama society, when included in the educational materials, can provide fun, excitement, and enjoyment with the development of imagination, new experiences, the development of insight into human behavior, experience, language development, especially in enriching local language’s vocabulary.

Local languages learning especially the Kigiryama language must be able to motivate the community to be actively involved in learning activities. Some efforts made with language learning through folklore are packed with interesting activities to enable learners to not only stimulate creativity but also the desire to be able to love the Kigiryama literature, especially folklore.

The existence of the mother tongue in Kigiryama folklore if it continues to be maintained in the Competence based Curriculum, will improve innovation, it will make the Kigiryama language as a form of cultural wealth that can be utilized and also as a language existence itself.

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