Unrevealing The Symbolic Code Of Balochi Proberbial Discourse
Abstract
In this research work, entitled Unraveling the Symbolic Code of Balochi Proverbial Discourse, the symbolic meanings found in selected Balochi proverbs are analyzed and the importance of preservation of the cultural values and collective wisdom of the Baloch people through their proverbs are explored. Balochi folk literature includes many proverbs, which are short sayings containing moral lessons, social rules and traditional knowledge which are passed on orally. In the study, the qualitative textual analysis approach is used, and fifteen Balochi proverbs have been selected from the book ‘Batal, Matal by Sabir Sayad’ published by the Balochi Academy, Quetta. The analysis is carried out in Semiotics theoretical context, which is based on Ferdinand de Saussure, Charles Sanders Peirce, and Roland Barthes. The model of signifier and signified that Saussure developed, icons, indexes, and symbols that Peirce developed, as well as denotation, connotation, and myth in Barthes' work are used to shed light on the multiple meanings of these selected proverbs. The results have shown that Balochi proverbs are symbolic cultural texts which are used to convey several values and beliefs. Animals, objects, actions, emotions, and social relationship are used as symbols to represent notions like patience, knowledge, honor, friendship, responsibility, livelihood, fate, emotional control, and resilience. The camel, for instance, represents endurance, and responsibility; blindness represents ignorance; bread represents livelihood, and death represents the result of disgrace. The study also shows that the meaning of these proverbs is predominantly conventional and collective, that is, created by culture and community.
Keywords; Balochi proverbs, semiotics, symbolic code, cultural identity.
