Abstract:
This paper is concerned with the age-set joke among the Borana community. It analyses direct face-to-face interaction between two male age-mates who take turns to exchange witticisms and topical comments composed for the purpose of teasing one who is in effect a peer-cum-friend. The age-set joke recounts a man 's deeds with a slant. It seeks to entertain the audience by focusing an the misadventures of the man and bringing them out for laughter. Men are ridiculed for not being clever enough, wily or for making daring attempts where none are called for. Wooing of women is viewed like hunting from which a man cannot come out empty-handed. Humour is derived from a situation where the man is being outwitted, from failure to win in the game of wooing, irresponsible behaviour, and inability to sustain relationships. Similarly, age-mates chastise greed and unconventionality in social relations Through joke, the weakness of a friend ‘s mistress is revealed, a revelation on which he is expected to reflect and renegotiate his position vis-a-vis the narrative. In this world of the amorous young men, it is not immoral to have extramarital sex,- it is feminine not to, and it is a weakness to be caught. The joke is a mirror that reflects a man ‘s dented image for remedial attention, whether the weakness exposed is in eloquence or inelegance for which he is denied justice or favours from women. Thus the joke-teller friend becomes a kind of moral conscience whose claims serve to trigger moral introspection on the part oft he butt.
