Exploring Hokmâ (Woman Wisdom) Metaphor in Proverbs 1-9 From a Sümi Naga Woman’s Perspective

Abstract

The reading and interpretation of the Bible has a significant place in Sümi life, because Sümi Christians accept the Bible as the sacred and infallible word of God. It is therefore vital to evaluate the impact that the Bible has on gender roles and relationships within Sümi culture, and to utilize an interpretive methodology and hermeneutic that pay attention to the gendered significance of these ancient texts. In this thesis, I will approach the biblical text of Prov. 1-9 with the Sümi conceptual metaphor of totimi kuchou (true or real woman) as my hermeneutical lens. The totimi kuchou concept of womanhood is a patriarchal socio-cultural construct that defines woman’s identity and experiences based on Sümi male-priority standards. This prescription of women’s experiences from the male vantage point is also evident in the poems of Prov. 1-9, particularly through the binarising of the female characters Hokmâ (Woman Wisdom), iššâ zärâ (Strange Woman), nokriyyâ (Foreign Woman), 뺚et rä` (Evil Woman), and 뺚et Küsîlût (Woman Folly). By employing a reader response methodology, I will first critically engage with my Sümi context, and then with the biblical text of Prov. 1-9. Drawing on my personal experiences as a Sümi Christian woman, and using a reader response methodology, I will consider the role the reader has in interpreting the text, whilst critically evaluating my own context. I will argue that both the Prov. 1-9 text and the Sümi context are gendered, their ideals and boundaries based on male experience. I will also suggest that the binary projection of women as good and evil in this biblical text also reflects Sümi understandings of women in both traditional and contemporary culture. Nevertheless, through a close analysis of the female metaphors in Prov. 1-9, I will argue that Hokmâ can still be regarded as a positive model for Sümi religious imagination and Sümi women’s empowerment. This, I will suggest, provides for Sümi a fresh religious imagination that will consequently impact on real-life gender relationships.