The Effects of Bullying: A Comparison of Northern Sotho Folktales and Real Life Situations
Seleka Maria Tembane 
Issue: Vol.6 No.7 Article 6 pp.1022 – 1030
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2025676 | Published online 18th June, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Bullying occurs when an individual is subjected, repeatedly over time, to negative actions perpetrated by others who possess greater physical, social, and intellectual power. Bullying is an extremely challenging situation for anyone. It induces feelings of dread and degradation and frequently makes one feel worthless. Since time immemorial, bullying has been a common practice in all societies and this is reflected in folktales. This article addresses the danger of bullying and its impact on real-life situations as compared with situations in folktales. The present article analysed the manner in which folktales might offer lessons on the consequences of bullying, such as moral and social punishment, and how these lessons might influence societal attitudes toward bullying in the Northern Sotho-speaking community. The Functional Attitude Theory was employed as a framework because bullies in the folktale and in real-life situations adopt attitudes that are essential to their psychological benefit. Data was analysed using a descriptive qualitative approach. Secondary data such as published books, dissertations, articles, and theses were used as methods of data collection. The study revealed that there are different lessons employed in folktales to prevent bullying in societies. It is therefore recommended that additional works of literature in African languages be produced to educate societies about the possible negative effects of bullying. This study might shed light on how cultural narrative-shaped attitudes can be used to lessen bullying. Employing storytelling as a teaching method in schools may aid in dispelling unfavourable preconceptions or antagonistic attitudes that contribute to bullying.
Keywords: Bullying, Societal Attitudes, Physical Power, Negative Actions, Social Punishment
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Dr Seleka Maria Tembane is a lecturer at the University of South Africa (UNISA). She is lecturing Sesotho sa Leboa to undergraduates and Honours students. She supervises Masters and Doctorate students. To develop and encourage multilingualism, she has translated documents (from English to Sesotho sa Leboa) for many institutions. Amongst her translation is a Sesotho sa Leboa novel Megokgo ya Bjoko by O.K Matsepe to English ‘Tears of the Brain’. Dr Tembane’s specialised fields are: terminology development, sociolinguistics and traditional literature. She has presented papers in conferences and published an article in an accredited journal. She is an external moderator and examiner/assessor of several higher institutions and act as a reviewer of accredited journals. She is a member of Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) as Sesotho sa Leboa NLB and serve in SaDiLAR as Sesotho sa Leboa terminology quality assurer. She has published one article in an accredited journal and one book chapter. She has read papers in SAFOS and ALASA conferences.
Tembane, Seleka Maria. “The Effects of Bullying: A Comparison of Northern Sotho Folktales and Real Life Situations,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no.7 (2025): 1022 – 1030. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2025676
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
