Expression of Agro-Ecological

Journal of Rural Development & Administration Vol. XLVII, No. 2 (July - December 2016)

EXPRESSION OF 1 AGRO-ECOLOGICAL WISDOM FOR FARMERS: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF PUNJABI INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM THROUGH PROVERBS Lubna Akhlaq Khan1, Umer Farooq Azam2, Aadila Hussain3

ABSTRACT The present research started from the presumption that Punjabi proverbs are rich with agricultural information and have a lot of guidelines for the farmers. When the research started, it was found that the area of Punjabi agricultural proverbs was still unexplored. A sample of 362 agriculture related Punjabi proverbs was collected, from a Punjabi dictionary of proverbs, Saa- day Akhan (Our Proverbs) (Malik, 2004). Through the use of purposive sampling, proverbs were chosen with the help of Punjabi farmers and the students of an agriculture university. The short-listed proverbs were then translated into English and divided into major and sub-categories based on their thematic content. Linguistic anthropology and Eco-Linguistics are used as theoretical frameworks. A mixed approach of using both the quantitative and qualitative methods has been applied for the analysis of the data. The findings of this research show that apart from the historical relevance of Punjabi agricultural proverbs, a lot of proverbs guide about various aspects of agriculture, such as proper time for sowing, use of fertilizers, plowing, hard work, selection of farms etc. Punjabi proverbs also foretell the weather on the basis of certain symbols and observations of the environment. Rainfall at the proper time and out of season rainfall affects crops very much. This research concludes that apart from historical relevance, Punjabi proverbs are rich with agricultural information even for the contemporary agriculturalists. These proverbs contain enormous information for farmers to gain good yield of crops so these agricultural proverbs should be made a part of the syllabus of the students of agriculture in order to sensitize the younger generation about the efficacy of these proverbs in the field of farming. Key Words: Proverbs, Agricultural wisdom, Indigenous Knowledge System, Guidance

1Higher Education Department, Punjab, PhD Scholar, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad., [email protected], 2MPhil Scholar, University of the Punjab, [email protected] 3University of Punjab, PhD Scholar, University of Gujrat, [email protected]

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INTRODUCTION Pakistan is such a blessed country which has been bestowed upon with four seasons. Farmers cultivate different crops according to these seasons. Punjab is the most important province, regarding agriculture, of Pakistan. It produces wheat, rice, sugar cane, and maize on a large scale. These crops are also exported to other countries. Besides, people keep cattle such as cows, buffaloes, oxen, etc. for getting milk and for the purpose of driving carts. Hence, agriculture is still one of the most popular professions for earning money especially in the villages of Punjab. Indigenous knowledge system comes into existence after the huge experiences, beliefs,and workmanship of the natives. This knowledge is the representative of natives’ insight and has a natural link to that society. Indigenous knowledge is preserved in different forms such as folk-tales, folk songs, and proverbs etc. and is transferred from generation to generation orally. This type of knowledge contains guidelines for every field of life including agriculture, medicine, religion, etc.Therefore, the livelihood of the oral narratives of such a society, where this knowledge is practiced, increases manifolds (Wutete, 2014). Punjabi proverbs are a huge resource for guidance in almost every field of life because they are the reflection of our ancestors’ wisdom and experience. Being the major profession of Punjab, agriculture has an important place in Punjabi proverbs. Instructions about field sand crops, predictions regarding rainfall and guidance about choosing seeds are among the common information found in the proverbs (Singh & Dorjey, 2003; Singh, 2012; Narayan, 2016; and Kim, Vaswani, Kang, Nam & Lee, 2017). Yet this significant facet of Punjabi proverbs is so far unexplored, this paper, the agricultural aspect of Punjabi proverbs would be analyzed. This paper will try to answer the following questions: 1. What type of guidance about agriculture is found in Punjabi proverbs? 2. How do Punjabi proverbs deal with weather and crop seasons? 3. How do Punjabi proverbs deal with the profession of agriculture?

LITERATURE REVIEW The word ‘Punjab’ is a mixture of two Persian words ‘punj’ and ‘ab’ which give the meaning of ‘five’ and ‘water’ respectively. Thus Punjab gives the meaning of a land consisting of five rivers. This land has been assaulted by many foreigners including Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Turks, Arabs, Sikhs, etc. This piece of land holds a distinguished history in South Asia (Khan, 2009). Punjabi is a widely spoken language both in the east and west Punjab. After the

2 Journal of Rural Development & Administration Vol. XLVII, No. 2 (July - December 2016) partition of 1947, east Punjab went into the possession of India and west Punjab became the part of Pakistan. Punjabi language is on the eleventh number among those languages which are widely spoken all over the world. According to the cen- sus of 2008, 76, 335, 300 natives of Pakistan speak this language which becomes 44.15% of the populace. While 29, 109, 677 Indian speakers use this language which aggregates nearly 2.83% of Indian populace (Rahman, 2017). Proverbs are transferred from one generation to the other and no one knows about their real creators. A proverb is the manifestation of huge wisdom. Brevity and rhythmic form of a proverb helps a listener to memorize it even in one listen- ing (Trench, 1861). There exist such proverbs which carry implied and denotative as well as connotative meanings. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze such proverbs in the related context and culture to get the exact meanings of them (Meider, 2004). Proverbs are used for different purposes in a society. They have guidance for different fields of life. Ahmad (2005) points out the various themes mentioned in Sudanese proverbs such as relationship, patience, silence and speech, class and caste difference, friendship, uniformity and women’s inferiority. He also compares these proverbs with English proverbs and finds out similar themes in them. Prov- erbs also show the behavior and bent of mind of people of a certain area. Khan, Sultana & Naz (2015) have declared the gender biased aspect of Pakhto proverbs. Khan (2017) has highlighted such Punjabi proverbs which target gender. The results of this study manifest that the women in Punjabi society are depicted as inferior, dependent and idle creatures through these proverbs. On the other hand, men are portrayed as courageous, wise and superior to women. In the past, people used to foretell about weather by identifying strange par- allels between different things and environmental changes. Folklores including proverbs preserved such experiences. Golakia (1992) has reflected on such proverbs related to Saurashta communities and arrived at the conclusion that folklores are rich with predictions of rainfall and monsoon. Agriculture-related folklores of Orissa have abundant information for cultiva- tors such as proper timings of plowing, seeding and appropriate distance between seedlings (Mohanty & Rout, 2002). Folklores of Orissa also provide guidelines to gain good harvest from horticulture and olericulture (Mohanty, Dash & Dash, 2008). Folklores are guidelines which come into existence after the acute observation of ancient people regarding the cattle and they are delivered from forefathers to their children. Orissa proverbs identify certain characteristics of the cattle and help the farmers to select them before buying. Even in this new farming age, these are still functional for the poor farmers of Orissa (Mohanty, 2003). Mohanty

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(2004) has also analyzed Orissa proverbs in the context of choosing livestock and found the same results. But in both the studies, findings are generalized on the basis of inadequate data. There are only 15 proverbs in the first research upon which the findings are declared. Similarly, the results of the later research are also stated on the basis of 25 Oriya folklores which do not seem to be sufficient to be claimed as an adequate data. Through discussion and interaction with talented farmers of Yadav community, Singh & Dorjey (2003) have collected and analyzed agrarian proverbs but the collected data is very limited. These proverbs show the predictions regarding rainfall, instructions about field proceedings, information about choosing seeds and their suitable ratio in a field and grafting. He manifests the ratio of the use of these proverbs among people through figures. Narayan (2016) has also declared similar results in his study of Indian proverbs that these proverbs are loaded with agricultural knowledge but he has not mentioned any kind of methodology and data collection tool in his study. Singh (2012) argues that the Punjabi proverbs related to agriculture carry similar worth not only in history and science but also in the current South-Eastern Punjab. The results of his research are also a proof of the usefulness of agricultural proverbs in different farming aspects and manifest various reasons of drought including money-mongers’ lustful attitude. These proverbs also guide farmers about selecting good cattle while buying. The conclusion of the study shows the indifferent attitude of new generation towards the effective face of proverbs which is a very depressive situation. Pareek & Trivedi (2014) have studied such proverbs of Rajasthan, India, which are related to environment and plants. Such proverbs show the experience and observation of wise men about the changing climatic situation and its effects on trees and woods. But the researchers have not properly mentioned any methodology and any kind of data analysis tool in this study. Dagnew & Wodajo (2014) have analyzed Kafa proverbs and discovered that farming and forests are the prominent aspects of these proverbs. These proverbs motivate farmers to adopt a positive and active role to advance in agriculture. Forests play the role of farms for cultivation and have huge reverence among the natives. Adugna (2014) also affirms these findings after analyzing Oromo proverbs. But total proverbs are not mentioned and the proverbs which are mentioned in the description of people’s concern about trees and forests are very limited. Findings are generalized over the limited data. Ecoliteracy contains traditional knowledge related to ecology. Korean proverbs are the effective means to convey this knowledge because most of them are the compositions of actual knowledge which deals with issues related to trees

4 Journal of Rural Development & Administration Vol. XLVII, No. 2 (July - December 2016) and forecasting rains. Such Korean proverbs which are related to the prediction of rainfall show an association with animal expressions, environmental situation or “with seasonal knowledge of the farmer’s traditional lunisolar calendar used in China and Korea” (Kim, Vaswani, Kang, Nam & Lee, 2017). In this study, a survey of university students is a novel strategy, used by the researchers, to know their knowledge about the traditional proverbs. The results indicate that the students who attended ecological classes and those who spent more time in the com- pany of their elders had better knowledge of the proverbs than others. Bandyopadhyay, Bhattacharya, & Chakraborti (2017) have explored the sayings of Khana which suggest such ways which are effective, inexpensive, healthy and safe for the environment, for the farmers of Bengal to get excellent yield from the crops and fruit plants. Modern ways of cultivation are out of approach for the poor farmers. Therefore, organic fertilizers hold great value in getting optimum production and have attested their importance in the Khana’s sayings. But in this age of technology, inorganic fertilizers are becoming more popular among the farmers. Bengali proverbs contain such elements which are related to environmental discourses such as farming, seasons, nature, etc. Pal & Mohamadi (2017) state that such proverbs deal with both the straightforward and connotative meanings. But data analysis techniques are not mentioned properly. The total number of proverbs dealing with this subject is not revealed. Therefore, the possibility exists that the findings of this study are not based on the objective and authentic analysis. Punjabi proverbs are a rich source of agrarian knowledge which is still unexplored. A number of studies have been done about the agricultural aspects of proverb of India, Africa, Bangladesh, and Korea but there exists a huge gap in the research about the agricultural aspects of Punjabi proverbs. The present study would focus on these aspects of Punjabi proverbs and would try to fill this gap prevailing in the existing paremiology.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Linguistic anthropology and Eco-Linguistics are adapted for the theoretical framework of this research. There exists a deep relationship between language and culture. Linguistic anthropology is in fact “the study of language as a cultural resource and speaking as a cultural practice” (Duranti, 1997). It reveals the effects of language on culture and how ideas, convictions, social communication, cultural identities and other cultural aspects are influenced by language and vice-versa. Proverbs are the reflection of a culture in which the social, economic, religious, historical and living aspects of a particular nation come forward before the read- ers’ eyes.

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Eco-Linguistics is also adapted for this research because it demonstrates the relationship between language and environment. Eco-Linguistic studies the anal- ogy among the speakers, languages,and environment and how language and environment influence each other. Language is deeply connected with the people and the environment in which it is spoken because a language can never come into existence without the collaboration of people and environment. It is the reflection of values and ideologies of a particular environment in which it is used. Social practices and environment affect languages.Any kind of change in the environment affects language because language and environment are closely interlinked with each other. Language cannot be judged individually. It is shaped by a whole community and therefore language shows the ideologies of the people of that society. Agriculture is one of the prevailing professions of Punjab. Most of the population of rural areas of Punjab is attached to farming and cattle rearing for the purpose of earning a livelihood. Therefore, Punjabi language encloses a lot of specific words which are directly or indirectly related to agriculture and farming. Punjabi proverbs arerich with such agricultural wisdom and information for farmers and also show the traditional practice of people that how they used to interpret about weather and agriculture and especially their practice of making predictions about rainfall.

METHODOLOGY A mixed approach of using both quantitative and qualitative methods is used for this research. This research is exploratory and descriptive in nature. Relational analysis, which is one of the basic methods of content analysis, has been used to analyze the selected data. Quantitative analysis is used to know the percentages of proverbs related to different aspects of agriculture such as historical relevance, fields and crops, advice about crops, weather and its effect on crops. The statistical value of these proverbs shows the significance of the profession of agriculture in Punjab. Qualitative analysis is done to uncover the various aspects of agricultural wisdom and to make different thematic categories of the selected proverbs. The data of proverbs was collected from a collection of proverbs Saday Akhan (Our Proverbs) consisting of 12000 proverbs by (Shahbaz, 2004) Firstly, through the use of purposive sampling, 615 proverbs were identified. Later on, with the help of 4 experienced farmers and 4 students of agriculture, 362 proverbs were selected, on the basis of their usability, currency, and guidance for farmers in the present age. Secondly, the selected proverbs were arranged into 4 major groups: historical relevance, fields and crops, advice about crops, weather and its effect on crops. Later on, these major groups were further divided into sub-categories on the basis of various themes featured about agriculture. These proverbs were then tran-

6 Journal of Rural Development & Administration Vol. XLVII, No. 2 (July - December 2016) scribed and translated into English and analyzed under different sub-categories. As the limited scope of this paper does not allow a comprehensive discussion of all the proverbs, therefore only sample proverbs are analyzed and discussed to highlight almost all the important facets of agriculture.

DATA ANALYSIS Quantitative Data Analysis Firstly, proverbs were divided into four major categories i.e. historical relevance, fields and crops, advice about crops, weather, and its effect on crops. Then these major categories were further divided into sub-categories. Percentages have been brought out to identify the principal significance of these agrarian proverbs in Punjabi society.

Table 1: Major Categories of Agricultural Proverbs:

Major themes No. of Proverbs Percentage Historical relevance 44 12.15% Fields & Crops 120 33.15% Advice about crops 78 21.55% Weather & its effect on 120 33.15% crops Total 362 100%

A total number of 362 Punjabi proverbs, which were related to agriculture and weather, were identified. Out of which 33.15% were related to field and crops.

Table 2: Historical Relevance:

Major Sub-themes No. % Total Themes No. % Historical Use of bullocks 21 47.73% Relevance Cattle selection 23 52.27% 44/362 12.15%/100%

Coincidently, the same ratio of proverbs dealt with weather and its effects on crops. Secondly, 21.55% of total proverbs provided guidance about crops. Third- ly, 12.15% proverbs discussed the historical relevance regarding agriculture. Over- all, 12.15% proverbs have historical relevance in which 52.27% are related to cattle selection and 47.73% are associated with the use of bullocks. Nowadays, the bullocks have been replaced by the modern machinery and

7 Journal of Rural Development & Administration Vol. XLVII, No. 2 (July - December 2016) techniques so these proverbs which mention the use of bullocks and their collection and buying can be seen as a reference towards historical practices adopted by the farmers in the near past.

Table 3: Fields & Crops:

Major Sub-Themes No. % Total Themes No. % Significance of Agriculture 16 13.33% Agriculture as a Difficult profession 10 8.33% Plowing 30 25% The proper time for sowing 16 13.33% 33.15%/ Fields&crops Irrigation 8 6.67% 120/362 100% Crop protection 13 10.83% Farm preparation 16 13.33% Distance between rows 3 2.5% Crops’ diseases 8 6.67%

Out of 362 proverbs, 33.15% proverbs are related to fields and crops.Under this category out of 120 proverbs, 25% are related to plowing, 13.33% are related to each of the categories of proper time for sowing, farm preparation and significance of agriculture, 10.83%, 8.33%, 6.67%, 6.67% and 2.5% proverbs are related to crop protection, agriculture as a difficult profession, irrigation, crops’ diseases and distance between crops, respectively.

Table 4: Advice About Crops:

Major Sub-themes No. % Total themes No. % Advice about Hard work 38 48.72% 78/362 21.55% crops Seeds 4 5.13% /100% Manuring 8 10.26% Selection of 28 35.90% farms

Proverbs also provide guidelines about crops and such proverbs are 21.55% out of a total percentage of agricultural proverbs.Out of these proverbs 78 proverbs, 48.72%, 35.90%, 10.26% and 5.13% proverbs are related to hard work, selection of farms, manuring,and seeds respectively.

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Table 5: Weather & its Effects on Crops:

Major Sub-themes No. % Total themes No. % Prediction of rainfall 41 34.17% Rainfall and its good effect on 55 45.83% Weather & crops its effects on Out of season rainfall and its 120/362 33.15% crops effect on crops 16 13.33% /100% Fog and its effect on crops 5 4.17% Sunshine and its effect on crops 3 2.5%

Proverbs which predict weather and its effect on crops are (120) 33.15% in which 45.83% proverbs tell about the rainfall and its good effect on crops, 34.17% proverbs are associated with the prediction of rainfall, 13.33%, 4.17%,and 2.5% proverbs are related to out of season rainfall and its effect on crops, fog and its effect on crops and sunshine and its effect on crops, respectively. Quantitative analysis shows the relevance of proverbs about different aspects of agriculture and also affirms the findings of earlier researchers in this field (Narayan, 2016; Singh, 2012; Singh & Dorjey, 2004).

QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS 1- Historical Relevance (a) Use of bullocks i. Budhyan dhagayan di wahi, uggan dabh tay kahi (Shahbaz, 2004) (Plowing with old bullocks gives only weeds and grass). ii. Dhan gaiyo da jaya jis sara mulak wasaya (The credit goes to the bullock which becomes the cause of society’s existence). The bullocks were used for plowing and by plowing land, the yield of crops in- creased that became the cause of a society’s existence. Therefore, the real credit is given to the bullock in these proverbs. Nowadays, the use of bullocks for plowing has been replaced by tractors and other agri-machines. (b) Selection of cattle: i. Runn bhaeri, dand dabba, eh ki kito ei meraya Rabba (A bad wife and a multi-colored bullock, what has God done with me?) ii. In this proverb, it is advised not to buy a bullock which has a multi-colored body.

9 Journal of Rural Development & Administration Vol. XLVII, No. 2 (July - December 2016) iii. Zameen Meera tay dhagga nahra (The land of Meera [land which is the mixture of clayey soil and sand] and a bullock which has high horns are admira- ble). iv. Kund banki maheen suhay, kun bankay ghorian, moch banki ghabru suhay, nar suhay gorian (The buffalo which has a strong waist, the mare which has curved ears, the man with a nice moustache and the women with fair com- plexion are commendable). v. It means that one should prefer the buffalo which has a strong waist and the mare which has curved ears while buying. vi. Gaio trijay mool na lijiye, majh panjay tay ghar injay (A cow which has bred thrice should not be bought while a buffalo which has begotten for five times, can be purchased).

2- Field and Crops (a) The significance of agriculture: i. Uttam khaiti, mudh bapar, nakhid chakri, bheekh nadar (Farming is a super-class profession, trading is a middle-class, service is the third-class profession and begging is of no value). ii. Punjab di rahi tay dudh di malai sada laha wandi (Cultivation in Punjab and the cream of milk always prove to be beneficial). Cultivation and cattle breeding are the prominent professions of Punjab. iii. Wahi badshahi, na jammay tay phahi (Husbandry contains high value but if it fails to produce a good crop, it creates difficulties). (b) Agriculture: a difficult profession i. Karsyona na mar na najyona (In agriculture, a farmer resides between life and death). Agriculture is a strenuous profession and a farmer suffers a lot in this profession. ii. Na karan khaiti na bharan dun (Do not do tilling and be safe from the penalty). Tilling is not an easy task. iii. Hul wah pathian nu jana, jatt di jyun buri (A farmer has to go for reaping fodder after plowing the land, he lives a miserable life). (c) Plowing i. Bohti howay wah, palee khata na ja (It is impossible to be fruitless after plow-

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ing the land many times). ii. Harhi so Harh wahay (If a person wants to gain a good spring harvest, he ought to plow his land in the month of Harh [4th Punjabi month that happens in June & July]). iii. Mildian day saak wahndian dian bhoain (Relatives are who visit each other, the land belongs to one who plows it) iv. Harh sona, sawan chandi, Bhadro sikka, Asoo Katte jeha jutta teha na jutta (Plowing the land in the month of Harh [4th Punjabi month that happens in June & July] proves to be precious like gold, in the month of Sawan [5th Punjabi month that happens in July & August]; it proves to be valuable as that of silver, in the month of Bhadro [6th Punjabi month that happens in August & September]; it proves to be worthy as that of lead and plowing in the month of Asso [7th Punjabi month that happens in September & Octo- ber] and Kattee[8th Punjabi month that happens in October & November] proves worthless). (d) The proper time for sowing i. Beejeen Poh tay hatheen khoh (A farmer should not hold the hope for an abundant yield from his crops if the seeds are sown in the month of Poh [10th Punjabi month that happens in December & January]). ii. Har harhay tay Sawan charay (It is appropriate to implant in Harh[4th Punja- bi month that happens in June & July] and give abundant fodder to cattle in Sawan [5th Punjabi month that happens in July & August]). (e) Irrigation i. Pani daay paer saway (Water is necessary for greenery). ii. Crops cannot grow and flourish without being watered. iii. Jehda waggy khal ohnu ki akhay kal? (The famine will never be harmful to that farmer who has his own flowing channel). (f) Crop protection i. Bohti kheti bohat dun, thori kheti bohat unn (One has to pay penalty for sowing excessive crops, while one gains abundant corn from limited crops). If a farmer wants to be benefited from his crops, he should sow crops as much as can be looked after in a proper way. ii. Khaiti rakhay warr nu tay warr rakhay kheti nu (The crops protect a hedge and the hedge protects a crop). A farmer should build and protect a hedge around crops and as a result of that the hedge will also give refuge to crops and save crops from the animals.

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(g) Farm preparation i. So saiyyan tay ek sohaga (p. 255) (Hundred times plowing and one time har- rowing). It is necessary to draw a harrow over land even after plowing it hundred times ii. Khait gia ja pae piaji, ghar gia ja pae biaji, ropia gia ja pia wiaji (Piaji [a type of weeds] destroys fields, money earned through interest eradicates a house and money given to someone on interest should be considered as a lost one). (h) The distance between the rows/plants of crops Til virlay, jaun sanghanay, dango daang kapah, laif di bukkal mar ke challian wich di jah (There should be distance among the plants of sesame-seed, barley seeds should be sown densely, the distance of a stick among the plants of cotton is necessary, while there should be enough distance among the plants of maize that a person can easily pass through them wrapping a quilt around him). (i) Crops’ Diseases i. Bari khaiti kamadi, guddi laggay ta haay barbadi, jay laggay tan laggay Bhadro, juon janain tu dryain fasadoo (The crop of sugarcane proves to be profitable but in the month of Bhadro [6th Punjabi month that happens in August & September], a worm named guddi becomes the cause of its huge destruction). ii. Tiddi da aona kal di nishani (The arrival of locusts foretell a famine’s arrival). Locusts destroy the crops and damage the grains. Therefore, its arrival is the declaration of starvation.

3- Advice About Crops (a) Hard work i. Jinni godi oni dodi (The more you dig your land, the more you get the harvest). Hard work is the key to gain a good harvest. ii. Dab kay wah tay ruj kay kha (If a farmer wants to be saturated with food, he ought to plow his land many times). A farmer can only flourish if he works hard. (b) Seeds i. Changa bi paween bhawain Cheen tuo mangaween (Even if you have to import seeds from China then do it, but always scatter good seeds in your farms).

12 Journal of Rural Development & Administration Vol. XLVII, No. 2 (July - December 2016) ii. Wadia beej te bohta jhara (Seeds of good quality give abundant yield). (c) Manuring i. Ikkay wah ikkay pah (Fertilizers should be used after plowing the land). ii. Jinnay buray pao gaay ona ei chaarh wadhao gaay (Use of maximum compost in a field results in maximum harvest). iii. Tray chizan mull, hul, jul, taymulh (Take hold of three things; plough, water, and compost). (d) Selection of farm i. Darya da hamsaya na bhukkha na dharyaya (The land which is situated on the bank of a river, its neighbor can never be hungry or thirsty). The land near the bank of a river is fertile and plays a very important role in the progress of its owner. ii. Rapper rahwan magaz khpawan (Start plowing in a hard land and be disturbed mentally). iii. Kalrathi bhoain rahin tay hasal mitti chahin (Tilling in the saline soil gives nothing).

4- Weather and its Effect on Crops (a) Prediction of rainfall i. Lal rung umber dissay jhabday minh wrhay (It will rain when red color appears on the sky). ii. Uttar melay, pura wasaey, dakhan wasday nu vanjaey jad dakhan wasaey ta jul thul pani da banaey (The North mixes the clouds, wind blowing from East makes them rain. The South makes the clouds go but when the clouds from South start to rain then there will be a heavy rainfall). iii. Purab ghina wey uttar wasavay (When the clouds go from the East to North, it will rain). iv. Chardion baddal lahnday jaey ik pakandi char pakaey (When the clouds move from the East to West, it will rain. Therefore, bake four pieces of bread in- stead of one). v. Veer war di jhari undar raho wari (If it starts raining on Thursday then it will continue for several days). vi. Hala paway din charhay hali hal wah dharay (When a rainbow appears during the daytime, the cultivator should plow the land). It will not rain when a rainbow appears during the daytime.

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(b) Rainfall and its good effect on crops i. Barsay adh harh ta bhray bhandar (When it rains in the middle of Harh[4th Punjabi month that happens in June & July] then the crops will be abundant). ii. Barsay Phaggan doon chawagan (Rainfall in Phaggan [12th Punjabi month that happens in February & March] will quadruplicate the crops). iii. Sawan pia choaey kapah bohti hoaey (If it rains continually during the month of Sawan [5th Punjabi month that happens in July & August], it will increase the cotton crops). iv. Meenh pia Chaitran na maway khaitri (If it rains in the month of Chait- er[1st Punjabi month that happens in March & April], it will double the wheat crops). v. Wassay Assoh anaj di moj (If it rains in the month of Assoh [7th Punjabi month that happens in September & October], it will intensify the yield of crops). (c) Out of season rainfall and its effect on crops Meenh Wasakh wasavey, pakki fasal gawavey (Rainfall in the month of Wa- sakh [2nd Punjabi month that happens in April & May] causes the destruction of mature crops). (d) Fog and its effect on crops Pakki fasal tay kora pia, sitta ek na sabat rehya (If fog lapse the mature crop, there will not exist any spike of that crop). (e) Sunshine and its effect on crops Suraj tappay khaitri pakkay (When the sun rises to its height, the crops will ripen).

DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS Apart from history, proverbs are the representative of contemporary culture and ideology of the certain nations. Agriculture is the most prominent and ancient profession of Punjab. Punjabi oral literature generally and proverbs specif- ically are rich with guidelines for this profession. This genre is the representative of ancient wisdom about agriculture (Singh & Dorjey, 2004). Most of the people living in rural areas of Punjab belong to this field. Cultiva- tion had been the most worthy profession for the earning of a livelihood.Through the use of the theoretical framework of Eco-Linguistics, the relationship between Punjabi culture and Punjabi language is explored. Punjabi proverbs are the depic- tion of Punjabi culture and agriculture is deeply embedded in this culture because

14 Journal of Rural Development & Administration Vol. XLVII, No. 2 (July - December 2016) most of the population of Punjab is related to this profession. Therefore, Punjabi proverbs contain such important agriculture-related information which is the reflection of ancestral wisdom about farming. Not only in the past but also in the present, many people belong to this profession: uttam khaiti, mudh bapar, nakhid chakri, bheekh nadar (Shahbaz, 2004) (Farming is a super-class profession, trading is a middle-class, service is the third-class while begging is of no value). Narayan (2016) has delineated the importance of this profession by describing an Indian proverb: “Agriculture is the only profession because of that a person cannot be a beggar. Anyoneengaged in agriculture can become king of the world” (p. 61). But this profession is not an easy one. Farmers have to sacrifice their other responsi- bilities and have to do hard work: hul wah pathian nu jana jutt di jon buri (A farmer has to go for reaping fodder after plowing the land, he lives an abject life). Cultivation demands a lot of hard work. If a farmer pays proper attention to his fields, does hard work and plows his land abundantly, only then he can expect agood harvest from his crops: dab kay wah tay ruj kay kha (If a farmer wants to be saturated with food, he ought to plow his land many times). Singh (2012) has highlighted the need for ‘self-cultivation’ and plowing the land for getting a good yield of crops. The selection of a good farm is the basic and significant step to gain a good production. A field which is hard and concrete can produce nothing:rappar rahwan magaz khpawan (p. 220) (Start plowing in a hard land and be disturbed mentally). Similarly, the selection of a fertilized land would be a cause of the prosperity of the farmer. Punjabi proverbs highlight the importance of fertilizers’ use in a farm: ikkay wah ikkay pah (p. 52) (Fertilizers should be used after plowing the land). Bandyo- padhyay, Bhattacharya, and Chakraborti (2017) also affirm the importance of the use of fertilizers’ in a field, expressed in Khana’s sayings. The preparation of farms including irrigation, weeding, plowing is needed for the growth and protection of crops: khait gia ja pae piaji, ghar gia ja pae biaji, ropia gia ja pia wiaji (p. 302) (Piaji[a type of weeds] destroys fields, money earned through interest eradicates a house, anda money given to someone on usury should be considered as a lost one). Therefore, the weeds should be removed from a farm. Indian proverbs also manifest the need for the preparation of fields (Singh &Dor- jey, 2004; & Narayan, 2016). In the past, bullocks were used for plowing. Therefore, a number of proverbs describe the importance of healthy bullocks in plowing the land and also guide in the selection of cattle while buying them: runn bhaeri, dand dabba, eh ki kito ei meraya Rabba (p. 224) (A bad wife and a multi-colored bullock are not good). Oriya proverbs also guide a farmer in the selection of cattle “bullock with black or brownish

15 Journal of Rural Development & Administration Vol. XLVII, No. 2 (July - December 2016) body color are unsuitable for fieldwork due to their intolerance to persistent ex- posure of sunlight” (Mohanty, 2003, p. 71). According to Eco-Linguistics, language is related to people and the environment. Therefore, Punjabi proverbs also show the practice of ancestors of predicting about the rainfall and the effects of rain and change in the weather on the crops. In the past, people used to predict such things on the basis of their experience and proverbs convey their experience and wisdom to the next generation. The effect of sunshine and fog on crops is also expressed in these proverbs. Punjabi proverbs also describe the good and bad effects of proper-timed and out of season rainfall on crops, respectively: barsay adh Harh ta bhray bhandar (p. 81) (When it rains in the middle of Harh (4th Punjabi month that happens in June &July) then the crops will be plentiful); meenh Wasakh wasavey, pakki fasal gawavey (p. 355) (Rainfall in the month of Wasakh [2nd Punjabi month that happens in April &May] causes the destruction of mature crops). Because Wasakh is the month of harvesting wheat crops, therefore rainfall creates problems for both the crop and farmers. People used to predict about rainfall after observing environmental changes e. g.: lal rung umbar dissay jhabday meenh wrhay (p. 25) (It will rain when red color appears on the sky). Golakia (1992) has also pointed out such proverbs related to communities of Saurashtra e.g. “If the sky is reddish then there will be heavy rain, if the sky is faint yellow then there is less hope of rain” (p. 5). These proverbs are the indigenous source of information regarding cultivation which comes into existence after a hard and fast experience of the local people. Agriculture is one of the significant professions of Punjab and the prosperity of the farmers lies totally on the production of crops. If they succeed to gain a good harvest from their crops, they will be able to fulfill their basic needs and if they fail in getting a good yield from their crops, they will be unable to do anything. A proverb dealing with this reality demonstrates the condition of a farmer who has got a good harvest from his crops: teelay pakkan tay kaj rachan (p. 133) (When the crops ripen, marriages are settled). It establishes that the pleasures and joys of farmers are directly linked with the production of crops.

CONCLUSION Punjabi proverbs are a huge source of information regarding agriculture because agriculture has been the most prominent profession of Punjab. The present study concludes that Punjabi proverbs are not only the representation of history but also encapsulate very pertinent guidelines for the farmers to gain an abundant yield from crops. Being the indigenous source of information, Punjabi proverbs also represent the traditional way of forecasting about the weather. They manifest the results of proper-timed and out of season rainfall on the crops. They guide the farmers about the proper time for sowing, irrigation, using fertilizers, and

16 Journal of Rural Development & Administration Vol. XLVII, No. 2 (July - December 2016) plowing, etc. These proverbs are in fact the reflection of ancestors’ experienced views and facts about crops but are losing their value with the passage of time because of the indifference of the new generation towards this traditional source of agricultural guidance.

RECOMMENDATIONS With the passage of time, people have adopted an indifferent attitude towards Punjabi language. Because of which, they are unaware of the importance and usefulness of the indigenous knowledge especially of proverbs. To make the younger generation informed about the usability of Punjabi proverbs in the field of agriculture, certain agriculture-related Punjabi proverbs should be included in the syllabus of agricultural students. Researchers should pay attention to explore further guidance embedded in Punjabi proverbs related to other fields such as economics, politics, ethics, etc.

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