A Sociological Study of the Culture of Development in Hawrami Proverbs

The present study investigates the culture of development in Hawrami proverbs. Analysis of development-related variables is the basis of sociology. As collective phenomena, proverbs are part of the oral culture of a society and their investigation can sociologically explain cultural and social foundations of the society. This research attempts to specify 6 development-related parameters in Hawrami adages combining the ideas of Max Weber and the current viewpoints in modernization theory. Documented data is analyzed through content analysis technique. Statistical population of the study includes 4500 Hawrami proverbs 299 cases of which are analyzed as they involve development-related variables. Unlike the prevalent outlook in modernization theory that anti-development components have a significant role in local communities like Hawraman, research results illustrate that pro-development variables in these proverbs are more than anti-development ones and that Hawraman’s underdevelopment stems from the inconsistency between development programs and social and cultural context of this society.