Yoruba Proverbs

The proverb is an important aspect of speech in Yoruba language. It is less used now than in earlier generations of our people. This is because today we speak in English and other languages more than we speak in Yoruba. The proverb was an essential part of communication in those days because of the high value placed on its usage as a linguistic technique for achieving a number of clever feats in verbal expressions. It is also a repertoire of wisdom and understanding, and one of the major vehicle for imparting behavioral knowledge to the young and adulescent children for their mental development. Our parents raised us at home on the proverbs(and other oral traditions) in a continuous systematic tutelage -without classrooms - from toddler to adulthood. All of that  counted for who we became as human beings and good members of our society. Someone said "If you find that Yoruba people are respectful, courteous, hardworking, dilligent, thoughtful, intelligent,  considerate, accomodating and peace loving people, this is one of the reasons why". He was referring to the system  by which they were traditionally raised.

It may appear that we will lose the Yoruba language, but for some good reasons, that is not likely to happen. However, we will definitely lose the knowledge and wisdom kept in the proverbs  as the new generation of Yoruba people can barely understand the superficial aspects of the language, not to talk of the deep things like the provebs.

The purpose of this  page is to start and continuously remind us, and the generations down the line, of the deep Yoruba proverbs that were used by our forebears, many of which are still valid and useful. We will have to explain them in a way that can be understood by most people, and hopefully by doing so we can preseve a good number of the proverbs with such value added to them for posterity.

And why write Yoruba in English? Because it is the major language spoken by our young people today, and one through which thei