INTRODUCTION : A DISCUSSION OF 250 DEEP YORUBA (AFRICAN) PROVERBS BY Alaba J. Babalola

Excerpt from :  A discussion of 250 Deep Yoruba (African)  Proverbs

by

Alaba J. Babalola

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INTRODUCTION

Languages may come and inevitably become extinct, or they may be reduced in importance and usage, but the knowledge and wisdom encapsulated in them should not perish, so far as they remain useful to their speakers for human development.  

Yoruba language stands out from among the various tongues spoken on this planet in terms of creative linguistic techniques used deliberately to preserve elements of wisdom for the use of generations down the line. Obviously, great value was placed on the significance of the overall culture produced by the ancient Yoruba civilization which merited it for preservation in an era when the art of writing was little known.

Proverbs, or 'Owe' in Yoruba language is one of many verbal art forms in which the knowledge and wisdom of the ancient peoples are kept safely for posterity. Others include Ewi, Ikin, Oriki, Ijala, Esa and Rara, all of which are forms of poetry or rap with varying peculiarities and used in different circumstances.  And of course there is the Ifa Corpus, which is a magnificent liturgical body of wisdom and knowledge encompassing philosophy of life and traditional religious beliefs of the Yoruba people.  Many of the proverbs themselves either have their origin in Ifa or have been preserved by it for centuries as part of its coded secrets. 

In this book we deal with 'Owe', the root meaning of which is something used as a wrapper for something else. That something else could be an item of great value which needs to be protected and preserved.  In this case it is a speech form and technique meant to achieve quite a number of interesting linguistic purposes. Certainly there are thousands of proverbs in existence, but no one knows the exact amount at any point in time. Also, no one person knows them all. If you think you do, just then, someone will say a proverb you've never heard before. The truth is that they continue to grow in number as new ones are formed. 

In the proverb "Owe l'ẹshin ọrọ, ọrọ l' ẹshin owe, b' ọrọ ba sọnu, owe la fi nwaa, the essence of Yoruba proverbs in general is effectively revealed as the veritable vehicle for communicating multifarious ideas and deep thoughts in a convenient speech without using many words. This particular saying is a proverb within a proverb, which when translated into English literarily means 'Proverb is the horse of a word; a word is the horse of a proverb. If a word is lost, it is a proverb that we use to find it'. In other words, if a word is lost, a proverb is the horse we ride in order to find it. Conversely if a proverb is lost, a word is the horse we ride in order to find it. "Word" here refers to idea, opinion, wisdom or knowledge a person wishes to transfer in communication to another person in a mundane setting.  And "lost" can be in respect of a "word" which appears to have been forgotten, but in actual fact it is usually the case that, for a number of reasons, the idea to be communicated is better coded and minimized. This could be for lack of time needed to express it fully, or because it is partially understood by the person addressed, since it has been said too many times.  It might be a "word" that is better said in a coded language because it is socially objectionable, or the underlying issue is possibly embarrassing or defaming to the persons concerned.  In all of these cases and more where proverbs are used, the "word" is considered lost like a stray dog unknowingly roaming away from its home, but found and guarded back there by the fast speeding proverbial horse. Reference to a horse (a fast moving animal) in the proverb is meant to emphasize the expediency needed in that mode of communication. 

If you wish to pass a message or have a deep conversation with one person present in the midst of a thousand people about a specific matter to which you are both familiar, you can speak openly in proverbs without letting the rest 999 persons know the exact details about the underlying issue being discussed. Even If they too are adept proverb users, they can only have hints about what the conversation is all about.

Yoruba proverbs call for a good use of the intellect by the one saying them, to smartly select from thousands of stocked-up adages, and apply them spontaneously and appropriately as a parrallel for passing a desired message. It calls for intelligence in the hearer also, to understand unambiguously what is being said in order to take full benefit of it. This is why it is said in a common proverb which goes "l'owe l'owe la nlulu Agidigbo, ọlọgbọn nii gbọọ. ọmọran nii mọọ, meaning the Agidigbo drum is beaten in proverbs. It is the wise who can hear it. It is those full of understanding that can decipher it. Emphasis is on proverbs used in playing the kind of drum mentioned - Agidigbo. It produces a double coded message; one code from the drums and the other from the language of the proverbs.

Because of the living elements such as the profound verbal art forms and religious literature in Yoruba language, it is very unlikely that the tongue will become extinct or go out of fashion as some of its kind  did in the past. It may in fact gain further prominence as many foreigners embrace it now as the language in which their spiritual and religious beliefs are firmly rooted. Yoruba is spoken in many South and Central American countries including Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and so on. 

However, focus on our culture and heritage, which includes the language and its vital parts is waning among the new generation of indigenous Yoruba people due to the general orientation towards western ideals and practices caused by relevant historical experiences and resultant shifts in our consciousness. Children born and raised in the diaspora are likely to be more affected by this phenomenon, especially where Yoruba is not sufficiently spoken or emphasized in their homes and upbringing, as it is usually the case. So, we tend to have a situation where a vast number of our young people have a shallow understanding of their culture and mother tongue, with an increasing number of them knowing nothing at all of it by reason of their limited exposure to the language.

The most fascinating thing about Yoruba proverb is that as a body of wisdom covering virtually all areas of human behavior and life circumstances, they can, and are indeed systematically used traditionally for grooming adolescent children into responsible wise adults with balanced characters, They become members of decent families and captains of a truly civilized Yoruba society. So, if you find that Yorubas are respectful, courteous, hardworking, diligent, thoughtful, intelligent, considerate, accommodating and peace loving people, this is one of the reasons why. They are traditionally taught good behaviors and attitudes by their parents in gradual and consistent verbal tutelage through the use of proverbs.  A vast majority of those proverbs are still valid and useful for the purpose they have been employed for centuries.

There is a need to encourage our people in the practice of reading and writing Yoruba language in order to reform and develop it further as a standard vehicle for communicating ideas. As we do that it will become easier to use the language, and more importantly to explore its very rich constituent parts of which the proverbs stand tall. Modern coinage of proverbs may appear spurious because they tend to emanate from the argots of the underworld and street hooligans, but they do not only conform to the relevant basic structures, they are also generally very hilarious and poignant. They are indeed a formidable continuation of the old tradition.

The purpose of this work is to gradually present the body of knowledge it contains in a form that is attractive and understandable to contemporary men and women of Yoruba extraction "and their friends around the world". And this is exactly why we have written the book in English, a language that our people are already grounded in. Hopefully there will be translations of it into Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese languages - the tongues spoken by peoples who are likely to have interest in its subject matter.

This project contains 250 proverbs in all. Each is treated in a standard format within which it is translated literarily into English. One section of the format is the part styled "Teaser Thoughts", which summarizes the purpose and essence of the proverb being discussed.  It allows the reader to consider and reflect on it before looking at the other parts. Then, the exact Yoruba wording of the proverb is stated in a conversational rendition which allows for easy recognition and reading. The rest of the format contains profound explanation with relevant cultural traditions, folklores, illustrations and examples given where available, necessary or appropriate. The last section contains definitions of Yoruba words used in the text of the proverb. Learners and new speakers of Yoruba language should find this interesting and useful, I think, but it must be mentioned that the accent marks denoting the tone or pronunciation of Yoruba words are deliberately ommitted in this version of the book in order to reduce the complexity of deciphering their meaning. The English translation helps this purpose. Our approach is to expose the hidden treasures within the proverbs. Also,  the proverbs are presented in their traditional context which may be outmoded or archaic, but are also explained to show how they can effectively be applied to modern life. It is practically impossible to give all instances in which a particular proverb may be used because they are normally numerous and marked by slight intricate distinguishing nuances as they spontaneously manifest in real life, but, at least a good explanation is included for each proverb to aid an instant understanding of it.

The book may be used as a reference material, for personal study or for teaching of others. In each case, for best result, we suggest that the reader navigates each proverb by first looking at the Teaser Thoughts on it and then at the various components of the format we have used to explain it.

Happy reading!

Alaba J. Babalola.

Lagos. August, 2022

Note :

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