Critical Essay

Why must proverbs be explained to you after they are said?

Are you not a Yoruba? Why must proverbs be explained to you after they are said? (Nigeria)

A proverb is the horse of conversation: when the conversation lags, a proverb will revive it. (Yoruba, Nigeria).

A wise man who knows proverbs reconciles difficulties (Yoruba, Nigeria).

Proverbs are the daughters of experience (Sierra Leone).

The significance of the art of public speaking (oratory) and influence on the society. The traditional linguists at the courts of the traditional rulers are known for their rhetorical powers.

Folk tales and the power of narration - morals and informal education of the society, especially children. The art of story telling is learned - occasion for communal activity as a form of entertainment and enactment of historical events, drama, poetry (funeral dirges, honorific appellations, etc.).

Traditional religious ceremonmies - rituals and pouring of libation - incantations - ancestral worship rites, etc.

Ceremonies such as marriage rites, riddles, songs, etc.

Proverbs feature in almost every aspect of traditional African life.

African authors (Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Wole Soyinka, Ola Rotimi, Ayi Kwei Armah, Kofi Anyidoho, Ama Ata Aidoo, Afua Sutherland, Camara Laryea, Mariama Ba, etc.) use African proverbs to enrich their works.

Children's literature (fables, folktales, etc.) cannot do without proverbs, which are regarded as the core of knowledge.

Metaphoric representations conveyed through proverbs become useful sources of knowledge.

Main figures in the proverbs - human beings, animals, Nature, the spirit world.

Proverbs relate to abstract issues (death, laziness, envy, love, power, wealth, poverty, strength, weakness, mood, etc.).

Lessons intended - either to praise, condemn, exhort, persuade or dissuade action. Warning, advice, admonition, curse, or blessing are also implied whenever proverbs are used.

Common themes that the societies cherish:

- patriarchy/male chauvinism

- gender issues (demeaning females): "Mothers-in-law are hard of hearing (Democratic Republic of Congo); "Woman without man is like a field without seed." (Ethiopia); "A home without a woman is like a barn without cattle," "A silly daughter teaches her mother how to bear children," and "Saying that it's for her child, she gets herself a loaf of bread" (all from Ethiopia); "If you marry a woman at a pub, you will divorce her at a pub" (Ewes of Ghana);

- Reference to the use of Parables by Jesus Christ to teach lessons to his own people - using common and known substances as common points of reference but couching the utterance in coded language that must be broken down before comprehension is assured: To crack the nut before reaching the kernel.

- Reference to Jesus' sayings: "When the heart overflows, it comes out through the mouth" (Ethiopia) is similar to Jesus' "Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks" (....)

Problem of Translation: Loss of the nuances of these proverbs in the course of being translated from their original African languages into English or any other language which doesn't have the required linguistic resources to adequately represent the notions inherent in the original constructions. The impact is great because the exact impression is watered down by the translation difficulties. The constructions presented here must be viewed against this background though they make sense when read. My contention is that these proverbs can be better relished if presented in their original nuances and unadulterated conditions. These limitations are noteworthy as far as cross-cultural issues in linguistic representations are concerned.

What you see here is the result of intercultural convergences at the linguistic level and the impact on concepts. How do we adequately represent original concepts from one language to the other without losing their original nuances?

Some of the proverbs are common to the various ethnic groups on the continent, indicating that the influence of proverbs is pervasive. Proverbs know no boundaries.

NB: For example, we have "In a court of fowls, the cockroach never wins a case" (Burundi/Rwanda), which translates into "The fowl is never right in the court of hawks" (Ewe proverb in Ghana)...................... (Nigeria).

Another instance is shown by "When two dogs fight over a bone, the third one that passes by just picks it and walks away" (Ghana/Nigeria), which is similar to "Two birds disputed about a kernel; when a third swooped down and carried it off." (Democratic Republic of Congo).

A third example comes from the Akans (Ghana) ("If you want to know what death looks like, ask sleep") and the Democratic Republic of Congo ("Sleep is the cousin of death.")

What can we learn from this attribute of proverbs - ubiquity - in the African situation?

Rwanda and Burundi give us a peculiar situation - the Hutu-Tutsi divide in both countries: two ethnic groups occupying two different countries. The Hutus and Tutsis are the dominant population groups in these two countries and make Rwanda and Burundi share common features in terms of proverbs. Artificial political boundaries created by the colonizers have not wiped off the cultural ties between the indigenes occupying the separate countries.

In the same sense, the Ewes of Ghana, Togo, and Benin share similar cultural attributes and have similar proverbs.

Any difference in the substance of these proverbs (according to the various regions - West, East, Central, North Africa)? What does it tell us?

Does geography also affect the nature of the proverbs?

Significance of the proverbs -

(i) each community cherishes its body of wise sayings which serve as pointers to how rich its language is;

(ii) user of proverbs is acclaimed as knowledgeable (wise) in the traditional sense since only those who can combine proverbs with ordinary speech are those who command respect in the traditional societies of old;

(iii) Proverbs as the language of the Chief's Court - to be there, you must learn how to use them and speak as is done in that discourse community;

(iv) Appellations enunciated through traditional "talking drums" and interpreted by only a few who understand the language of the drums (source of honor and prestige/pride to the individual interpreter of drum language);

(v) Indicator of a good and reliable memory (vi) Generational differences - only those who spent time with the "old" ones in the community could be taught proverbs - indication that the user is not "tainted" by modern linguistic influences.