How we think, behave and react to issues are what we have in stock in our
proverbs. In my own words, I would simply say our proverbs portray our ways of
life and our judgments. We do not live outside the terrains of our proverbs.
The proverbs are open-ended, unlike in some other countries where they
have a number of recorded proverbs which will constitute all the proverbs they have;
ours is different. Apart from the fact that Yoruba as a tribe has a huge number
of sub-tribes whose proverbs vary from place to place having proverbs peculiar
to them, we also have a wide variety of ways by which we use the proverbs which
make them all encompassing and tenable in all situations. Few examples will be
discussed below:
1. Bẹ́ẹr’ọ́lẹ, ẹ pèé l’ólè, bó ní
kí l’òún gbé? Ẹ ní kí ló ń jẹ-If you see a lazy man call him a thief, if he asks
what he stole, ask what he eats.
This proverb, although a bit humorous, yet it is an obvious fact. When a
man meanders the streets in a typical traditional Yoruba society and his job is
not known, such a man is seriously observed. This proverb does not
stand solely on the premise of observation but also taking a further confrontational step to
know about his means of sustenance. As it stands, one feasible deduction from
such an act is that the level of co-existence in Yoruba society is high and at
that, terrible vices we hear about today is curbed to its lowest level in our traditional society.
2.
Adìyẹ
ì bá lọ́kọ́, ìbá f’àkìtàn se nǹkan-If a hen had a hoe, it would make something out of
a rubbish dump.
A
vivid look at this line of thought will most definitely create a picture of a
local hen searching the ground with its claws. The real truth is that hens (mostly
local hens) really do a great job while at the search for food items like ants,
crumbs and any other thing they could find in/on the ground. They make use of
their claws; they search and search until they get what they could pick with
their beaks. Intuitively, another related proverb strikes the mind at this point.
The proverb is often used in prayers, songs and everyday discussion. It goes
thus:
B’ádìyẹ́ bá fẹsẹ̀ wa’lẹ̀ a rí ohun tó ń wá-Whenever a hen
scratches the ground, it sees what it seeks. This further buttresses
the point raised in the first proverb
I
would not say I have done anything concerning Yoruba proverbs in this write-up
other than introduction. More importantly, it is affirmative that much is still
going to come up on their origins, semantics, pragmatics and their types/usage in
Yoruba socio-cultural society.
Ire
o!
