*Photo: Prof Kehinde Yusuf*
According to a 28 July, 2021 article by Ruben Balanta titled, “Why is Folklore Day commemorated in Argentina?” in Calendario Argentina.com, “On August 22, 1960, the First International Folklore Congress … took place [in Buenos Aires, Argentina] …. In this event, representatives from more than 30 countries met [and] agreed with UNESCO to declare this date as World Folklore Day.”
With respect to the meaning of the word, the Ghana Folklore Board states: “As defined in the UNESCO Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore (1989), “folklore (or traditional and popular culture) is the totality of tradition-based creations, of a cultural community, expressed by a group or individuals … Its forms are, among others, language, literature, music, dance, games, mythology, rituals, customs, handicrafts, architecture and other arts.”
It is to the language and literature components of this definition that proverbs belong. Proverbs are usually short, often-repeated, witty statements borne out of an observation of individuals, societies and natural phenomena. A proverb often starts as a literal statement arising out of that observation, and then becomes metaphorical when it is applied to contexts outside the one in which it originated. While proverbs are items of folklore, they also express opinions about other forms of folklore. Proverbs are therefore a huge store of cultural beliefs and attitudes and an invaluable source of cultural knowledge.
Proverbs tend to be erroneously regarded as verbal artefacts and a store of antiquated knowledge. However, their vitality even in modern day communication is becoming increasingly manifest whether it’s in today’s popular music, politics, mass media, science and technology, medicine, business and the teaching and learning process, just to mention a few.
In the continuing celebration of World Folklore Day 2025 on Friday, 22 August, this column today looks at how different academic and professional disciplines and practices are a source of a variety of proverbs and how these proverbs continue to be applicable outside the domains from which they were created. For the purpose of sharpening the focus of the discussion, the examples to be considered will be limited to Yoruba proverbs of southwestern Nigeria, but the insights would certainly have significance for the proverbs of other languages and cultures.
Sociology, the study of human societies and their interactions, is an area that has been a source of proverbs. One proverb derived from this source is: “Báyí ó wù kí imú alágbàse ó gùn tó, eni t’ógbe oko fun un lògà è.” (‘However long the nose of a labourer may be, it’s the person who gave them the farm to tend who is the boss.’) This proverb deals with labour relations and underscores the need for employees to know the limit of their rights and authority, as they relate with their employers.
In other words, whatever superior knowledge or skills the employee may possess they are still subordinate to the will and authority of the employer. This proverb is often used to admonish a subordinate, even outside the employer-employee context, to moderate their assertiveness when relating to their superior or benefactor.
Some Yoruba proverbs also derive from the field of economics. One of them is: “Òwò kìí fún òwò lórùn. (‘One business enterprise should not strangulate another.’)
This proverb is related to the principle of competition in economics. Such competition promotes innovation by producers, efficiency by marketers and the lowering of product prices to the benefit of the consumers. Undermining such salutary trends by any of the players through the attempt to kill or demarket competitors would therefore amount to an unfair and condemnable business practice that should attract due punishment in well-regulated markets to protect the respective victims.
In its metaphorical application, this economic proverb is used to admonish people who are in competition in whatever human endeavour or who are merely co-existing in a shared environment to avoid hostile actions against their co-actors or co-occupants. This counsel is based on the understanding that, as another Yoruba proverb puts it, there’s enough space in the sky for birds to fly without colliding (‘Ojú òrun tó eye fò láì fara kanra.”) It is therefore a piece of advice to people to keep away from avoidable conflicts.
The field of agriculture has also contributed to the stock of Yoruba proverbs. An example is: “Ògèdè ló wo kòkó yè, kó tó d’igi burúkú.” (‘It’s after nursing the cocoa seedling to maturity that the banana starts to be seen as a bad plant.’) In other words, the bigger banana plant is used by farmers to protect the vulnerable cocoa seedling from the vicissitudes of the weather and the farm. Thereafter, as the cocoa plant has matured and gained resistance, the banana plant is cut off to yield more space to the cocoa plant.
This agricultural proverb is usually invoked metaphorically when people decide to harm those who protected them or their associates in the vulnerable moments of the ingrates or those associates.
Proverbs are also drawn from mathematics – the science of numbers. An example, is “Ènìyàn méta ò dúró ní méjìméjì.” (‘Three people cannot stand in two pairs.’) The mathematical principle underlying this proverb is that a pair consists of two things. So, to have two pairs, there has to be a minimum of four things. As such, if you have only three things, you can only have one pair plus a single thing. In other words, if you have three people, they cannot stand in two pairs.
This proverb can be used to underscore the impossibility of realising a desired goal. It would within that context be an invitation to face reality.
Physics has also provided opportunities for creating proverbs. One example of such proverbs in Yoruba society is: “Lááláá tó r’òkè ilè ló n bò.” (‘Whatever goes far up comes down in the end.’) The principle which this proverb enunciates is that of the “pull or force of gravity”.
A simple description of this principle, by Science Learning Hub, is as follows: “Gravity is a force that attracts all objects towards each other – every object with mass pulls on every other object with mass. When a person jumps off a chair, the person is attracted to the Earth and the Earth is attracted to the person. The Earth moves a tiny distance towards the person as the person moves towards the Earth. However, the forces are quite small, and it takes a great deal of mass to exert an easily detectable force.”
The proverb is therefore used, for example, to remind a person who occupies a position of authority that just as the force of gravity pulls objects to the ground, time will bring those who are in elevated positions to the ground. Such a pull could be conditioned by the fact that tenured positions come to an end. The proverb therefore cautions occupants of such high-up positions to be careful in the exercise of their temporary authority. The proverb is also used to encourage the victims of, for example, an over-bearing boss to endure the difficulty, since the oppressor’s period of power will inevitably end.
Engineering has also been a source of proverbs. One subfield which is relevant for proverbs is metallurgy. According to the New World Encyclopedia, “Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements …” The Yoruba proverb of note in this regard is: “Tí irin bá kan irin, òkan á tè.” (‘When an iron encounters an iron, one will bend.’)
This metallurgical proverb relates to the aspect of engineering called “strength of materials”. According to The Efficient Engineer, “Strength of materials, also known as mechanics of materials, is a branch of engineering that deals with the behavior of solid objects when acted upon by [other] objects.” In other words, as explained by Nuclear-Power.com, “In the mechanics of materials, the strength of a material is its ability to withstand an applied load without failure or plastic deformation. The strength of materials considers the relationship between the external loads applied to a material and the resulting deformation or change in material dimensions.”
The principle underlying the proverb is similar to that of the common folk saying “Power pass power.” It is used outside the field of engineering to warn that one tough person or group would surrender to or be subdued by a superior one, as happens, for example, when a strong football team or political party is defeated by a stronger one. The proverb is also used to explain a situation in which the defeat has already taken place.
The medical sciences have also been a veritable source of proverbs. For example, with respect to obstetrics, the sub-field which deals with pregnancy, childbirth and related issues, this proverb exists: “Pípé títí aláboyún kò kojá osùn mésán.” (‘However long a pregnancy may be, it cannot exceed nine months.’) In creating this proverb, Yoruba society was not oblivious of pre-term babies who are referred to as “Kíyèséní” (‘Watch the mat.’) This name is based on the relative smallness of the children born before nine months. The society is also not oblivious of children born beyond the nine month standard who are referred to as “Omópé” (‘The child was late in coming.’)
In its metaphorical application, the proverb is used to exhort people to be patient when they are expecting something with high anticipation or when they are experiencing some form of difficulty. In this regard, the proverb would be assuring that what is expected would come in due course.
Proverbs are a versatile form of folklore. They appear everywhere and deal with every subject. Since human societies in different locations have vast areas in which they are similar, due to the commonality of human experience, an appreciable number of proverbs of different languages may be similar, corresponding or relatable. Proverbs are also variable due to changing circumstances. So, a single proverb in one location may have more than one slightly or radically differing versions. When locations differ, the proverb variations may be more pronounced.
Proverbs are didactic; that is, they teach. They are also entertaining due to the different rhetorical devices employed in their creation. They have been called the palm oil with which words are eaten, and have been referred to as the horse of speech with which lost words or messages are found. Proverbs could be comforting, but could, on the other hand, be nasty. In fact, they could, for example, be misogynistic (that is, propagating female-demeaning messages) or even genocidal (promoting racial hatred and destruction).
Proverbs therefore need to be given significant attention in the programmes of Nigeria’s Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, in the light of the increasing global recognition of the value of folklore, and as we continue to celebrate World Folklore Day 2025.