I present some proverbs that I found and really liked while reading Amadou Hampâté Bâ’s books. I consider them timeless and insightful in such a way that they give a glimpse into the traditional African thinking and wisdom.
1. The people of the person are multiple in the person.
Every human being has different characteristics, forces, desires, goals and aspirations. The human mind is very multifaceted and hence, depending on the circumstances, the influences of people, the impact of the environment, our experiences are affected; each of us can exhibit different aspects of his character, good or bad given the setting. Another African saying tells us that everything has a diurnal and a nocturnal face; the same goes for people. I think this proverb beautifully illustrates how the African wisdom understands the complexity of the human nature.
2. As long as man has not finished to put in order the worlds, forces and personas inside of him, he will always remain ordinary, unrealised.
Within a person’s mind, there are different desires and needs. There are many directions, many paths. We may feel overwhelmed as each desire wants to take over, as we do not know which path to take, how to be wise enough to make the right choices. Therefore, to achieve to build our personality and character, we need to rule over and discipline our desires, feelings and emotions. This can only be accomplished over time through experience, especially learning from the others but also from our mistakes. This takes courage, determination, wisdom and maturity to go through this path of self-discovery and learning to master discernment.
Connecting this proverb to the one cited above, we need to understand that we would always be hesitant and fearing in society as long as we do not find peace within ourselves, reaching that state of mental and emotional health. If we lack this inner stability, any event or situation that does not go as planned can shake us, any person can easily offend us with her words or lack of consideration since we would not be aware of our worth. In fact, a similar proverb says that as long as a person does not have peace within herself, she cannot be at peace with the others. That’s why spirituality is very important in one’s life. Beyond any religion, since these are the creation of man, spirituality is a real and deep connection with God. Having scattered desires will always prevent us to focus on what is essential and make concrete and actual plans to find our purpose and bring something valuable to others. We would just endure and be subjected to life, to this element of fatality; blaming the system, rejecting the fault on the others thus not taking action to actually start something.
3. When a goat is present, nobody can bleat on her behalf.
Amadou Hampâté Bâ used this proverb to state his point of view regarding the African history viewed and told by the Europeans without any real consultation of the African wise men and traditionalists. This is an important statement and stake that he took in the sense that the history of a population should be told by this population itself given that some aspects of the tradition and culture can only be understood when viewed from the mindset of the people who elaborated and instituted it. As an example, Animism has been explained by the Europeans as a bad practice against the principles of Christianity whereas in reality, this practice and the rituals that go with it assume and believe in the existence of a unique God, creator of the universe. They see the beauty of God in every creation present in the nature; they worship the creator through the creation. They assume that in every creation, there is a parcel of the Divine power. They regard every creation as sacred; before cutting any tree, they would have rituals to explain why the tree is being cut off and make amends. Also, before killing any animal for food, they would have similar practices. They do not address God the creator directly since they think of them as not worthy and too further off; that’s why they use intermediaries to address their queries to God. In the same way, they misrepresented the Voodoo religion in occidental productions; they framed a religion and lifestyle based on love and communal values into a witchcraft and dark magic practice. These decisions were more political and ideological than of any religious or humanist order. These were mainly to justify colonisation and the occidental civilisation, imposed as the superior one.
4. Nobody can put a hat over a person’s head when that latter is not present.
This proverb was also stated in the same context as the third one.
5. A piece of wood can stay as long as you want in the river but it will never be a caiman.
This aimed at the people within the local populations who during colonisation tried to totally assimilate to the French culture denying their own traditional values and beliefs. This behaviour arose mainly from the inferiority complex that grew inside the populations during colonisation because of the cultural alienation through the distortion and criticisms of certain traditional practices and rituals [see proverb 3]. These criticisms were not based on actual proofs but were only serving political and ideological agendas.
Looking at it with the evolution of science, archaeology and the mainstreaming of historical discoveries, more and more people better understand the great legacy that the African civilisation, starting in Ethiopia and Egypt, brought to the world in terms of mathematics, astronomy, astrology, arts and spirituality. You can refer to Cheick Anta Diop’s and Philippe Omotunde’s books for more information.
6. An old man sitting on the floor sees farther than a young man perched on a tree.
This relates to the African wisdom and philosophy teaching. It mainly calls the young generations to adopt a more attentive attitude towards the elders and wise men since these have a wider range of experiences from which they can learn. This resonates more in our actual society where young people think they know everything and thus are not inclined to listen to parents or people who can better direct them. However, there should be dialogue with more openness and less taboos between both generations to reach some understanding and proximity.
7. Work for the life of this world as if you were to live forever but also work hard for the other life as if you would die tomorrow.
This calls back highly religious and naive people to tell them that praying the majority of their time is not the complete solution to their problems. Prayer is needed, prayer is necessary but to prayer, they should add a plan of actions. They should work even harder than the others to achieve their dreams and add value in their sector.
Moreover, our good deeds should not be led by the fear of some after-life punishment but rather, they should be driven by love [see in relation to proverb 10 explanation]. We are encouraged not only to work hard but also to help people in precarious situations and always act with integrity and honesty in every circumstance.
8. A full vase cannot receive more fresh water.
To be able to learn from the others and not offend them in the delivery of their teaching, it is more advantageous to be silent and listen, take as much as we can and then ask questions. Most of the time, in conversations, people like too much exposing what they know instead of listening to what the others have to say; they may be more knowledgeable but more reserved, so it is always good to give people the opportunity to talk and express themselves. Some related sayings state that to be able to learn, one must forget what he already knows so as to put himself in the position of a student because if one knows that he doesn’t know, he will know but if one doesn’t know that he doesn’t know, he will never know.
9. Everything that we have, we owe it once to our father but twice to our mothers.
Fathers are responsible for giving the semen to conceive a baby but the mothers are the nutritious nests were the seed develops and forms before being delivered to the world. Once in the world, the mother is again responsible to nurse and nurture the baby from the milk that gives him food to the chest that gives him comfort and peace. Hence, a father can be absent but a mother is essential for a complete and healthy earlier development of a child.
10. Beware of what you throw in the pond of life.
This proverb advises us to live a righteous life, to help and serve people in need without necessarily waiting for them to ask. African tradition is deeply rooted in communitarianism. It also teaches that every action has a consequence and no matter how long, it can come back, may it be good or bad. Therefore, it is really important to consider and respect the others no matter their social status because it doesn’t have any meaning, especially in the old civilisation and structural hierarchy.
References
Amadou Hampâté Bâ
· Aspects de la civilisation Africaine or Aspects of the African civilisation
· Amkoullel, L’enfant peul or Amkoullel, A Fula child
· Oui mon commandant! or Yes, my commander!
Go deeper
· If you understand French, go check on Youtube the interviews of Amadou Hampâté Bâ about oral tradition in Africa and of Amadou Seydou on African culture, traditions and philosophy.
· Cheick Anta Diop, Nations nègres et culture or Negro nations and culture
· Jean-Philippe Omotunde, L’origine négro-africaine du savoir grec
7. ''Work for the life of this world as if you were to live forever but also work hard for the other life as if you would die tomorrow.''
8. ''A full vase cannot receive more fresh water.''
Love them !