Òwe: Proverbs and the Architecture of Yorùbá Argument
What Yorùbá proverbs do in speech and in law, and a worked collection of more than forty proverbs in original, literal gloss, and idiomatic English.
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What Yorùbá proverbs do in speech and in law, and a worked collection of more than forty proverbs in original, literal gloss, and idiomatic English.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
òwe na proverb, and for Yorùbá speech e no be ordinary decoration but na move inside argument . Proverbs get authority because people dey take dem as judgment wey don gather from past generations, no be just wetin the person wey dey talk think, and to use one dey shift argument from wetin I think go wetin people don always know. To sabi use òwe well na major sign of adult competence, and people dey expect elders make dem dey use am talk.
The Yorùbá saying about proverbs na proverb on top im own, and na the natural place to start .
Òwe l'ẹsin ọ̀rọ̀, bí ọ̀rọ̀ bá sọnù, òwe ni a fi ń wá a.
A proverb is the horse of speech; when speech is lost, the proverb is what we use to hunt for it. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, unreviewed
Na the compiler of this corpus do this translation from the Yorùbá text as e dey inside Ìsáàc O. Delano, Òwe l'ẹsin ọ̀rọ̀: Yoruba Proverbs, Their Meaning and Usage . The rendering wey Delano publish for the same proverb na "a proverb is a horse which can carry one swiftly to the idea sought"
The metaphor na about to hunt on top horse, no be transport. When meaning don lost for inside conversation, you go climb proverb ride follow am. The way Delano translate am smooth am make e be like statement about speed, and e lose the hunt entirely; this one na clear example of how idiomatic translation fit drop the picture just to carry the main point. Ọ̀rọ̀ wide pass "speech": e cover word, matter, affair, and the issue wey dem dey discuss, so "when the matter is lost" still make sense well and fit even dey better. Most times na only the first line people dey quote from the proverb, and na the full three-line form dey explain why dem dey use proverbs at all.
Òwe dey work for different levels at the same time .
Dem get authority. Proverb no dey point hand to one person. The person wey dey talk dey step aside make judgment wey dem inherit talk, and na why proverbs dey work well for dispute where people for reject person personal opinion.
Dem dey use dem settle matter. Yorùbá proverbs dey work inside dispute settlement and for how traditional courts dey reason matter, where elder fit use proverb frame case and show the correct outcome without say the elder go give direct naked ruling .
Dem dey teach without calling name. Correction wey come as proverb dey allow the person wey dem correct keep im dignity, since dem no mention the person specifically.
Dem dey pack plenty meaning together. Proverb dey hit point sharp pass ordinary statement, and na why ethnographers don treat proverb collections as useful evidence about values .
Dem dey show competence. To drop the correct proverb for the correct time dey show say person understand culture well, and to do am well na skill wey people dey respect on top im own.
The scholarly corpus plenty well well. Oyekan Owomoyela im Yoruba Proverbs (University of Nebraska Press, 2005) gather 5,235 proverbs with English translations and notes on how to use dem, wey e collect for over forty years, arranged by theme under the good person, the fortunate person, relationships, human nature, and rights and responsibilities, with heavy introduction . Delano earlier Òwe l'ẹsin ọ̀rọ̀ still remain standard reference . Readers wey want deeper tin pass wetin dey this file suppose check Owomoyela.
The proverbs wey dey below dey presented inside the three-layer format wey this corpus require . The Yorùbá texts dey well attested for collections and for ordinary use. Unless dem name published translator, na the compiler of this corpus do the literal gloss and idiomatic translation, wey work from the Yorùbá. Where Owomoyela or Delano publish translation wey clearly different, dem note the difference. Confidence on top each translation: medium, inside the clear sense say the Yorùbá texts dey secure and the translations na the compiler own instead of named scholar own. Tone marking dey follow standard orthography; some proverbs dey circulate for dialect variants with different words.
Ìwà l'ẹwà.
Character is beauty. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, unreviewed
Notes. As dem explain for yoruba-etymology-and-word-formation, ìwà stand on top wà, to exist, so e mean both character and being. Therefore the proverb still dey talk say "existence na beauty" and "wetin something be, na im beauty." English must choose one. The way ìwà and ẹwà almost rhyme dey carry the point for the sound, and that one don lost completely.
Ìwà rere l'ẹ̀ṣọ́ ènìyàn.
Good character is a person's true adornment. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, unreviewed
Notes. Ẹ̀ṣọ́ na decoration inside the sense of wetin person dey put on make people see am well. The proverb agree say people dey decorate themselves, but e move the decoration go inside instead of make e reject the idea.
Ọmọlúàbí kì í ṣe ohun ìtìjú.
A person of good character does not do shameful things. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, unreviewed
Notes. Ọmọlúàbí na the central Yorùbá ethical ideal, wey dem conventionally analyse as ọmọ tí olú ìwà bí, the pikin wey the chief of character born. That analysis na traditional one wey people dey repeat plenty; make una treat am as received etymology instead of something wey dem don prove.
Bí a bá ń gé igi nínú igbó, kí a máa fi ọ̀rọ̀ sí ọ̀rọ̀ lẹ́nu.
When we are felling a tree in the forest, let us keep asking whether it should be felled. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Di idiom fi ọ̀rọ̀ sí ọ̀rọ̀ lẹ́nu mean to dey discuss mata continuously, to dey consult as una dey go. Di proverb dey advice say make person dey deliberate as action dey go on, no be only before e start.
Ọ̀rọ̀ sí ọ̀rọ̀ ni ń mú ìjà wá.
One word on top of another is what brings a fight. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Di way e dey work na escalation, and dem dey use di proverb take stop argument instead of to blame anybody for am.
Ẹnu ni ń pa ẹja.
It is its mouth that kills the fish. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Fish dey use im mouth swallow bait and na dat one dey kill am. Dem dey talk am about person wey im own talk destroy am. E short and nobody fit argue am, na dat one be di whole point.
Àgbà kì í wà lọ́jà kí orí ọmọ tuntun wọ́.
An elder is not present in the marketplace while a newborn's head sits crooked. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Di picture na pikin wey dem carry for back anyhow. Di proverb dey make am clear say position of authority dey come with duty to step in, and dem dey use am take rebuke elders wey see bad thing and keep quiet.
Bí ọ̀rọ̀ bá dùn, à á fi ẹnu sọ ọ.
If a matter is agreeable, it can be settled by talking. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Dùn mean sweet, and by extension e mean something wey dey pleasant or easy to handle. Dem dey use am take push for negotiation instead of force.
Sùúrù ni baba ìwà.
Patience is the father of character. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. As dem use Baba for here, e mean di main or di number one thing for dat category, no be say na literal parent. Dis kind structure dey appear across Yorùbá proverbs and na one of di commonest reasons why people dey translate am too literally with mistake.
Ẹni tí ó bá ní sùúrù ni yóò fi wàrà kìnnìún ṣe oògùn.
Only the patient will make medicine from a lion's milk. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Task wey impossible dey become possible with patience. As dem choose lion milk, e dey show say di difficulty dey extreme, no be just say e hard normal hard.
Kò sí ohun tí ó ṣòro tí kò ní ìparí.
There is nothing difficult that does not have an end. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Bí a kò bá jìyà ọjọ́ kan, a kò lè jẹ àlàáfíà ọjọ́ méjì.
If we will not suffer for one day, we cannot enjoy peace for two. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Jẹ àlàáfíà, literally to chop peace, dey treat wellbeing like something wey person dey consume. Àlàáfíà itself na Arabic loan word, from al-ʿāfiya, wey enter through Islam, and e don become completely ordinary Yorùbá.
Àìsàn tí a ń wò ni kò gbọdọ̀ pa ni.
The illness under treatment is the one that must not kill you. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Dem dey talk am about problem wey dem don identify and dey work on. To fail for problem wey you know worse pass to lose to problem wey you no know.
Ọwọ́ ọmọdé kò tó pẹpẹ, ti àgbàlagbà kò wọ akèrègbè.
A child's hand cannot reach the shelf; an elder's hand will not fit into the gourd. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. One of di most-cited Yorùbá proverbs and clear statement about how different capacity dey complement each other. Neither party get capability pass di other on di whole; each fit do wetin di other no fit do. Dem dey use di proverb take argue say young people and old people need each other, and e dey reject di idea say elders just sabi pass.
Àjèjì ọwọ́ kan kò gbé erù dórí.
One hand alone cannot lift a load onto the head. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Di practical example na to carry load for head, wey really require second person to lift am and set am well. Di proverb dey talk about work wey no be just say e dey easier with help, but e impossible without am.
Bí ọwọ́ bá wẹ ọwọ́, ọwọ́ á mọ́.
If one hand washes the other, both hands come clean. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Notes. Yorùbá no mark plural here, so the last ọwọ́ cover the two hands at once for way wey English go need spell out. Na mutual benefit, no be the English meaning of corrupt reciprocity.
Ẹnìkan kì í jẹ ọba kí ó máa pe ara rẹ̀ ní ọba.
No one becomes king by calling himself king. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Notes. Na other people dey give person authority. The proverb touch Yorùbá kingship direct, where na kingmakers dey install ọba, no be say person go declare imself.
Ilé la ti ń kọ́ ẹ̀ṣọ́ rọ̀de.
It is at home that we learn the conduct we take outside. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Notes. Ẹ̀ṣọ́ again, dressing as character. The proverb put responsibility for public behaviour on top the household.
Ẹni tí a bá jọ ń ṣe ni à ń pè ní ọ̀rẹ́.
The one we act together with is the one we call a friend. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Notes. Na wetin people do together dey define friendship, no be just feelings.
Àgbà tí ó jẹ àjẹsílẹ̀, ohun tí ó fi ń ṣe ni yóò fi ṣe.
An elder who eats what should have been kept must live with what follows. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Notes. Àjẹsílẹ̀ dey talk about food wey person chop instead make dem keep am. Dem dey use am for short-sighted consumption by people wey suppose know better. Dis proverb dey circulate for different forms and dis reading na one of the few ones wey make sense; confidence on top the gloss dey lower pass most entries here.
Kò sí ẹni tí ó mọ ohun gbogbo.
No one knows everything. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Ọ̀gbọ́n ju agbára lọ.
Wisdom is greater than strength. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Notes. The comparative ju ... lọ na the standard Yorùbá construction for to pass something, wey literally mean "surpass ... go."
Ẹni tí kò mọ̀ọ́ jó kò gbọdọ̀ pe ìlù ní ìkà.
One who cannot dance should not call the drum wicked. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Notes. Ìkà na wickedness or cruelty, and to use am for drum na intentional nonsense, and na there the joke dey. To blame the instrument for wetin person body no fit do.
Bí ọmọdé bá ṣubú, a wo iwájú; bí àgbà bá ṣubú, a wo ẹ̀yìn.
When a child falls he looks ahead; when an elder falls he looks behind. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Notes. The pikin dey look wetin dey come next, the elder dey look wetin trip am. Dis na sharp statement about experience as retrospection. Na one of the finest Yorùbá proverbs and e almost impossible to improve am for English.
Owó kì í ṣe ohun gbogbo.
Money is not everything. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Iṣẹ́ ni oògùn ìṣẹ́.
Work is the cure for poverty. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Notes. Iṣẹ́ (work) and ìṣẹ́ (poverty) differ only by tone, so the proverb na tonal pun, and the pun na the argument: the medicine and the sickness close for sound like strand of hair but dem opposite for effect. Dis one no fit translate into English, and na exactly dis kind thing make dis corpus translation rule dey to record am. Any English version go just throway the wordplay wey make the proverb memorable.
Ọwọ́ tí a fi ń kọ́ ilé ni a fi ń wó o.
The hand that builds the house is the hand that pulls it down. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Notes. Dem dey use am for families and institutions wey spoil from inside.
Ẹni tí ó ní sùúrù, ó ní ohun gbogbo.
Whoever has patience has everything. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial rendering, wey dem never review
Ọjọ́ tí a bá dé, ọjọ́ náà ni à ń kú.
From the day we arrive, we are already dying. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. E dey circulate for different forms. Di Yorùbá progressive ń kú dey make dying look like continuous process instead of sometin wey go happen for future, wey English dey translate in a clumsy way.
Bí a bá fi ọwọ́ òsì na ọmọ, a fi ọwọ́ ọ̀tún fà á mọ́ra.
If you strike the child with the left hand, draw him to you with the right. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. Discipline and love as one single act, no be say person dey change mood. For Yorùbá practice left hand na di lesser hand, so di beating don already be minor gesture and di hug na di major one, weighting wey English no fit show without footnote.
Ẹni tí ó bá gbójú lé ọba, ó ń gbójú lé ikú.
Whoever depends on the king depends on death. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. Dis na serious proverb about to dey close to power. Di ọba get pawa of life and death, so to rely on royal favour na to rely on sometin wey fit kill person. Proverb like dis na useful evidence say Yorùbá political culture get sharp internal criticism for leaders.
A kì í fi ọwọ́ méjèèjì wọ omi ìjìnlẹ̀.
You do not enter deep water with both hands committed. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. Make person keep sometin reserve. Di picture na like when person dey waka enta inside water while e hold sometin for two hands, wey no leave any hand free to balance body.
Bí ojú kò bá tì ni, iṣẹ́ kò ní tì ni.
If you are not ashamed to ask, the work will not defeat you. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. Ojú tì literally mean "eye push," but idiomatically na to shame or feel embarrassed. Di proverb dey talk about to dey willing to look like person wey no know sometin so dat person go fit learn.
Ọ̀nà kan kò wọ ọjà.
Only one road does not lead to the market. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. E get di same weight like "all roads lead to Rome" but dem arrange am as negation: e dey deny say na only one road dey rather than say all road dey meet for one place. Dem dey use am talk say one plan no be di only plan.
Kí a tó pa ejò, kí a kọ́kọ́ mọ orí rẹ̀.
Before killing the snake, first find its head. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. Make person identify di main part of problem before e tackle am. Also, for real life, if person hit snake for anywhere apart from di head, e still dey dangerous.
Òtítọ́ korò.
Truth is bitter. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. Na two words. Di way dem take cut am short well-well na di rhetorical effect, and English no fit match am.
Irọ́ pọ̀ ju ojú lọ.
Lies are more numerous than eyes can follow. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Orúkọ rere sàn ju wúrà àti fàdákà lọ.
A good name is better than gold and silver. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. Dis one need make person dey honest about where e come from. E match Proverbs 22:1 well-well, and both wúrà and fàdákà na loanwords. Dem dey use am widely as Yorùbá proverb and e fit easily be proverb wey dem borrow from Bible through one hundred and fifty years of Yorùbá Christianity instead of saying wey originate from di land. To separate indigenous proverbs from di ones wey come from Bible inside modern corpus na real methodological problem, and make person dey suspicious of any confident claim for either side.
Ojú ẹni tí ó ń ṣe ni ń tì í.
It is the wrongdoer's own face that shames him. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. Shame dey come from inside di action itself, no be say na because people see am.
A kì í gbọ́ "ó ku díẹ̀" lẹ́nu òkú.
You never hear a corpse say "I was nearly there." Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. Death no dey take "almost". Di direct quote wey dey inside give di proverb small drama scene, format wey Yorùbá proverbs dey use often and English proverbs rarely dey use.
Bí a ti ń wo ọba, ọba náà ń wo àwọn ènìyàn rẹ̀.
While we watch the king, the king is watching his people. Transleta: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ wetin editors translate, wey dem never review
Notes. How leader and di people dey look each other eye, na anoda example say Yorùbá political proverbs dey assume say accountability dey face both sides.
Àìmọ̀ ọ̀rọ̀ ni ń mú ni pè é ní òmùgọ̀.
It is ignorance of the facts that makes a person call another a fool. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Di negative noun àìmọ̀ form through di prefix àì- on top mọ̀ (to know), na productive pattern wey dey produce abstract negatives.
Ẹsẹ̀ kan kò dá ọ̀nà.
A single foot does not make a path. Translator: Ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ editorial translation wey dem never review
Notes. Road dey exist because plenty people pass am. Dem dey use am for custom and for collective effort.
Three warnings for anybody wey wan use dis material build work .
Proverbs dey contradict each other, and no be defect be dat. Yorùbá get proverbs wey dey advice patience and proverbs wey dey advice say make person take quick decision. Proverb na tool wey dem pick for particular situation, no be clause inside one system. To pack proverbs together make dem form one coherent philosophy dey tend to talk more about di person wey assemble dem pass Yorùbá thought, and Owomoyela introduction dey careful about di risk say dem dey force literary-analytic expectations put for genre wey dem no build for dat kind tin .
Di context where dem use am dey inside di meaning. Di same proverb fit console, warn, or rebuke person depending on who dey talk am to who. Book collections dey automatically remove dis context, na why Owomoyela dey explain how dem dey use am and di context instead of to just translate , and na di same general point wey Karin Barber make about Yorùbá oral genres, say na inside performance meaning dey come out instead of say na fixed text carry am .
Di collection of proverb no close. Proverbs don enter Yorùbá from Bible, from Islam, and from Arabic and English, and dem still dey enter. Item 38 wey dey above na likely example. To take everything inside modern proverb collection as pre-colonial na mistake, and di opposite thinking say anything wey resemble biblical sentiment must be say dem borrow am na mistake too.
What oríkì are, the different kinds, who performs them and why, and how they carry history that written records do not.
The machinery Yorùbá uses to make new words, and a worked, confidence-flagged examination of the etymologies of the key religious and philosophical terms.
How missionary and colonial translation produced the English words now used for Yorùbá religion, what Crowther's Bible did to Yorùbá religious vocabulary, how Èṣù came to mean Satan, and how to read older sources critically.
Fifty-eight Yorùbá proverbs on character, presented with the original, a literal gloss, a named translation, and the situation each is spoken in.
Twenty-six Yorùbá proverbs about proverbs themselves and about the wise, understood speech that makes them work, presented with the original, a literal gloss, a named translation, and the situation each is spoken in.
Forty-eight Yorùbá proverbs on the ọmọlúàbí ideal, presented with the original, a literal gloss, a named translation, and the situation each is spoken in.