Twenty-two Yorùbá proverbs on àjẹ́ (witches), oògùn (medicine or charm), and other hidden forms of power, showing how ordinary speech treats these as real, checkable forces with their own limits.
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.
Two power wey relate but dey different appear for inside this file: àjẹ́, wey dem dey usually translate as "witch," person wey dem mostly describe as woman, wey dem believe say get power to harm through non-physical means; and oògùn, medicine or charm, the broader category of physical substance or ritual remedy wey include things for protection and for attack. For inside Owomoyela collection, dem treat both of dem as things wey dey happen for society wey proverbs dey regularly mention, and dem show say both get limit: person fit beg witch, deceive am, or use another counter-power stop am, and medicine fit fail against person wey get bad character. This file gather twenty-two of such proverbs and present dem as documented sayings, no be say e dey support make dem dey accuse person of witchcraft, na practice wey get well-documented history of real harm wey this corpus no dey downplay at all.
Literal: Ẹ̀rù bíbà fear ní ḿ múni pe àjẹ́ is-what-makes-one call witches ní ará ire good-people.
Idiomatic: "It is fear that makes one call witches the good people."
Meaning: People dey flatter wetin dem dey fear, dey call dangerous thing sweet name so dat e go cool down.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "E make sense make person dey find favor from people wey dey fear or wey get bad mind"
Notes: This proverb document how people dey use soft name call witches, just like the kind soft name wey dem use for Ṣọ̀npọ̀nná wey dem discuss for file 71 (Olóde): dem dey use praise name or goodwill name call wetin dem dey fear instead of name wey fit provoke am.
Source: Owomoyela 982.
Literal: Àjẹ́ ń ké a-witch is-crying-out (proclaiming her presence), òkùnrùn ò paradà the-invalid does-not turn-away; ó lówó ẹbọ nílé he has-money for-sacrifice at-home.
Idiomatic: "A witch proclaims her presence and an invalid does not make way; he must have money for sacrifices at home."
Meaning: Person wey no run from danger wey dem announce must get way to defend himself or fight back.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "Person no need fear trouble if e get the solution"
Notes: The proverb assume say person fit sense or hear say witch dey come (ń ké, to cry out, na the same verb wey dem dey use for animal cry) and e match dat danger directly with ẹbọ, sacrifice, as the documented way to fight am, wey link this file to file 74.
Source: Owomoyela 1324.
Literal: Bí àjẹ́ bá mupo if a-witch drinks-palm-oil, ojú-u rẹ̀ a rọ́ her face/temper will-calm.
Idiomatic: "Once a witch has drunk oil, she calms down."
Meaning: Specific offering dey cool down witch aggression.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "After person don achieve wetin e want, e suppose relax," wey dem dey apply generally to any person wey dey attack wey dem don appease .
Notes: Palm oil dey appear many times for inside this file (compare entry 8) and across file 73 (Èṣù's food wey dem like pass) as the standard thing wey dem dey offer to cool down unpredictable spiritual or semi-spiritual forces for this proverb tradition.
Source: Owomoyela 1413.
Literal: Ẹnu-ù mi kọ́ ni it-is-not from-my-mouth wọ́n ti máa gbọ́ that-they will-hear pé ìyá ọba-á lájẹ́ that the-king's-mother is-a-witch.
Idiomatic: "It is not from my mouth that people will learn that the king's mother is a witch."
Meaning: The person wey dey talk refuse to be the one wey go talk dangerous accusation, no matter how true e fit be.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "I no go put myself for danger because of dangerous truth wey I go talk; person no suppose talk or comment on everything wey e see"
Notes: This proverb document the real danger for society if person call specific person witch, especially person wey get power like king mama, and e show how the speaker choose to keep quiet to protect himself instead of to talk, wey show how seriously dem dey take dat kind accusation.
Source: Owomoyela 1542.
Literal: Ìlara àlàjù excessive envy ní ḿ múni gbàjẹ́ is-what-makes-one take-up witching, ní ḿ múni ṣẹ̀ṣọ́ is-what-makes-one become-a-wizard.
Idiomatic: "Excessive envy of others causes one to take on witching and makes one become a wizard."
Meaning: Witchcraft, according to this proverb, dey start from jealousy instead of say na something wey person inherit or wey e no fit control.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "Too much jealousy dey lead to bad behavior against society"
Notes: This proverb give specific explanation of the cause, say jealousy na the root of witchcraft, wey different from other traditional thoughts about where witchcraft come from (inheritance, possession) wey dey outside wetin this proverb collection document; the corpus note this one as one attested Yorùbá folk-theory among many wey fit dey, no be say na the final explanation.
Source: Owomoyela 1612.
Literal: Kàkà kí ó sàn lára ìyá àjẹ́ rather-than mother-witch's-condition improving, ó fi gbogbo ọmọ bí obìnrin she bears all her-children as girls; ẹyẹ ń gorí ẹyẹ bird upon bird (misfortune compounds).
Idiomatic: "Instead of mother witch's affairs improving, all the children she bears turn out to be female; birds climb upon birds."
Meaning: Bad luck dey increase instead of make e solve, despite whatever power wey dem believe say the person get.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "Despite all effort, person condition fit continue to bad"
Notes: Importantly, this proverb assume say witch own power no dey save am from normal bad luck (for this case, society preference for male children wey she no get), wey dey go against the simple idea say witches get full power over everything wey dey happen to dem.
Source: Owomoyela 1639.
Literal: Ìyá ọba tóó pè ní ìyá ẹbọ the-king's-mother is-fit-to-be-called mother-of-mysteries; ìyá-a baálẹ́ tóó pè ní ìyá àjẹ́ the-chief's-mother is-fit-to-be-called mother-of-witches; Olúṣeye tóó pè ní Olúfàya Olúṣeye is-fit-to-be-called Olúfàya.
Idiomatic: "The king's mother is worthy of the designation 'mother of mysteries'; the chief's mother is worthy of the appellation 'mother of witches'; Olúṣeye [He who makes merry] can also be named Olúfàya [He who tears things apart]."
Meaning: Title wey dem dey give powerful women fit get two face: one good meaning and one threatening meaning, just as person name fit get two different meaning.
Wen dem dey use am: Owomoyela note: "People wey enjoyment bring together fit scatter sake of disagreement"
Note dem: Ìyá ẹbọ, "mama of mystery dem," and ìyá àjẹ́, "mama of winches," na two title wey dey sound like respect wey fit apply to powerful old woman; the proverb treat the two meaning, one wey dey give respect and one wey dey accuse person, say dem two dey available for the same social position without to decide which one correct.
Source: Owomoyela 3404.
Literal: Bí a bá bẹ ọ̀ṣọ́ if one pleads-with a-wizard, ọ̀ṣọ́ á gbọ́ the-wizard will-listen; bí a bá bẹ àjẹ́ if one pleads-with a-witch, àjẹ́ á gbọ́ the-witch will-listen; ṣùgbọ́n kí-ni-ngó-jẹ kì í gbọ́ but "what-will-I-eat" never listens.
Idiomatic: "If one pleads with a wizard, the wizard should be appeased; if one pleads with a witch, the witch should be appeased; but what-will-I-eat is never appeased."
Meaning: Winch and wizard, no be like hunger, person fit reason with dem and satisfy dem.
Wen dem dey use am: Owomoyela note: "Person no dey beg hunger make e quench"
Note dem: This proverb na direct data point against to treat winch power as something wey person no fit ever settle: e rank hunger say e hard to satisfy pass winch, wey place winches inside the category of power wey person fit negotiate with instead to say dem dey outside am.
Source: Owomoyela 3509.
Literal: Àjẹ́ ò lè jẹ òkú a-witch cannot eat a-corpse.
Idiomatic: "A witch cannot eat the dead."
Meaning: Once person don die, winch no get any power again to do dem harm.
Wen dem dey use am: Owomoyela note: "Na once person dey die, and once person die, e don safe from winches and enemies"
Note dem: The verb "chop" (jẹ) for the harm wey winch dey do na the standard way dem dey describe how winch dey attack person for this proverb tradition, say dem dey chop the person life energy instead of the physical body; this proverb mark death as the only condition wey dey totally commot person from dat kind attack.
Source: Owomoyela 3665.
Literal: Àjẹ́ ké lánàá a-witch cried-out yesterday, ọmọ kú lónìí a-child dies today; ta ni ò mọ̀ who does-not-know pé àjẹ́ àná ló pọmọ jẹ? that yesterday's-witch is-who ate-the-child?
Idiomatic: "A witch announced her presence yesterday, and a child dies today; who does not know that yesterday's witch killed the child?"
Meaning: Wen evidence point clear to one obvious conclusion, person no suppose shy away from to draw am.
Wen dem dey use am: Owomoyela note: "Wen evidence show clear conclusion, person no suppose shy away from am"
Note dem: This proverb na clear example of the logic behind winch accusation as dem record am for the proverb tradition: the time between wen winch appear or shout and wen death happen, dem dey take am as enough evidence. The collection record this reasoning as documented Yorùbá proverb-speech; e no mean say e support the reasoning as correct logic, and readers suppose understand this one and entry 4 as evidence of how dat kind accusation take work for society, with the real harm wey historically follow from dem.
Source: Owomoyela 4685.
Literal: Àjẹ́ lápo the-witch licks-palm-oil, ojúu rẹ̀-ẹ́ rọ́ her face/temper calms.
Idiomatic: "The witch licks palm oil and becomes calm."
Meaning: Ointment or sacrifice fit control even wild or dangerous behavior.
Wen dem dey use am: Owomoyela note: "Balm dey master wild dispositions"
Note dem: This one almost duplicate entry 3, wey Owomoyela record independently for another place for the collection; dem two confirm palm oil as the specific thing wey dem dey use calm matter down.
Source: Owomoyela 4686.
Literal: Àjẹ́ ò lólúwa méjì the-witch has-no two-lords, lẹ́hìn-in Poolo besides-Poolo.
Idiomatic: "The witch has no other lord besides Poolo."
Meaning: For every dangerous power, something dey wey fit control or master am.
Wen dem dey use am: Owomoyela note: "For every power there is a check"
Note dem: Owomoyela footnote identify Poolo as the god wey dey expose and execute winches [S1, note 20]. This one na specific, named power wey dey oppose winch power, wey different from and join with the masquerade figure Àgán (check the next note) wey dem also mention for other place for the collection with the same role to execute [S1, note 45, entry 1571; note 8, entry near line 18760]. Together, these note dem document say Yorùbá religious cosmology, as Owomoyela record am, get special institutions, both divine (Poolo) and masquerade form (Àgán), wey get specific work to checkmate witchcraft, and this one dey correct any idea say winches dey operate without control inside the tradition own worldview.
Source: Owomoyela 4687, with note 20; compare notes 45 and 8 about Àgán for other place for Owomoyela collection.
Literal: A kì í fi ara ẹni one does-not with one's-own-body ṣe oògùn àlọ̀kúnná make medicine that-requires-pulverized-ingredients.
Idiomatic: "One does not use oneself as an ingredient in a medicine requiring that the ingredients be pulverized."
Meaning: To save person body no be wetin person fit choose not to do; person no dey sacrifice imself even because of medicine.
Used when: Wetin Owomoyela write: "Self-preservation na compulsory project for everybody"
Notes: Di proverb assume say di person wey dey hear am sabi how dem dey prepare medicine, say na physical process wey involve to grind ingredients to powder, and e take di nonsense idea of using person self as ingredient take explain wetin e mean about to protect person body generally.
Source: Owomoyela 581.
Literal: Àdó gba ara rẹ̀ tẹ́lẹ̀ could-the-small-gourd save itself first, ká tó fi oògùn sí? before we put charms into-it?
Idiomatic: "Could the small gourd save itself, before we put charms into it?"
Meaning: Person no suppose find protection from wetin no fit protect imsef.
Used when: Wetin Owomoyela write: "No go find protection from person wey no fit help imsef"
Notes: Di àdó, small gourd wey dem dey use keep medicine or protection charms, dem show am here say na imsef need protection first before person fit trust am to protect any oda thing, and di proverb use this one take talk generally about human helpers wey no get di standing to help.
Source: Owomoyela 693; Owomoyela record anoda one for 1297.
Literal: Bí àrùn búburú bá wọlú if a-terrible-epidemic enters-a-town, oògùn búburú la fi ń wò ó terrible-medicine is-what-one uses to-treat-it.
Idiomatic: "If a terrible epidemic descends on a town, it is confronted with a terrible medicine."
Meaning: Di medicine must match how di sickness strong reach.
Used when: Wetin Owomoyela write: "Person dey match di medicine to di sickness"
Notes: Di proverb assume say connection dey between how trouble be and di remedy wey e need, wey Owomoyela take explain problem generally, say strong problem dey need strong solution.
Source: Owomoyela 848.
Literal: Ẹbọ dí a-little sacrifice, oògùn dí a-little medicine, ní ń gba aláìkú là is-what saves the-one-who-does-not-die.
Idiomatic: "A little sacrifice, a little medicine, is what keeps the one who does not die alive."
Meaning: To survive, even for person wey seem like say nothing fit touch am, depend on how e take combine many small remedies instead of to depend on only one.
Used when: Wetin Owomoyela write: "Person no suppose put all im faith for only one solution to problem"
Notes: Dis proverb pair ẹbọ and oògùn clear-clear as things wey dey support each oda instead of choices wey dey fight each oda, wey show say Yorùbá proverb-speech dey treat sacrifice and medicine as two tools inside di same box instead of two competing systems.
Source: Owomoyela 916.
Literal: Ẹni tó dùbúlẹ̀ whoever remains-lying-down ṣe oògùn ìjàkadì tán has-completed the-charm-for-wrestling.
Idiomatic: "The person who remains prone has perfected the charm for wrestling."
Meaning: To avoid contest kpatakpata na wetin dem see, with irony, as di charm wey work pass make person no lose am.
Used when: Wetin Owomoyela write: "Person wey get sense dey block trouble before e happen"
Notes: Di proverb get conscious irony inside: di "charm" wey e describe no be supernatural preparation at all but simple avoidance, and di joke depend on di hearer to recognize say wrestling charms na real and expected category of preparation wey dis proverb quietly replace with common sense.
Source: Owomoyela 964.
Literal: Ọmọdé ò mọ oògùn a-child does-not know medicine, ó ń pè é lẹ́fọ́ he calls it vegetables, kò mọ̀ pé ikú tó pa baba òun ni he does-not-know it-is-what killed his-father.
Idiomatic: "A child does not know medicine, and he therefore calls it vegetables; he does not recognize it as what killed his father."
Meaning: When person no know wetin danger really be, e dey make am treat am like nothing, wey fit kill person sometimes.
Used when: Wetin Owomoyela write: "People fit call disaster put for their own head because of ignorance" Anoda proverb wey follow am, entry 1217 (Ọmọdé ò mọ oògùn, ó ń pè é lẹ́gùn-ún, "pikin no know medicine, come talk say na thorn"), make di exact same point with different mistaken identification .
Notes: Di two proverbs for this pair treat oògùn as something wey fit kill person and wey need expert to recognize am, clear example of di double character of medicine for this tradition: di same category of preparation wey dey heal fit still kill person if dem no recognize am.
Source: Owomoyela 1216; companion 1217.
Literal: Má bàá avoiding-contact-with-it lóògùn is-the-medicine tọ̀ for-leprosy.
Idiomatic: "Avoiding contact is the only medicine for leprosy."
Meaning: For some sickness or trouble, prevention through avoidance na di only real remedy.
Used when: Wetin Owomoyela write: "Di best way to comot for trouble na make person no enter am at all"
Notes: Dis proverb mention specific sickness, leprosy, and talk, based on di proverb tradition own logic, say no curative oògùn dey for am, na only preventive avoidance, wey be rare instance for dis collection where dem put limit for medicine power for medical register instead of moral or spiritual register.
Source: Owomoyela 1683, with Owomoyela note 60.
Literal: Bí o ní ọ̀pọ̀ oògùn if you-have plenty medicine, tí o ní èké and you have falsehood, kò níí jẹ it will-not work; orí ẹní jẹ ó ju ewé lọ one's-own head works-better-than any herb; ìpín ẹjà ó ju oògùn lọ destiny works-better-than medicine.
Idiomatic: "If you have a great deal of medicine and you are false, it will not work; one's head works better than any herb; one's destiny is far more effective than any medicine."
Meaning: Dishonesty of di person wey dey do medicine dey spoil di power of di medicine, and destiny dey pass medicine no matter wetin happen.
Used when: Wetin Owomoyela note: "Evil intentions make one's medicine ineffective; the best hope lies in one's head and one's destiny"
Notes: Dis na di clearest statement for dis collection say di power of oògùn depend on di moral character of di person wey dey use am, and e put medicine under orí, di destiny wey person choose, just as di fate proverbs of file 79 use di same terms for sacrifice and other remedies (compare Àyànmọ́ ò gbọ́ oògùn, "Destiny no dey answer to medicine," Owomoyela 3505, wey dem cite for dat file).
Source: Owomoyela 2469.
Literal: Ta ní ń ṣoògùn lódò who is concocting-medicine by-the-river tí lábẹ́lábẹ́ ò gbọ́? that the-lábẹ́lábẹ́-plant does-not-hear-of?
Idiomatic: "Who is concocting a medicine by the river about which the lábẹlábẹ plant is ignorant?"
Meaning: Nothing wey person do for riverside fit hide from di plants wey dey grow there; person no fit keep secret for place wey people dey share and where eye dey see.
Used when: Wetin Owomoyela note: "Trying to keep someone in the dark about a matter is futile"
Notes: Riverside na place wey dem dey always use prepare medicine across dis proverb tradition, and e match di way dem take connect water and some deities with herbal knowledge wey dem document for 06-orisa/11-osanyin.md and di water-òrìṣà entries of 06-orisa/13-osun.md and 06-orisa/14-yemoja.md.
Source: Owomoyela 2614.
Literal: Ìfúnra diligence/self-exertion loògùn àgbà is-the-medicine of-old-age.
Idiomatic: "Diligence is the medicine of old age."
Meaning: Na continuous hard work by oneself, no be any medicine preparation, dey keep elder fit and capable.
Used when: Dem dey use am advise make person no just fold hand sit down say e don old.
Notes: Dis proverb use di "X na di medicine for Y" pattern wey dem discuss for 02-language/05-owe-proverbs.md (entry 26, Iṣẹ́ ni oògùn ìṣẹ́, work na di medicine for poverty) to shift "medicine" go ordinary behaviour instead of any substance wey dem mix, di exact same rhetorical style wey dat pattern dey use across di wider corpus.
Source: Owomoyela 1889.
Dem show say person fit control witchcraft, e no get power pass everything. Entries 3, 8, 11, and 12 all show say dem dey appease witches, beg dem, or dem dey under one named power wey fit face dem (Poolo, and, according to wetin Owomoyela note, di masquerader Àgán). Dis corpus record witchcraft accusation as real social practice wey bring serious matter for history (entries 4 and 10 document di reasoning behind accusation) without treating witches like power wey nothing fit check inside di tradition own cosmology.
Medicine (oògùn) depend on moral character. Entry 20 talk directly say dishonesty dey destroy di power of medicine, and entry 19 show limit on wetin medicine fit do at all. When person read am join file 74 proverbs on di limits of sacrifice and file 79 proverbs on how destiny dey supreme pass everything, di medicine proverbs for dis file complete one consistent pattern across di sacred proverbs of dis section: no single remedy system, sacrifice, medicine, or witchcraft whether dem give am or receive am, dey operate without limit, and destiny or character dey always rank pass all three.
Fifty Yorùbá proverbs on ọ̀run-àpáàdì, orí and àyànmọ́ (fate and destiny), drawn from Owomoyela's dedicated section "On fate (and reciprocity)," showing destiny as chosen before birth, unappealable, yet compatible with real human effort.
Twelve Yorùbá proverbs built on èèwọ̀ (taboo) and related concepts of the forbidden, showing how proverb-speech treats prohibition as binding, socially variable, and in at least one case, lethal to violate.
Fifty-eight Yorùbá proverbs on character, 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.
Sourced Yorùbá proverbs about telling the truth, the mechanics of lying and self-deception, and the value placed on a person whose word is reliable.
Forty-three Yorùbá proverbs on sùúrù, patience, presented with the original, a literal gloss, a named translation, and the situation each is spoken in.