Òwe on Strangers, Borders and Belonging
Seven Yorùbá proverbs on political and territorial belonging, the frontier of a town, and the structural non-standing of the outsider, distinct from the corpus's separate file on host-and-guest hospitality.
Dis corpus already get one file wey dey dedicated to àlejò, dat na visitor or house guest, and to di way host and guest suppose treat each other: owe-stranger-guest-hospitality. Wetin dey dat file na about household matter. Wetin dey dis file different, even though person fit easily mix di two together because Yorùbá dey use words wey overlap for di two: àjèjì and àjòjì, stranger or foreigner, and ìlú, town, dey describe person position no be for inside house but for one place, for di level of land, boundary, and political community. Wetin dey collected here na proverbs wey di actual claim wey dem dey make na about dat bigger boundary: who dem count say belong to town, wetin stranger no fit really become no matter how long dem stay, and where di boundary of kingdom reach wey dem dey tax.
Once person comot di material about household hospitality, wetin remain no plenti at all. Owomoyela book no get any special section on political belonging di way e get for strangers wey person welcome enter house, and plenty of di proverbs wey use words for boundary or territory, when person check dem well, dey talk about totally different thing: bowstring, customs toll wey person pay with kindness, king general wealth, and na why dem comot dem. Na only seven proverbs remain after strict reading. Dat na di honest count for dis theme, no be shortfall.
Dem give di proverbs for Owomoyela texts and translations except where dem name another source. Wetin Owomoyela write inside bracket about usage na di basis for di Used when lines; where di words na im own, dem put am inside quotation marks.
Di boundary as real place wey dem dey tax
1. Akẹ̀sán lòpin Ọ̀yọ́; ilé ọkọ nibùsinmi obìnrin.
Literal: Akẹ̀sán [a market] lòpin Ọ̀yọ́ is-the-boundary of-Ọ̀yọ́; ilé ọkọ the-husband's-house nibùsinmi obìnrin is-the-resting-place of-a-woman.
Idiomatic: "Akẹ̀sán is the frontier of Ọ̀yọ́; a spouse's home is a woman's place of rest."
Meaning: Just as Akẹ̀sán dey mark where di city of Ọ̀yọ́ physically end, na so married woman own household na di place wey dem no expect say e go dey waka pass again.
Used when: Owomoyela explain di comparison direct: as Akẹ̀sán na Ọ̀yọ́'s city limit, na so spouse home na woman final destination .
Notes: Akẹ̀sán na real market for di edge of di old Ọ̀yọ́ metropolis, and di proverb depend on make di person wey dey hear am know di actual geography of di city; e no be place-name wey dem just invent. Dem put dis proverb here instead of putting am with dis corpus marriage material because di argument first pass through di literal fact of city boundary before e apply am figuratively to marriage, and na dat boundary, no be di marriage, be di vehicle wey dey do di work.
2. Ọba ló ni ilẹ̀.
Literal: Ọba the-king ló ni is-who owns ilẹ̀ the-land.
Idiomatic: "The king is the owner of the land."
Meaning: All territory inside kingdom na under di king title e dey at di end of di day, no matter which household or family dey occupy any particular plot.
Used when: Owomoyela: "No authority dey on earth wey high pass di king"
Notes: Di claim na legal fiction wey dem state as plain fact, di same move wey Yorùbá kingship proverbs dey make elsewhere inside dis corpus file on chiefs and kings, but dem keep dis entry here instead of there because wetin dey inside na specifically about land tenure and territorial title, no be about di king person, im conduct, or how im office dey work.
3. Ọba ní ń gba owó ìbodè.
Literal: Ọba the-king ní ń gba is-who collects owó ìbodè money of-the-frontier-gate.
Idiomatic: "It is the king who receives customs dues."
Meaning: Revenue wey dem collect for kingdom border checkpoints belong to di crown, no be to whoever dem happen to post go there.
Used when: Owomoyela: "Di wealth of di community belong to di king"
Notes: Ìbodè na di actual toll-gate or frontier crossing, real pre-colonial institution, and di proverb mention specific administrative fact, who dem owe di toll revenue to, instead of making general claim about royal wealth. When person read am beside entry 2, di pair dey state say both di land itself and di traffic wey dey cross di boundary belong, according to law, to di crown.
Di stranger wey no dey ever turn native
4. Òní, "Mò ń lọ"; ọ̀la, "Mò ń lọ," kò jẹ́ kí àlejò gbin awùsá.
Literal: Òní, "Mò ń lọ" today, "I am going"; ọ̀la, "Mò ń lọ," tomorrow, "I am going"; kò jẹ́ kí àlejò gbin awùsá does-not let a-sojourner plant walnut-trees.
Idiomatic: "Today 'I am leaving' and tomorrow 'I am leaving' prevents the sojourner from planting awùsá."
Meaning: Person wey understand say imsef dey always ready to move on no dey ever make di kind investment wey only dey pay off for person wey get mind to stay.
Used when: Owomoyela: "As person dey always conscious of im status as stranger, e dey prevent am to engage in long-term projects or plant roots for one place"
Notes: Awùsá, di African walnut, na tree wey if person plant am, e mean say person dey plan stay one place for many years; wetin di proverb really dey talk about na dat horizon, no be di household respect wey guest wey dey travel owe host, wey be di separate ground wey dis corpus owe-stranger-guest-hospitality already cover. Dem keep am here because di point na about di stranger own permanent expectation say e go comot, fact about political and territorial standing instead of manners for another person table.
5. Àìmọ̀-ọ́jó ni kì í jẹ́ kí àlejò ó jó.
Literal: Àìmọ̀-ọ́jó not-knowing-how-to-dance ni kì í jẹ́ kí àlejò ó jó is-what does-not let the-stranger dance.
Idiomatic: "It is ignorance about dancing that keeps a stranger from dancing."
Meaning: Wetin dey exclude outsider make e no participate fully for community events no be say di community refuse am, but na because di outsider no know how dem dey do things for there.
Used when: Owomoyela: "Not to know di customs of a place dey prevent outsider make e no fit integrate fully"
Notes: Dis proverb put di barrier to belong inside di new pesin body instead of say na di town drive di pesin comot, wey make am different from oda entries for dis collection where town dey actively reject pesin; for here di dance floor open, and na di stranger own leg wey never learn dance dey shut am outside.
6. Ṣe sílẹ̀: ẹrù-u rẹ̀ kì í pẹ́ níbodè.
Literal: Ṣe sílẹ̀ do beforehand; ẹrù-u rẹ̀ its load kì í pẹ́ níbodè does-not linger at-the-frontier-gate.
Idiomatic: "He who extends kindness beforehand: his goods will not stay long at the frontier."
Meaning: Pesin wey don already build good name and relationship go carry im market goods pass border crossing without delay, sake of say oda people ready to help am make things fast.
Used when: Owomoyela: "The generous person will always find helpers to ease his passage"
Notes: Ìbodè still mean di real toll-gate, di same institution as entry 3, and di proverb assume say real bottleneck dey where goods fit delay if local people no help; to cross border smoothly na something wey depend on di social investment wey pesin don make before, no be about di goods or di traveler own level.
Home ground and hostile ground
7. Ọsán gbé ojú ọ̀run le kókó; bó bá wọ odò, a di ọ̀-rọ̀-pọ̀jọ̀-pọ̀jọ̀.
Literal: Ọsán gbé ojú ọ̀run le kókó the-bowstring makes the-face of-the-sky hard-and-taut; bó bá wọ odò if-it enters the-river, a di ọ̀-rọ̀-pọ̀jọ̀-pọ̀jọ̀ it becomes utterly-limp.
Idiomatic: "The bowstring is taut while it remains on the bow; dipped into the river, it becomes very soft indeed."
Meaning: Pesin or thing wey get power well-well for im own correct setting go lose all dat power once dem carry am go place wey e no fit stay at all.
Used when: Owomoyela: "One thrives on one's home ground where conditions are ideal; in hostile territory one becomes helpless"
Notes: Di picture come from how dem dey make bow instead of any human traveler, but Owomoyela own explanation make di territorial meaning clear, as e directly compare home ground with hostile territory, wey be why di proverb belong here instead of among di general proverbs for dis corpus on capability and context. Di ideophone ọ̀-rọ̀-pọ̀jọ̀-pọ̀jọ̀ no get single English word wey match am; e dey describe one special kain total slackness wey "very soft" only try to explain small.
How to read dis set
To belong for inside dis file na matter of land and law, no be about house. Every entry wey dey above depend on location wey exist on im own outside any single household: di real boundary of city, territory of kingdom, toll-gate, place wey pesin fit settle down inside or place wey e never really claim. Na dat one be di whole reason why dem separate dis file from owe-stranger-guest-hospitality, where di same words, àlejò, àjòjì, mean visitor inside anoda pesin house. Di difference no always sharp for inside di source text; entry 4 and 5 both use àlejò, di visitor-word, but dia own usage notes go beyond hospitality etiquette reach di permanent horizon of sojourner and di customs wey newcomer never learn, wey be territorial belonging in anoda name.
Dem dey control di border, pesin no just dey cross am anyhow. Entry 1, 3 and 6 assume say real institution dey: market wey get name wey dey mark di boundary of city, toll-gate wey dem must pay dues to di king, goods wey fit delay for dere without help. Di proverb record for dis collection treat border like infrastructure wey get owner and fee, wey match wetin dem document about pre-colonial Yorùbá kingdoms, where ìbodè na checkpoint wey get workers along trade routes, no be just ordinary line.
To not belong dey quiet, e no dey dramatic. No proverb wey dem collect here show say town actively drive outsider comot; dat kind harsher material, like stranger wey provoke chief and pay for am, or town wey just refuse to accept pesin, belong to di hospitality file instead. Wetin dis file material dey show dey more subtle: visitor wey never plant tree wey go last long, stranger wey im own lack of experience keep away from dance floor, bowstring wey loose once e commot from bow. For here, exclusion na di default condition wey pesin must work to commot from, no be judgment wey dem pass on top di pesin.