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.
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.
Èèwọ̀ na di standard Yorùbá word for taboo or prohibition, sometin wey person no dey do, weda na by custom, by household rule, or by wetin specific cult require. Di proverb-dem wey dey collected here use èèwọ̀ for both light, general sense (wetin person dislike, family custom) and for heavier sense wey tie to specific religious institution-dem, especially Orò, wey dia taboo against women get documented death penalty if person break am, according to Owomoyela footnote. Dis file keep di two register-dem togeda bikos Owomoyela text no separate dem; di proverb style treat "wetin dey forbidden" as one single grammatical category even wen di social consequence of di prohibition vary well well.
Literal: Ẹni tí a bá ń dáṣọ fún the-person for-whom one is-sewing-clothes kì í ka èèwọ̀ does-not list taboos.
Idiomatic: "The person who is clothed by others does not list what he will not wear."
Meaning: Person wey dey depend on anoda person charity no get right to dey choose or complain.
Used when: Owomoyela note refer di reader to similar entry (81) on how person suppose accept charity without complain .
Notes: Here èèwọ̀ dey used for im lightest sense, wetin person like or dislike wey dem push enta level of taboo, wey show di range of di word: from binding religious prohibition to ordinary list of wetin person no go like wear.
Source: Owomoyela 318.
Literal: "Báyìí là ń ṣe" "this-is-how-we-do-it" níbìkan in-one-place, èèwọ̀ ibòmíràn [is] taboo in-another-place.
Idiomatic: "'This is what we do' in one place is taboo in another."
Meaning: Prohibition dey local and e dey change, e no be everywhere di same; wetin normal for one community fit dey forbidden for di next one.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "Different people, different ways"
Notes: Dis proverb talk am direct, as general principle, wetin di full collection still show for practice: say specific taboo-dem (Orò restriction against women wey dem discuss below, or household particular rule-dem) tie to particular community and institution-dem instead of to form one uniform Yorùbá code.
Source: Owomoyela 821.
Literal: Ohun tí a ò rí rí a-thing one has-never seen-before lèèwọ̀ ojú is-taboo for-the-eyes.
Idiomatic: "It is something one has never seen before that is taboo for the eyes."
Meaning: New tins or tins wey person neva see bifor dey cause di strongest reaction; wetin person don dey used to, no mata how e big reach, person fit easily accommodate am.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "Whatever one has encountered before cannot be too much to accommodate"
Notes: Dis proverb use èèwọ̀ as metaphor, apply am to wetin eye dey react to instead of formal social rule, wey stretch taboo vocabulary reach ordinary psychological response.
Source: Owomoyela 1102.
Literal: Ìkóèruku the-gathering-of-dust èèwọ̀ Ifẹ̀ is-taboo in-Ifẹ̀; ajá kì í gbó a-dog does-not bark níbòji ẹkùn in-the-shadow of-a-leopard.
Idiomatic: "Carrying dust is taboo in Ifẹ; no dog dares bark in the shadow of the leopard."
Meaning: Person no dey do forbidden or provocative tins for place or for front of power wey everybody know say di danger dey clear.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "One should not engage in forbidden or dangerous acts"
Notes: Dis proverb tie specific local taboo to specific town, Ifẹ̀, wey be di historic centre of Yorùbá sacral kingship, wey match di general pattern say taboo-dem dey geographically and institutionally located instead of to dey uniform across Yorùbá land generally.
Source: Owomoyela 1607.
Literal: Ọlẹ mọ èèwọ̀ ìjà the-lazy-person knows the-taboo of-fighting: ó ní bàbá òun ní kóun má jà he says his-father told-him not-to-fight lọ́nà oko on-the-way-to-the-farm.
Idiomatic: "The coward knows the preventive for fighting: he says his father has ordered him not to fight on the way to the farm."
Meaning: Person dey cook up or exaggerate prohibition as excuse make e for avoid confrontation wey e no want.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "The coward will use every excuse to get out of a fight"
Notes: Dis proverb show say person fit invoke èèwọ̀ strategically and maybe falsely, evidence say di proverb tradition recognize say person fit manufacture claim of prohibition for selfish reason, no be only say na genuine belief.
Source: Owomoyela 2355.
Literal: Ka èèwọ̀ fún mi list your-taboos for-me kí n ka èèwọ̀ fún ẹ so-I-can list mine for-you.
Idiomatic: "Tell me your taboos and I will tell you my taboos."
Meaning: Make friend-dem tell each oda and respect wetin each person dey avoid na wetin dey make friendship last.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "When friends know and avoid what friends dislike, the friendship will last"
Notes: Compare dis one with owe-iwa-character entry 29 (Owomoyela 3086, "knowing and accepting each person's character... is the medicine for friendship"); dis proverb make di exact same structural claim specifically about personal taboo instead of general character, wey still show say èèwọ̀ dey operate at di level of individual preference just as e dey operate as institutional rule.
Source: Owomoyela 3406.
Literal: A kì í gbèjà èèwọ̀ one does-not defend a-taboo; èèwọ̀ ní yó gbèjà ara-a rẹ̀ the-taboo is-what-will defend itself.
Idiomatic: "One does not fight on behalf of a taboo; the taboo will fight its own fight."
Meaning: E no dey necessary make person monitor prohibition by imself; di system wey dey enforce taboo go catch people wey break am by imself.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "E no dey necessary make person try stop people make dem no commit crime; di system go find di offenders out"
Notes: Dis proverb dey explain working theory of how taboo enforcement dey function: no be say na individual vigilante action, but na through bigger mechanism (social, ritual, or supernatural) wey di proverb trust say e go operate on im own.
Source: Owomoyela 4473.
Literal: Àìfárí the-lack-of-a-shave kì í ṣe bọ́ ní túúlu is-no headache to-the-monkey; àìjẹun lèèwọ́ rẹ̀ the-lack-of-food is-its-taboo (what-it-cannot-abide).
Idiomatic: "Want of a shave is no headache to the monkey; it is want of food that it cannot abide."
Meaning: Different lack or suffering dey affect different creatures or people differently; wetin be small disturbance to one person fit be wetin another person no fit bear at all.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "Certain things na luxury; certain things na essential"
Notes: Èèwọ̀ here stretch pass im original core meaning, dey work as "wetin person no fit bear" instead of "wetin ritual or society forbid," wey dey confirm di true semantic range of di word from formal taboo reach ordinary intolerance.
Source: Owomoyela 4679.
Literal: A kì í dájọ́ Orò one does-not set-the-day for-an-Orò-rite ká yẹ̀ and-then let-it-slip/ignore-it.
Idiomatic: "One does not set the day for an orò rite and then ignore it."
Meaning: Once dem don set date for important matter wey dey binding, dem no must allow am pass.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "Person no must let important matters slide"
Notes: Dis proverb carry di corpus single most important documentary footnote on institutionalised taboo. Owomoyela note talk say: "Orò na secret divinity wey connect to di secret supreme political and juridical council wey dem dey call Ògbóni or Òṣùgbó. Dem forbid women from im cult; once dem hear di sound of bull-roarer wey dey announce im public outing, women must go hide. Man wey no be member of di cult also dey risk say dem go kill am if e enter di ritual even by mistake" [S1, note 46]. Dis no be proverb about simple social preference; e dey document taboo wey carry real and clearly stated death penalty for accidental violation, and di corpus full account of Orò and di cult societies wey follow am dey for 06-orisa/22-oro-agemo-and-cult-societies.md . Di proverb itself dey used generically, about keeping any commitment, but di institution wey e come from specific and get serious consequence like dis.
Source: Owomoyela, note 12 (untitled proverb list, "A kì í..." series), with note 46.
Literal: N/A: this entry is Owomoyela's footnote, not a proverb text.
Meaning: Owomoyela note on di masquerade proverb Eégún ò na obìnrin lágẹ record say: "Dem forbid women make dem no near masquerade, or dem go whip dem, and dem suppose run go hide anytime masquerade dey around" [S1, note 42].
Used when: Dem cite am here as documentary background, no be like proverb on im own, because di corpus rule against making up proverb text mean say dem no fit present footnote as òwe. Dem include am because e dey corroborate, from second independent institutional source (di eégún masquerade cult instead of Orò), di pattern wey dey entry 9: specific taboo wey restrict women presence, wey dem dey enforce with stated physical penalty.
Notes: Di proverb wey dis footnote actually dey explain, Eégún ò na obìnrin lágẹ; obìnrín tú kíjìpá ìdí-i rẹ̀, ó fi na eégún, "Di masquerader no use im shroud flog woman, but di woman loose im own home-woven wrapper take flog di masquerader," na about to provoke trouble wey person for escape, and dem catalogue am properly under different theme; dem only reference am here because of di documentary value wey di footnote get about masquerade taboo. See 06-orisa/20-egungun.md for di fuller account.
Source: Owomoyela, note 42 to entry 280.
Literal: Ọníṣàngó tó jó the-Ṣàngó-worshiper who dances tí kò gbọn yẹrì who does-not shake his-skirt: àbùkù-u Ṣàngó kọ́ it-is-not a-disgrace-to Ṣàngó, àbùkù ara-a rẹ̀ ni it-is his-own disgrace.
Idiomatic: "The Ṣango worshiper who dances and does not shake his skirt: he does not disgrace Ṣango but himself."
Meaning: If person fail to perform devotional dance di way dem expect am, na di worshiper e go affect personally, no be di god.
Used when: Owomoyela note: "Person wey no perform reach im potential na only imself e dey disgrace" Another related proverb state di same rule for different expected element of di dance: Ọníṣàngó tó jó tí kò tàpá, àbùkù ara-a rẹ̀, "Di Ṣango worshiper wey dance but no kick leg na imself e dey disgrace"
Notes: Àbùkù, wey mean blemish or disgrace, na di main operative word here instead of èèwọ̀, and di two proverbs dey document specific, named expected elements of Ṣàngó devotional dance (to shake skirt, to kick leg), wey failure inside na matter of personal shame instead of religious violation; dis na useful contrast case to entry 9, where di consequence of violation na institutional and severe.
Source: Owomoyela 502; companion 503.
Literal: Èèmọ̀ ní Ìmọ̀ unspeakable-abomination in-Ìmọ̀: Onímọ̀-ọ́ sọ̀pá the-ruler-of-Ìmọ̀ contracts-hydroceles, aya-a rẹ̀ dégbò his-wife develops-a-sore.
Idiomatic: "Unspeakable abomination: the ruler of Imọ contracts hydroceles, and his wife develops a sore."
Meaning: Even people wey community dey look up to fit face affliction; nothing, no matter how high e dey, dey exempt.
Dey use am wen: Owomoyela note: "Even di people wey person suppose look up to don get bad condition"
Notes: Èèmọ̀, abomination wey mouth no fit talk, strong pass èèwọ̀ and e dey point di bad condition itself, no be wetin person do, as di abomination. Dis one different from di oda entries inside dis file, where èèwọ̀ dey name action or tin wey dem forbid, no be condition wey bad on top im own.
Source: Owomoyela 3720.
Di word èèwọ̀ dey cover broad area, from strong institutional taboo to wetin person just dislike. Entry 1, 3, and 8 use am in a light way; entry 4, 9, and di documentary note for entry 10 use am for taboo wey carry real institutional weight and, for Orò case, death penalty wey dem document say dey follow if person break am. Dis range na fact about di word, e no mean say di corpus source no agree with each oda, and reader no suppose tink say every proverb wey use èèwọ̀ heavy reach di Orò example.
Di Orò material (entry 9 and im footnote) na di single documentary finding wey get weight pass inside dis file. E confirm, from Owomoyela own academic work instead of any claim from outside, say Yorùbá religious practice include at least one institution wey join body with di Ògbóni/Òṣùgbó council, wey im taboo against women to dey present carry death penalty wey dem clearly state for violation. Dem report dis one here as documented fact about one particular historical institution, as e dey follow di corpus rule to describe wetin di sources record instead of to clean am up or blow am out of proportion; readers wey dey find di full tori suppose check 06-orisa/22-oro-agemo-and-cult-societies.md .
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