6,614 Comments
The Proverb: Eniti o lo bu omi ninu amu ni on ri ebora, eniti o lo pon leti odo nko, kini yio ri?
Literal Translation: The person who went to dish a cup of water from the pot says he has seen a ghost on his way; what about the person who used the pot to fetch water from the stream, what would he have seen?
Explanation and Application: In any Yoruba community (towns and villages) where there is no modern municipal pipe-borne supply of water, people use pots to fetch water from nearby streams. Small pots are used to fetch water to be stored in much bigger pots which are kept in suitable locations in the house. Whenever water is needed for use in the kitchen or bathroom etc, smaller containers are used to dish water from the one stored in the big pots. Sometimes, the location of the big pot may be a rather dark and secluded corner of the house. The small boys or girls who are sent to fetch the water may be so afraid in the dark corner that they claim to see a ghost on their way. Elders debunk the child’s claim by wondering what would then be seen by the person who went all the way to the stream to fetch the water in the first instance. This situation is converted to a proverb to dismiss the claim of any person who tries to exaggerate any situation in life in order to deserve commendation or to make a simple task look very difficult.
The Proverb: A ki i ti oju elese mesan ka a.
Literal Translation: If a person has only nine toes, you should not count the toes while the person is focussing attention on your action.
Explanation and Application: In the Yoruba community, or in any other part of the world for that matter, we usually find some careless people who enjoy making others uncomfortable simply because those others have certain mental or physical defects. This proverb uses the case of a person having nine (instead of ten) toes to illustrate this habit. The proverb is used to warn people to desist from making others uncomfortable simply because those others don’t have the grace that they expect to have naturally or otherwise. It is used to teach people to be kind and respectful to others and to learn to have sympathetic feelings for others.
The Proverb: Eegun nla l’o ngbehin igbale.
Literal Translation: The most senior masquerade is the last one to come out of the shrine house.
Explanation and Application: The masquerade festival is one of the most popular annual festivals in many parts the Yorubaland. It is now a residue of the old paganish activities. A masquerade is believed to be a creature come down from heaven to visit the people of the earth. They usually dress in very odd attire covering practically every part of the body. Each set of masquerade has a seniority list and an overall leader. They have a shrine house where they dress up and get ready for the day’s tour of the town to harrass innocent citizens. They file out of the shrine house (igbale) with the most junior ones coming out first, and the most senior ones coming out last, manning the rear. The proverb is applied to show respect to the elders of any community in any gathering or in decision-making processes. This is analogous to the idea of having the most senior masquerade come out of the shrine last.
