Alòlɛ Măwùfɛnu – Afrikan Proverbs and their Usage

Alòlɛ Măwùfɛnu – Afrikan Proverbs and their Usage

The alò (proverb in Ajã language) is one among the most important sources that best explain the Măwùfɛnugbetɔ/Muntu (authentic Afrikan human in Ajã and Ki-Kongo resoectively) and their gbetínmɛ̀ὲ or worldview. In debates, in ceremonies, in judgments, in joy as well as in misery, proverbs are freqeuntly used to reprimand, to criticize, to compare, to segregate, to encourage, to punish, and to heal. They are used to teach, to explain and to thoroughly code and decode. For Afrikan people, proverbs constitute a special language. Sometimes, for many, proverbs are considered both a secret and a sacred language in their communication where the expression—“talk in proverbial language” (do alògbe), an expression used within the community to prevent the leak of very fundamental principles of the society, i.e., to prevent the outsider from auditing the debate to have access to any basic systematic concepts of the structural organization of the society, especially its esoteric values.

However, because of the “danger” presented by this language, one must perfectly overstand the meaning of the alò (proverb) one uses. For instance, one Kɔngo proverb says “Wata ngana bangula ngana kadi na Kimbonga-ngana wafwila mu ngana”—literally, “know the explanation of any proverb you use for ‘mr Proverb-teller’ died upon the proverb he used.” One may be condemned for what one says if they can’t culturally back up the proverb.

Proverbs, in the Afrikan context, are laws, reflections, theories, customs, social norms and values, principles, and unwritten constitutions. Take the time to de-code some Afrikan proverbs and apply them to your individual and families’ lives.