Fridays are known generally for heralding our indigenous ways of life, especially in dressing. This is why I, as an indigene of the Yorùbá tribe presents Yorùbá Proverbs. In this post, I present a yorùbá proverb, it's literal interpretation and it's meaning and significance to the yorùbá people, and at times, Africa at large. The Yorùbá people predominantly live in the South Western part of Nigeria, and they speak the Yorùbá language. The theme for today's proverb is Social Influence.
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Bí ewé bá pẹ́ lára oṣe, òun náà á di oṣe
Literal Interpretation:
If a leaf, used in wrapping a lump or bar of soap is left to be with the soap for long, the leaf will eventually become part of the soap
There is an ancient tradition of the Yorùbá people in which traditionally made ọṣe dúdú (black soap) is wrapped in leaves for preservation or packaging. It was observed that whenever the soap was left in the leaf casing for too long, the leaf decomposes and thus can no more be separated from the soap. The proverb is used to illustrate the fact that a person will most likely be influenced or changed by the nature of environment he lives in or the kind of company he keeps.
This proverb is used to describe a similarity in behaviour of married couples after sometime in the marriage, but most importantly, it is used to caution parents to watch out and ensure that their children or wards do not keep company with hoodlums, bad gangs, or people with questionable character. It emphasizes that even children from good backgrounds can easily be corrupted when they live or move with the wrong people.
Another Yorùbá proverb closely related to this particular one is
Àgùntàn tó bá bá ajá rìn, á jẹ ìgbẹ́
Which literally means The sheep that walks with dogs will eat faeces.
Local dogs are known to roam the streets and pick stuffs to eat here and there. They therefore eat a lot of odd stuffs from dumpsters, and odd places. On the other hand, sheep are known to be herbivores and they are well taken care of. If a sheep therefore strays away and starts moving with dogs, he will eventually try their menu and will result to eating from dumpsters too.
You can drop your opinion about these proverbs in the comment section.
