Proverbs play an important role in the lives of African people. They were used in
different situations that involve the families, in the upbringing of children, to give
solutions to problems, to teach on how to live with each other as people et cetera.
Learners’ responses must show how these were done and be supported by relevant
examples.
Proverbs have many roles to play – they:
Express social approval and disapproval.
Ridicule those who deviate from the norm – people were expected to conform.
Advise, warn, counsel members of the community.
Were a philosophical way of teaching and inducting the young into the society
where they were born. They were moral lessons.
Are source of wisdom – they would quote them in the same way a preacher
quotes a verse.
They were used in courts to sway the verdict.
In African culture, proverbs are also used to express heredity, upbringing,
upliftment and inspiration. A proverb such as a duiker will always bear a duiker
reveals that genetics always shapes its way through genealogy.
Proverbs are a literary genre that was used by African traditions for a lot of
purposes such as providing warning against the dangers of pride, ingratitude,
abstinence, lack of humanness, lack of good moral nature, dishonesty,
cunningness as well as unfaithfulness.
Proverbs are also used to express ungratefulness, inhumanity or hatred.
A proverb warns people to caution their muscle over other people`s assets.
, On a high note, proverbs are also used to express friendliness such as a friend is
closer and more valuable than a blood relative. A friend can be more reliable,
helpful and trustworthy than a blood relative.
Role of proverbs
Proverbs were also extensively used to sustain and preserve the African
languages.
They reminded the people of the values that a linguistic and cultural group
held dear.
Proverbs were used to sustain the morality of the people and were
constructed by making comparisons with life in the physical and cultural
environment, in order that the good from animals and nature was learnt and
deviant behaviour was discouraged.
African proverbs show how language was sustained because authentic words
and phrases were taught over and above the moral lessons.
Express social approval and disapproval
Ridicule those who deviate from the norm – people were expected to conform
To advise, to warn, to counsel members of the community
They were a philosophical way of teaching and inducting the young into the
society they were born in. They were moral lessons.
Folktales were used by African traditional societies to preserve and impart to future
generations valuable moral lessons. The learner is expected to use one folktale and
show how this folktale was used by these African traditional societies in imparting and
preserving valuable moral lessons to future generations. A word of warning the learner
is not expected to write about the folktale BUT to show how this folktale was used in
this regard.
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