The African Proverbs have had a great influence on lifestyles of many people, mainly successful African Americans through means of religion and culture. The word proverb comes from the Latin proverbium (pro meaning “in front of, on behalf of” and verbium meaning “word”), suggesting that a proverb takes the place of ordinary words. Proverbs are important in all traditional societies.

“ Proverbs are distilled genius of oral cultures, perhaps even an encapsulation of the whole. They identify and dignify a culture, bringing life into wisdom and wisdom into life. Unfortunately their potential value for modern thought and life is little recognized.” (Kentfield 42)

Even in Africa itself, proverbs are a vanishing heritage associated mostly with the rural world. They seem never to have found a home in the modern world, especially in the imported system of education. Schools have not brought out the great importance of proverbs in the lessons being taught in school. “The central intellectual problem of Africa today is how to integrate those two worlds rather than leave the next generation spread-eagled between them.” (Le

As do proverbs, African American folktales have origins rooted in West African literary and cultural forms of expression. When Africans were taken from their homeland and brought to America as slaves, they also brought with them their individual cultures, languages and customs. However, their white slaveholders suppressed this part of their heritage in them. Thus they had to find other ways of expression , mainly storytelling and songs. This is another way they brought in proverbs.

Storytelling as a means of communication develops in an oral culture because mentally it is easier to remember information as a set of facts. Thus oral tradition gives more emphasis to the rhythm of the language, with repetition and short phrases making the stories, riddles and proverbs easier to understand, and in turn to recall from memory. “African Literature, oral and written, was produced on the African continent. Africa has a long literary tradition, although very little of this literature was written down until the 20th century. In the absence of widespread literacy, African literature was primarily oral and passed down from one generation to the next through memorization and recitation.” (Lawrence)

slau 58) Proverbs are small pieces of wisdom, some moral and some philosophical, that are reduced to a few very carefully crafted words and/or phrases.

Proverbs have many uses in African societies. They usually express an eternal truth. They are a warning against foolish acts or a guide to a persons good conduct. They may also bring special meaning to certain situations and may even solve particular problems. “Proverbs are expressed not only in words but also in the language of the drums and the sound of the horns blown by the attendants of chiefs.” (Diggs 38) Even patterns woven in cloth by weavers may express proverbial saying. One example is Kente (kan’tay) pattern. It may be seen hanging on one of the walls in the delegates’ lounge in the United Nations Building in New York. Proverbs will give some insight into an important aspect of African culture and help to increase human understanding.

Their traditional tales were similar to those in early European culture where stories tried to explain natural phenomena in human terms. The different stories attempted to explain the world’s creation and where humans came from. Like any modern day fairytale, those folktales included tales about legendary heroes, heroic deeds, magic and witches. In time these stories took the form of parables, being used as a teaching tool to convey ideas, morals, and cultural values from one generation to another. Instead of losing the African culture, slavery enhanced it, because of slave masters. Slaves would take the old stories and create new ones which incorporated aspects of their life, as well as the Christian religion into which they have been converted. This aspect is still seen in black churches and music today. Many modern day artists, specifically African American musicians, have been influenced by the stories of their forefathers and usually make references

Some topics in this essay:
African American, Africa Africans, African Americans, Proverbs African, York Proverbs, Testament James”, West African, Western African, Chinua Achebe, Project Christian, african proverbs, proverbs african, african culture, african american, oral tradition, proverbs african american, storytelling songs, proverbs traditional, riddles proverbs, modern day, proverbs provide,