Some Swahili short stories and novels are built around the essence of a single, unifying proverb.
Proverbs and quotations reveal the inner thoughts and aspirations of a people, their ambition, anger, misfortune, struggle with life, death, and diversity, their joy, grief and primarily their sense of humor. The thing that is especially interesting about the use of proverbs in African American writings is its suggestion of a movement from the written language back to the oral. This is a reminder that African literature may really be best described as lit/orature, an interlock between two coexisting traditions. The oral of these proverbs sometimes increases the impact. "For the westernized elite, oral traditions are useful resources for placing an authentic African stamp on writings and they can aid in the reconstructions of traditional life." (Olliver 35) .
The use of proverbs to enlighten things was a wonderful tool in African folklore. There many proverbs were, in some way, their national poetry. A nations proverbs, holds an entire plethora of ethics. They are observations of a country's mannerisms and morals. Proverbs were as much a part of African life as were riddles. They both were used for the job of the Griot, to teach and to entertain. It can be observed that many of Africa's proverbs are similar to those found in other countries. They are often paraphrases one of the other. There are many examples of this. For instance the African proverb: "Mouth not keeping to mouth and lip not keeping to lip, bring trouble to jaw," we find paraphrased in the familiar proverb: "Talk is silver, silence is gold.".
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.
