As a study of folk literature of different races offers one way of
understanding their mental attitude toward life and its problems, the
folk literature of the Negro will reveal to us his inherent moral and
intellectual bias and the natural trend of his philosophy. Let us therefore
examine some phases of this subject, paying particular attention to that
part which relates especially to the proverbs. The sources of such
literature are abundant. A little research in a well-equipped library
brings one into a curious and informing mass of knowledge, ever increasing
in bulk, in the French, German and English languages, as well as in many
strange and highly inflected African tongues.
A cursory reading of this literature discloses at once that our general
knowledge of Africa has been based in the past mainly on those external
facts that strike the sense of sight, such as the physical appearance of
the population, native dress and handiwork, musical instruments, implements
of warfare, and customs peculiar to the social and religious life of the
people. Only through the folk literature, however, can we get a glimpse of
the working of the mind of the African Negro. Professor Henry Drummond,
although he had traveled in Africa and had written at length about it,
still exhibited a longing for this insight when he observed: "I have often
wished that I could get inside of an African for an afternoon and just see
how he looked at things." At that time much of the folk literature of that
continent was not as now available. A deeper and more extensive reading of
it at present strengthens our belief in the ancient saying "Out of Africa
there is always something new," a rather disquieting thought, if we have
reached the conclusion that native culture on that continent has never
risen above the zero point.
A critical examination of the content of this folk literature will result
in a division somewhat similar to that found in the same type of literature
of other races. Such a division discloses stories, poetry, riddles and
proverbs. The African folk literature is especially rich in proverbs. So
numerous are these proverbs that it has been said that there is scarcely an
object presented to the eye, scarcely an idea excited in the mind, but it
is accompanied by some sententious aphorism, founded on close observation
of man and animals and in many cases of a decidedly moral tendency. Lord
Bacon remarked many years ago that "the genius, wit and spirit of a nation
are discovered in its proverbs." Cervantes in _Don Quixote_ says "Methinks,
Sancho, that there is no proverb that is not true, because they are all
judgments drawn from the same experience which is the mother of all
knowledge." If these sayings be true, then the proverbs of the African
Negro should be examined in order to see if they approach these
observations.
For convenience of the reader an effort has been made to arrange these
sententious sayings under general subjects. These selected by no means
exhaust the mine of African proverbial lore but are only a few nuggets that
suggest the Negro's power to infer and generalize and to express himself in
a graphic and concise way relative to life as he observed and experienced
it.[1]
_Anger_
Anger does nobody good, but patience is the father of kindness.
_Assistance_
Not to aid one in distress is to kill him in your heart.
_Birth_
Birth does not differ from birth; as the free man was born so was
the slave.
In the beginning our Lord created all. With him there is neither
slave nor free man, but every one is free.
_Boasting_
Boasting is not courage. He who boasts much cannot do much. Much
gesticulation does not prove courage.
_Borrowing_
Borrowing is easy but the day of payment is hard.
_Chance_
He who waits for chance may wait for a year.
_Character_
Wherever a man goes to dwell his character goes with him. Every
man's character is good in his own eyes.
_Charity_
Charity is the father of sacrifice.
_Children_
There is no wealth without children. It is the duty of children to
wait on elders, not elders on children.
_Condemnation_
You condemn on hearsay evidence alone, your sins increase.
_Contempt_
Men despise what they do not understand.
_Covetousness_
If thou seeketh to obtain by force what our Lord did not give thee,
thou wilt not get it.
_Danger of Beauty_
He who marries a beauty, marries trouble.
_Danger of Poverty_
Beg help and you will meet with refusals; ask for alms and you will
meet with misers.
_Danger of Wealth_
It is better to be poor and live long than rich and die young.
_Disposition_
A man's disposition is like a mark in a stone, no one can efface it.
_Doing Good_
If one does good, God will interpret it to him for good.
_Duty to One's Self_
Do not repair another man's fence until you have seen to your own.
_Effort_
You cannot kill game by looking at it.
_Evil Doer_
The evil doer is ever anxious.
_Experience_
We begin by being foolish and we become wise by experience.
_Familiarity_
Familiarity induces contempt, but distance secures respect.
_Faults_
Faults are like a hill, you stand on your own and you talk about
those of other people.
_Faults of the Rich_
If thou art poor, do not make a rich man thy friend.
If thou goest to a foreign country, do not alight at a rich man's
house.
_Favor of the Great_
To love the king is not bad, but a king who loves you is better.
_Folly_
After a foolish action comes remorse.
_Forethought_
A person prepared beforehand is better than after reflection.
The day on which one starts is not the time to commence one's
preparation.
_Forgiveness_
He who forgives ends the quarrel.
_Friends_
There are three friends in this world--courage, sense, and insight.
_Friendship_
Hold a true friend with both of your hands.
_Future_
Thou knowest the past but not the future.
As to what is future, even a bird with a long neck can not see it,
but God only.
_Gossip_
Gossip is unbecoming an elder.
_Gentleness_
A matter dealt with gently is sure to prosper, but a matter dealt
with violently causes vexation.
_Hate_
There is no medicine for hate.
_Heart_
It is the heart that carries one to heaven.
_Heathen_
He is a heathen who bears malice.
_Hope_
Hope is the pillar of the world.
_Ignorance_
Lack of knowledge is darker than night.
An ignorant man is always a slave.
Whoever works without knowledge works uselessly.
_Immortality_
Since thou hast no benefactor in this world, thy having one in the
next world will be all the more pleasant.
_Injury_
He who injures another brings injury upon himself.
_Laziness_
Laziness lends assistance to fatigue.
A lazy man looks for light employment.
_Love_
One does not love another if one does not accept anything from him.
If you love the children of others, you will love your own even
better.
_Meekness_
If one knows thee not or a blind man scolds thee, do not become
angry.
_Mother_
Him whose mother is no more, distress carries off.
_Necessity of Effort_
The sieve never sifts meal by itself.
_Old Age_
There are no charms or medicine against old age.
_Opportunity_
The dawn does not come twice to wake a man.
_Patience_
At the bottom of patience there is heaven.
Patience is the best of qualities; he who possesses it possesses
all things.
_People_
Ordinary people are as common as grass, but good people are dearer
than the eye.
_Politeness_
Bowing to a dwarf will not prevent your standing erect again.
"I have forgotten thy name" is better than "I know thee not."
_Poverty_
A poor man has no friends.
He who has no house has no word in society.
_Riches_
Property is the prop of life.
A wealthy man always has followers.
_Sleep_
Sleep has no favorites.
_Strife_
Strife begets a gentle child.
_Sun_
The sun is the king of torches.
_Trade_
Trade is not something imaginary or descriptive, but something real
and profitable.
_Truth_
Lies, however numerous, will be caught by truth when it rises up.
The voice of truth is easily known.
_Unselfishness_
If you love yourself others will hate you, if you humble yourself
others will love you.
_Valor_
Boasting at home is not valor; parade is not battle; when war comes
the valiant will be known.
The fugitive never stops to pick the thorn from his foot.
_Wisdom_
A man may be born to wealth, but wisdom comes only with length of days.
A man with wisdom is better off than a stupid man with any amount of
charms and superstition.
Know thyself better than he who speaks of thee.
Not to know is bad, not to wish to know is worse.
A counsellor who understands proverbs soon sets matters right.