Some Mεnde Proverbs

Extract

The frequent use of proverbs appears to be one sign of respect for tradition and authority, for a proverb enshrines the wisdom of one's ancestors and the use of a proverb may be construed as respect for the wisdom of the past. The apt use of a proverb tends to close an argument triumphantly or move the previous question. Mende is very rich in proverbs. The number current must run into thousands. Yet until recently, when the Bunumbu Press, Sierra Leone, published two untranslated collections for use in connexion with literacy campaigns, very few had been recorded. In A View of Sierra Leone Migeod noted a number which were revised by E. Harnetty in Sierra Leone Studies No. IX. In Sierra Leone School Notes No. 6, September 1941, the Rev. E. Avery lists some twenty-four. These are the only publications known to me which provide any translation, literal or otherwise, or any comment. Yet it was comparatively easy to compile a list of three hundred Mεnde proverbs and to illustrate by a representative selection.