Proverbial name (Africa)

Last updated

A proverbial name is a type of given name formation in some cultures of Africa. A proverbial name is a name which is condensed from a proverb, proverbial phrase, or a philosophical statement. An example from the Urhobo culture: Okeremute ("there is time for everything") [1] [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proverb</span> Short traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth

A proverb is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial expression is a type of a conventional saying similar to proverbs and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. Collectively, they form a genre of folklore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oral tradition</span> Culture preserved and transmitted through speech or song

Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. The transmission is through speech or song and may include folktales, ballads, chants, prose or poetry. In this way, it is possible for a society to transmit oral history, oral literature, oral law and other knowledge across generations without a writing system, or in parallel to a writing system. Religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, and Jainism, for example, have used an oral tradition, in parallel to a writing system, to transmit their canonical scriptures, rituals, hymns and mythologies from one generation to the next.

A colonial mentality is the internalized attitude of ethnic or cultural inferiority felt by people as a result of colonization, i.e. them being colonized by another group. It corresponds with the belief that the cultural values of the colonizer are inherently superior to one's own. The term has been used by postcolonial scholars to discuss the transgenerational effects of colonialism present in former colonies following decolonization. It is commonly used as an operational concept for framing ideological domination in historical colonial experiences. In psychology colonial mentality has been used to explain instances of collective depression, anxiety, and other widespread mental health issues in populations that have experienced colonization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifford Geertz</span> American anthropologist (1926–2006)

Clifford James Geertz was an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology and who was considered "for three decades... the single most influential cultural anthropologist in the United States." He served until his death as professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oral literature</span> Oral literature

Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used varying descriptions for oral literature or folk literature. A broad conceptualization refers to it as literature characterized by oral transmission and the absence of any fixed form. It includes the stories, legends, and history passed through generations in a spoken form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wellerism</span> Type of witticism

Wellerisms, named after sayings of Sam Weller in Charles Dickens's novel The Pickwick Papers, make fun of established clichés and proverbs by showing that they are wrong in certain situations, often when taken literally. In this sense, Wellerisms that include proverbs are a type of anti-proverb. Typically a Wellerism consists of three parts: a proverb or saying, a speaker, and an often humorously literal explanation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itsekiri people</span> Yoruboid subgroup of Delta State, Nigeria

The Itsekiri are one of the Yoruboid subgroup of Nigeria's Niger Delta area, Delta State. The Itsekiris presently number 2.7 million people and live mainly in the Warri South, Warri North and Warri South West local government districts of Delta State on the Atlantic coast of Nigeria. Significant communities of Itsekiris can be found in parts of Edo and Ondo states and in various other Nigerian cities including Lagos, Benin City, Port Harcourt and Abuja. Many people of Itsekiri descent also reside in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The Itsekiris are closely related to the Yoruba of South Western Nigeria and also close to the Okpe people and Edo peoples. The Itsekiris traditionally refer to their land as the Kingdom of Warri or 'Iwere' as its proper name – which is geographically contiguous to the area covered by the three Warri local government districts. The area is a key centre of Nigeria's crude oil and natural gas production and petroleum refining and the main town Warri forms the industrial and commercial nucleus of the Delta State region.

Osanobua or Osalobua is the name for God in the Edo language. It is also referred to asOsa, which is commonly integrated into modern Edo names, such as Esosa, which means God's goodness or gift; Eghosa, God's time; and Efosa, God's blessings or wealth. The term originally derives from the deity from the traditional Edo language, Osa, a sky deity cognate with the Yoruba term orisha. The epithet Osalobua Noghodua means God Almighty. The word osalobua encompasses a large number of divine principles - including the divine state of being merciful, timeless, goodness, justice, sublimity, and supreme. In the Edo belief system, Osalobua has the divine attributes of omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. The Supreme Deity is believed to be present everywhere and at all times.

Paremiology is the collection and study of paroemias (proverbs). It is a subfield of both philology and linguistics.

S. N. Balagangadhara is a professor emeritus of the Ghent University in Belgium, and was director of the India Platform and the Research Centre Vergelijkende Cutuurwetenschap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isoko people</span> Ethnic group in the Niger River Delta region of Nigeria

Isoko people are an ethnolinguistic group who inhabit the Isoko region of Delta State and Bayelsa State, Nigeria. They are people of southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger delta. Delta State and Bayelsa State are part of the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Ethiopian studies or Ethiopian and Eritrean studies refers to a multidisciplinary academic cluster dedicated to research on Ethiopia and Eritrea within the cultural and historical context of the Horn of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoruba people</span> Ethnic group in West Africa

The Yoruba people are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by the Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 52 million people in Africa, are over a million outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is today within the country of Nigeria, where they make up 21% of the country's population according to CIA estimations, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers.

Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is popularly used to describe stories that are not objectively true, the identification of a narrative as a myth can be highly controversial. Many religious adherents believe that the narratives told in their respective religious traditions are historical without question, and so object to their identification as myths while labelling traditional narratives from other religions as such. Hence, some scholars may label all religious narratives as "myths" for practical reasons, such as to avoid depreciating any one tradition because cultures interpret each other differently relative to one another. Other scholars may abstain from using the term "myth" altogether for purposes of avoiding placing pejorative overtones on sacred narratives.

The Urhobos are people located in southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger Delta.

Marimba Ani is an anthropologist and African Studies scholar best known for her work Yurugu, a comprehensive critique of European thought and culture, and her coining of the term "Maafa" for the African holocaust.

Michael James Hutt is Professor of Nepali and Himalayan Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He is engaged in the study of modern and contemporary Nepali literature, and as a translator. He has also published on Nepali politics, Nepali art and architecture, censorship in the Nepali print media, and the Bhutanese refugee issue.

Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices relate to wider systems of power associated with, or operating through, social phenomena. These include ideology, class structures, national formations, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and generation. Employing cultural analysis, cultural studies views cultures not as fixed, bounded, stable, and discrete entities, but rather as constantly interacting and changing sets of practices and processes. The field of cultural studies encompasses a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives and practices. Although distinct from the discipline of cultural anthropology and the interdisciplinary field of ethnic studies, cultural studies draws upon and has contributed to each of these fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onigu Otite</span> Nigerian sociologist

Onigu Otite was a Nigerian sociologist. He was among the first set of students to attend the first indigenous Nigerian university - University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He wrote several books including The Urhobo People, On the Path of Progress, Ethnic Pluralism and Ethnic Conflicts in Nigeria, and Introduction to Sociology which he co-authored with William Ogionwo. The Urhobo Studies Association USA Chapter regard him as one of the earliest Urhobo scholars to focus attention on the culture and history of the Urhobo People of the Niger Delta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Eritrea</span> Overview of the cinema of Eritrea

The history of cinema in Eritrea dates back to the country's colonial rule under the Kingdom of Italy. In connection with the growth of Italian cinema in the 1930s, so too did the rise of cinema occur in Asmara, Eritrea. In 1937, Asmara's Opera was converted into a dual-use theatre and cinema. By the following year, Asmara had a total of nine movie theatres.

References

  1. Peter Palmer Ekeh (2005) "Studies in Urhobo Culture ", ISBN   978-067-769-0, pp.81, 101
  2. The Uganda Journal , v.11-14 1947-1950, pp.204, 205
  3. J. Olowo Ojoade, "African Proverbial Names: 101 Ilaje Examples", Names, 1980, vol. 28, 195-214

Relevant literature