Research Review New Series  16.2 (2000) 67-79

BOOK REVIEW

A.K.  AWEDOBA,  2000.  An  Introduction  to  Kasena  Society  and  Culture  Through  Their
Proverbs. Lanham: University Press of America, Pp. 290, cloth. ISBN  0-7618-1542-2

Introduction

The gathering of proverbs (in the form of written collections) in various ethno-linguistic  areas

of  Africa  over  the  past  two  centuries  has  played  an  active  role  in  the  development  of  African

"Folklore"  Studies.  And, just  as  the  concept  of  "folk-lore"  has  itself  undergone  a  fundamental

questioning and change, so has the analysis of "pro-verb/s".

The proverbs of the Akans of Ghana {ebe), one of the most documented West African  cultural

entities, have for instance been approached  in various manners during the colonial period  and up

to the present times. Several collections came to fruition  :
•  Rev,  J.G.  Christaller,  the  Basel  Missionary  based  in  Akwapem  at  the  end  of  the  19th
from  oral

3600  Twi  proverbs  "collected  by  missionaries 

Century,  edited 

communication",  retained  their  variations  and  arranged  them  alphabetically  into  A

Collection of Three Thousand and Six Hundred  Tshi Proverbs with the strong view that

"They  contained]  almost  inexhaustible  material  for  the  grammar  and  dictionary,  and

still more for those who aspire to a sound knowledge of the Negro mind". But since his

collection was published solely in the vernacular, he opened the way to further works;

»  R.  S.  Rattray,  the  colonial  ethnographer  employed  to  help  the  British  carry  out  their

Indirect  Rule policy  in  Ghana, took  on  the  task  of translating  and  commenting  on  830

proverbs  of Christaller's  collection;  he declared  that  he had  eliminated  all  those  which

"seemed to bear traces of European  influence" and that he had kept mainly those which

could  be of interest  to either  the  anthropologist  or the  linguist.  R.  S. Rattray  published

his Ashanti Proverbs in  1916, suggesting that "These sayings would  seem to be [...]  the

ver/  soul  of  this  people,  of  a  truth  all  such  sayings  really  are.  They  contain  some

thought  which,  when  one,  more  eloquent  in  the  tribe  than  another,  has  expressed  in

words, all who are of that people recognize  at once as something which  they knew  full

well already, which all the instinct of their lives and thoughts and traditions tells them to

be true of their own nature." He classified  the 830 chosen proverbs in themes, similar to

those which  had  been  suggested  in Christaller's  preface,  reproduced  their  Twi  version,

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added  an  "almost  literal  translation"  and 

linguistic  and  /  or  anthropological  notes,

wherever a remarkable  linguistic construction or an untranslatable word appeared; 

•

• 

In  1958,  a  Ghanaian  scholar,  C.  A.  Akrofi,  on  the  pretext  that  both  Christaller's  and

Rattray's  prior  collections  of  Twi  proverbs  were  out  of  print,  embarked  on  a  "new

collection" of  1000 proverbs with the hope that it would meet the demand of learners of

Twi  in  schools  and  of "the  growing  number  of people  who  are  seeking to  understand

Akan  folklore"  since, as he asserted,  "Akan proverbs are a reflection  of the philosophy

of the Akan" and since "Proverbs play a very important role in the everyday language of

Twi-speaking  people"  by  enriching  their  speech  and  giving  it  flavour.  His  1000

proverbs appear in alphabetical order, in their Twi form  with a comment in Twi on one

side  and  in  their  English  translation  and  explanation  in  English  on  the  other  (Akrofi

1958);

• 

It may  appear  quite  amazing that  in  1985, one hundred  years  after  its first publication

Christaller's  entire collection  was again taken up by Fr. Kofi  Ron Lange, S.V.D., who,

without  any  mention  of  Rattray's  work,  published  a  translation  of  all  the  3600

originally  compiled  proverb-texts,  in  their  original  order,  and  without  any  form  of

linguistic or anthropological  commentary.

The  common  assumption,  in  all  these  successive  collections,  was  that  the  compendium  of

sayings  was worthy  of transcription  -  that  is, of permanent  remembrance  -  since they  entailed

both verbal artistry and cultural meaning.

Yet,  although  "variations" were  cited  in  the  anthologies  and  although  the  authors  declared

having "verified" the proverbs' meaning(s) with elders -  proverbs they had not themselves heard
in discourse -  no real "contextual study" (Yankah,  1989) was attempted in any of the works.l

Our  four  collectors,  translators  and  commentators,  seeking  to  provide  tools  for  a  better

understanding  of  the  Akan  language  and  culture,  neglected  the  "dynamics  of  these  words

ascribed to the sages". Unaware of Dell Hymes'  'Ethnography  of Speaking'  (1962), they did not

take  into account  the  fact  that proverb use {ebebuo  in Akan)  is much more of  a  "performance"

man of a "quotation", for proverbs are not just rhythmic and metaphorical frills; rather,

Proverbs  are  [according  to  Kenneth  Burke]  strategies  for  dealing  with  situations.

Insofar as situations are typical and recurrent in a given social structure, people develop

names for them and strategies for handling them.

(Quoted in Yankah  1989: 37, our emphasis.)

"Variations",  when  noted, were  also  left  unexplained;  yet,  as  Charlotte  Schapira  postulates,

the  proverbial  treasure  accumulated  by  a  community's  Oral  Tradition  structurally  changes

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alongside with the movements undergone by their socio-cultural  environment  itself; proverbs are

altered  (truncated,  embellished,  expanded), new  proverbs  enter  the  dictionary,  archaic  ones  are

condemned to death :

Le  fonds  des  proverbes  de  la  langue  constitue,  du  point  de  vue  linguistique,  un

ensemble  special et unique. II offre  a tout locuteur un ensemble d'arguments  tout  faits,

investis d'un  prestige qui ne permet pas d'en  contester l'autorite. A chaque moment de

l'histoire  d'une  langue, en fonction  du developpement  de la communaute qui  la parle,

les  « verites »  se  font  et  se  defont,  des  proverbes  se  perdent  et  d'autres  se  creent  et

prennent leur place dans le vocabulaire actif des sujets parlants (Schapira  2000).

It is with these serniotic considerations in mind that we shall now proceed to find  out whether or

how  A,K.  Awedoba  has  been  able  to  present  An  Introduction  to  Kasena  Society  and  Culture

through, their Proverbs.

"This is not a creative work..." (Awedoba 2000: Acknowledgements)

266  Kasena  "proverbs"  (memane)  and  39  Kasena  "popular  sayings"  (sinseira)  which  have

been transcribed  in their original  language, translated  into English and commented  constitute the

body  of  Awedoba's  book  (Chapters  III  &  IV); they  were  listed  in  no  particular  order  (neither

thematic, nor alphabetic) but  simply kept, according  to the author, "in  the order in which  [they]

were collected"  (p.227)  over  a rather  lengthy  period  of time, mainly  in  the Navrongo  chiefdom

(p.29)  -  the area best known to him, because he had "interacted  with the people from  this region

all his life". The basic assumption  of the work is that "since proverbs are not coined in a vacuum

but derived  from  the culture and the society  in which  they  are current" (p. 13), this collection  of

"traditional"  texts  will  serve  as  "valuable  evidence"  of  the  "unwritten  culture"  of  a  people  of

Upper Eastern Ghana -  the Kasena.

But,  although  these  cultural  values  are  to  be  revealed  through  an  attentive  reading  of  the

"proverb  texts",  bringing  forth  their  "literal  meaning"  and  more  essentially  their  "deeper  and

underlying  meanings" (Preface),  the author has nevertheless  found  it necessary  to pre-empt  the

findings  of  his  paremiological  quest  by  presenting  key  elements  of  the  Kasena  social

organisation, political  structure, geographic and economic situation  and religious beliefs  in a first

introductory  chapter,  based  on  the  scholarly  works  listed  in  the  Bibliography  and  thematicaliy

detailed in the Index.

In order to help the non-Kasena reader understand  the hidden  meaning(s) of the corpus, A.K.

Awedoba  has  added  a  second  introductory  chapter  in  which  he  considers  "how  the  Kasena

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themselves  make sense of the institution  of proverb  in the context of their language" (p.31). He

argues  that  the  Kasena  believe  that  their  proverbs  (mematje)  sum  up  the  wisdom  of  the  diim

world  (the  ideal,  pre-colonial  past)  and  that  their  uninterrupted  (even  when  disrupted)  oral

transmission  did  facilitate  the  partial  survival  of  their  ancestors'  culture.  In  this  present,

degenerate  world  (zen)  proverbial  utterances  do  therefore  constitute  paradigms  for  better

behaviour,  of  an  unchallengeable  nature.  Similarly  to  what  K.  Yankah  had  noted  about  The

Proverb  in  the  Context  of Akan  Rhetoric  (Yankah  1989)  and  S.G.  Obeng  on  "The  Proverb  as

Mitigating and Politeness  Strategy  in Akan  Discourse" (Obeng  1996), the author elaborates  that

the  Kasena  people  do  not  use  proverbs  for  their  own  sake  either,  but  "in  discourse"  -  as

"clinchers  for arguments", as a means for  illustrating the logic of a statement  and  as  face-saving

mechanisms  ; this functionality  of proverbs in adult discourse was verified,  he claims, through a

"participant observation" approach (p.30).

The reader, of course, who  is expecting to understand,  as announced  in the title, "the Kasena

society  and  culture  through  their  proverbs"  (our  emphasis)  is  free  to  ignore  the  introductory

chapters, and to simply hop from  one item of the collection  to the other, in no particular order  -

just  as he would be glancing through an encyclopaedia.  Let us verify  with  him (or her) how this

understandable expectation of answered by the author's explanatory work.

On the "Subject Matter" of  Kasena Proverbs...

The on-going process of proverb-reformulation  (that is of synchronic or diachronic  alteration

of proverbs, either in the form of variations in the same language or of corresponding proverbs in

other  languages)  has been  verified  over  and  over  again  in  comparative  proverb  studies.- Whilst

the  semantic  "sameness" wherever  it is exhibited does prove the universality of common  sense,

the  "difference"  in  formulation  between  comparable  proverbs  will  be  of  interest  to  the  linguist

and  to  the  sociologist  who  are  both  concerned  with  the  fluctuating  "social  discourse"  in  the

Bakhtinian  sense. On the other hand, whenever a proverb has not been  or cannot be  "translated"

in a proverbial  manner  into another  language, then that proverb must be the singular  expression

of an original cultural value and will become of great interest to anthropological studies.

G.  Kleiber  (2000)  also  suggests  that  the  fact  that  in  each  culture  a  formula  is  or  is  not

recognised  as  a  "proverb"  tends  to  indicate  that  there  is  a  universal  model  of  a  proverb's

semantic  structure,  namely  that  of  an  "implication,  in  the  form  of  a  generic  sentence-«<zme,

between  situations  concerning  human  beings"  (our  translation).  To  search  for  a  proverb's

meaning  then boils down  to looking beyond  the literal  significance  of the words used  and of the

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proverb-sentence  itself;  it  requires  the  ability  to  decipher  the  symbolic  (human  or  cultural)

implication behind the proverb-text's figurative  and rhythmic expression.

So, when Awedoba writes  that...

...the Kasena  proverbs have as their subject  matter those values that Kasena cherish

so much, such  as industry,  love and concern  for  others, especially  kin, respect  for  old

age,  patience,  foresight,  etc.,  as  well  as  those  values  that  they  abhor  such  as  greed,

abuse of power, laziness, disrespect, etc..." (p.57, our emphasis)

he  brushes  aside  the  fact  that  the  values  mentioned  by  him  are  not  Kasena  values per  se,  but

rather  universal  (African)  values  and  that  their  "Kasenaness" resides  mainly  in  their  linguistic

formulation;  Awedoba  does  also not  clearly  differentiate  (even  if this  can be deduced  from  his

explanatory  notes)  between  the  common  or  universal  [Kasena]  proverbs  and  those  in  the

collection,  which  can  be  considered  as  real  "cultural"  treasures  -  in  the  sense  that  they  name

typical "cultural" situations much more than stereotyped "human" relationships.

Universal values in Kasena fashion

Proverbs  #  35  and  #  36  are  introduced  by  the  author  as representing  two  variations  in  the

Kasena proverbial expression of gratitude and appreciation, as "an acknowledgement of a state of

indebtedness" as well as "part of the counter flow of prestations" in the Maussian sense :

55 Naao ba ke bwolo lei.

The cow does not thank the valley.

(the cow feeds all the time in the bwolo, the low land which is not put under cultivation

every year)

36 Chworo ba ke kazogo lei.

The chicken does not thank the mortar.

(fowls keep on picking grain which falls around the mortar)

Although  the  imagery,  in  both  cases,  may  be  linked  to  everyday  life  in  a  Kasena  village,  the

actual proverbial meaning has its equivalent in Akan :

Esie ne kegya nni aseda.

The kegya tree does not (have to constantly) thank the ant-hill.

In  this  first  comparative  example,  a  "different"  imagery  is  being  used  which  is  linked  to  a

"different"  geographic and economic environment (the Kasena savannah versus the Akan forest),

but the syntactic formulations remain "similar" and the implied meaning is, in all three cases :

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if  I (a human being, indebted to you, another human being) do not say "thank you!" all

the  time,  this  does  not  mean  that  I  am  ungrateful,  just  like  "the  cow...",  "the

chicken...", or "the kegya tree..."

Proverb # 55 and its variation are another example worth of notice :

55 Ba ba du mene dedwoni ban a ne.

One does not sow millet on millet.

(literally  an  allusion  to  a  farming  practice  as  well  as,  figuratively,  a  criticism  of

unwarranted  discrimination)

Such as in "One does not bypass one needy mouth to give water to another." (variation)

The  author's  commentary,  which  starts  as  usual  with  a  development  on  the  literal  contextual

meaning of the proverb, continues with extrapolations on comparable Kasena proverbs which, in

some cases, do not say exactly the "same thing", for instance :

107 Ba ba le sorjo sugu yi ba ke ga-sugu yi  ne.

One  does  not  rob  the  domestic  guinea  fowl  of  its  eye  to  save  the  sight  of  the  wild

guinea fowl.

(the domesticated  guinea  fowl  is  [rightly] given  preference  above its wild  cousin; kin

come first)

A.K.  Awedoba  ends  his  interpretation  by proposing  a proper  Kasena  variation  and  an  English

equivalent:

Kasena have another saying which sheds light on this proverb : Ba ba mage bu ba woli

odwotj (one does  not beat  one  child  in  support  of  another).  The English  proverb  that
says that the goose should be sauced like the gander is a good paraphrase."2

One could continue the author's investigation by asking oneself whether the Akan :

Wusum brode a, sum kwadu (bi), [na obi nim nea obegu  komj.

If you  plant plantain, plant banana  also, [for  you  don't  know which  of them will  save
you in times of famine]3

is or is not a corresponding proverb, to Kasena proverb #55  or to # 107...

Even  the  scatological  and  provocative  imagery  used  in  some  Kasena  proverbs  (#54,  #57,

#228,  #246),  finds  its  humorous  equivalents  in  other  languages.  One  example  will  suffice  to

prove the point  :

57 Nnd kwesre  de n boolo bu oja  npeini  o maa wu wua.

If you play with your girlfriend's  child he will play a whistle tune on your penis.

(the  "girlfriend'  being a divorced or widowed woman having an  affair)

is rendered in Akan by :

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Wogyegye wo kraman a, otafere w 'ano.

If you cajole your dog too much, it will end up licking you mouth,

both meaning  that:

Familiarity breeds contempt.

(English equivalent mentioned by the author)

or, in an even more "abstract" manner :

//you overindulge in... then you will bear the (unpleasant) consequences

The  similarity  or  identity  of  meaning  between  variations  (in  the  same  language)  and

corresponding  proverbs  (in  other  languages)  is  generally  disclosed  by  the  proverbs'  abstract

reformulation  (Cauvin  1981)  and,  mainly,  in  that  logical  implication  which,  as  G.  Kleiber

demonstrates, always underlies it; this re-conceptualization  exercise is also known to be the very
basis of all "translations'1 (Pottier 1987).

In one noteworthy case A.K. Awedoba hints at this himself:

65  Vala gurim mo ka boboom.

The beginning of the straw bangle is its ending,

(it is not easy to notice the beginning or the end of the vala bangle)

This proverb, comments the author, reminds us of the Akan symbolism of the sankofa motif
or  icon4 which  suggests  that  life  is cyclic  and  much  history  can  be  leamt  from  the  present
just as knowledge of the past sheds considerable light on the present and the future (p.l 10).

Kasena  Proverbial Treasures...

Since  geographic  proximity  induces  cultural  similarity,  it  is  not  amazing  that  "universal

proverbs"  expressed  in  the  Kasem  language  are  often  closer  (in  their  formulation  and  tone)  to

their Akan than to their English equivalents. In fact, comparative proverb studies do help  identify

one  of  the  major  differences  between  African  and  Northern  European  language  use,  namely  a

preference  for  suave  and  stimulating  indirectness  on  the  one  hand  and  a  tendency  towards

abbreviated and aloof abstraction on the other hand.

Common  broad  cultural  themes are bound  as well to be "named" in proverbial  utterances  of

various  African  cultural  entities,  especially  when  they  are  located  as close to each  other  as the

Kasena of the Northern Region of Ghana and the Akan of the Central and Southern Regions. Yet,

beyond  the  common  ground  they  share,  Kasena  and  Akan  proverbs  on  the  "same"  (African)

theme  are  at  variance,  for  traditional  choices  (norms,  values)  can  vary  enormously  from  one

ethnic  group to the other, depending  on their historical past  and  even  or the more  so when  they

share common borders.

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The Kasena do, for instance, reassert the general African  belief in the importance of  bearing

children  in order to assure the continuity of communal  life (not only of one's family, but also of

one's clan); in some African  communities  (amongst the Akan, for  instance), severe punishments

are applied  even  after  their death  to those who did not agree to or could  not bear children  when

they  were  alive.  They  will  not,  in particular,  be  remembered  by  the  collective  memory  during

traditional  rites. This  common  belief  is  summed  up in  Kasem  by  two proverbs  listed  by A.  K.

Awedoba in his collection :

26  Te se n daare mo toom lira.

The antidote to death is  off-spring.

(a direct assertion of the cultural norm)

44 Badeinu bajege  badein-yoro.

There are no proud bachelors.

(= an allusion to the rule and to the consequence of disobedience of the rule)

Yet  the  condemnation  of  barrenness  is  proverbially  alleviated  and  sounds  less  absolute  in  the

following Kasena proverb:

13 Nnd  bajege  se bajwa  bworji n yere ko buga.

If  you  do  not have  a  child  to  ensure  that  your  name  will  be  remembered,  then  dig a

well.

Although  this proverb  continues  to portray childlessness  as  a misfortune,  it "however  offers

consolation  to  the  childless"  comments  Awedoba;  and,  in  order  to  explain  this  peculiar

connotative  effect  further,  the  author  refers  to  al-Hasan  Mole's  view,  according  to  which

"making  a well  comes second  to building  a mosque" in a savannah  area often  devastated  by the

aridity of the dry  season; this leads him to conclude that to the Kasena  "good  deeds  are also an

important social investment almost comparable to having children" (p.77).

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The  same  restraint  in  categorical  pronouncements  seems  to  apply  to  the  Kasena  proverbial

Akan proverbs

Kasena Proverbs

5 Anecham bu sage de chworja.
The son of I-have-experienced-trouble  takes his
rest with weapons on hand.
(indirect  evidence  of  importance  of  tie  between
father and son)

130 Naao ndjaane n kwo nndneko  beinnu n duri
mo
If  a  buffalo  has gored  your  father  to  death you
take to flight at the sight of its dung.
(variation of # 5)

39 Kaleina ba ka nu swolim yaga.
The  kaleina  fish  does  not  fail  to  inherit  its
mother's slippery skin.
(# 5 and 130 are hereby confirmed by their inverse
= all bad things come from the mother)

2760 Nsamanpow mtt soduro : wo ni wu a, wo abusua
asa.
Bent  stick  in the spirit  grove(metaphor),  when  your
mother is dead, that is the end of your family.

2068  Wo na awu a, wo abusua asa.
When your mother dies, you have no relatives  left.
(abbreviated form of # 2760)

2287  Wo ni  wu a,  wunwu,  na  ofere  a,  na  (wo nso)
woafare
If  your  mother  dies  you  won't  die;  but  if  she is
disgraced, you are also disgraced.
(variation, on the same theme, of # 2760//2068)

2061 Wo na oba ne wo nua.
Your mother's child is your real brother or sister.
(consequence of the rule stated in # 2760//2068)

1239  Agya  mma nya a,  mepe;  ena mma nya, mepe
papa.
When  my father's  children  get anything,  I  like  it  :
when  my  mother's  children  get  anything,  I  like  it
even better.
(variation of # 2061)

2060  Wo na ba ne Kukuobi  a, anka  wobese se kyene-
kesefata  no?
Even if your mother's son is "kukuobi" (slave) would
you  say that  the big drum  was a fit  thing  for him to
carry?
(metaphorical variation of # 2061 /1239)

2063 Wo na di hia a, wonnya no kofa obi nye na.
If your  mother is poor, you don't  leave her and make
someone else your mother.
(reinforcement  of assertion of rule of allegiance to the
mother, implied in all proverbs quoted above)

2069 Wo na nye a, na wo na ara nen.
Even  if your  mother  is not a good person, she is still
your mother.
(variation of #2063)
representation  of patrilinealism;  whilst  the  Akan  affirm  very  strongly  in numerous  proverbs  as

well  as in  other  common  genres  such  as  folktales  or  funeral  dirges, the sole  importance  of the

"mother's  side", the  Kasena,  who theoretically  trace  their  descent  and  determine  rights  to  hold

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traditional  office  and  inheritance through  their  father*  are  again  introduced  by  the  anthology's

author as asserting this cultural choice with moderation

The two  lists in the table clearly establish  a difference  in tone  ; nevertheless mention must  also

be made  of  two virtually  identical  proverbs  which,  both  in the Akan  and  Kasem  languages,  do

caution against an absolute severance from one or the other side of the family, the understanding

being that a father or a mother and his or her relatives can be of help in bad times :

Akan proverbs

Kasena  Proverbs

159 Obi mfa ne nsa benkumakyere  n 'agya amamfo so.
Nobody  points  to the ruins of his father's  house  with
his left hand.

133 Ba ba mae gwia ba bere nabera soyo.
One does not point to the mother's home with the  left
hand,

81 Benkum guare nifa, na nifa guare  benkum.
The left fumd washes the right, and the right washes the
left.

131 Jazene sanejagwia  yejagwia  sanejezene  mo.
The right washes the left and die left washes the right

Several  themes  could  be  investigated  in  the  same  manner,  but  this  is  neither  possible  nor

necessary in the framework  of this review. A temporary  conclusion can already be drawn  from

this  limited  survey,  namely  that  the  reader  definitely  receives  a  great  deal  of  anthropological

information in the collection of Kasena proverbs assembled by Awedoba; one may also add mat

the reader is gradually  led to take a view of the Kasena society and culture: for instance, where

the Akan say that "A crab does not beget a bird", the German that "An. apple never falls far  from

the tree", the English and the French  mat "Like  father,  like son**, the Kasena rather declare thai

"It is the puny frog that begets the elephant" (proverb #  157) -just  as, adds the author, "the poor

apparently inconsequential parent may beget children who achieve great things in this traditional

egalitarian society."  (p. 162, our empasis)

"Proverbs" (Mematje)  versus "Popular Sayings" (£ms<?/ra) amongst the Kasena:

on  Proverbs'Authorship

According  to  A.K.  Awedoba, proverbs  {memaqe) and  sayings  (sinseira)  differ  mainly  from

the  point  of view  of  authorship  ; proverbs,  to  the  Kasena,  are  "attributed  to the  ancestors  as  a

collective category", whilst the original author as well as the content of authorship of a sinseira

ate known and are often referred to in the sinseirah  statement (p.34).

Despite the  acknowledgetttent  of  the  criteria  apparently  used  for  distinguishing  these  two

related genres, Awedoba seems to have encountered a great deal of difficulty  when attempting to

divide his corpus into two chapters (III & IV). Hesitation oti this matter recurs:

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About proverb # 256, for instance,

Kapaa nd cheitji buga nyerjo ye  dwei.

When the cobra claims the pool, the crocodile does not contest.

(critique of use and misuse of power and authority)

the  author  postulates  :  "This  is  one  of  these  borderline  utterances  which  may  be  classified  as

either a proverb or a saying" (p.219).

Similarly, on sinseira  # 12,

TegsD koro mo tentopuu;  konkompworjo de ko keira.

Here lies the pile of feathers once belonging to I-take-no-advice.

(mimicry  of  the  cry  of the  white  dove  as  it  supposedly  mourns  the  fate  of  its  young

ones)

the commentary ends with : "This saying has proverb quality".

Proverb # 246 surprisingly reappears, with a slight lexical variation, as sinseira  # 14 :

proverb  # 246 Putana daa mo baa daare se wio wo di.

The skin on the belly may not remain but the tree top will be attained.

(=  Metaphor  taken  from  tree  climbing  "used  to  show  determination  on  getting

something done no matter the costs and the consequences")

sinseira # 14 Ton zwona mo ba daare se tio wo di.

The skin may not remain but the tree top will be attained.

To  give  this  second  version  a  sinseira  value,  the  author  adds  to  the  literal  explanation  some

remarks on "authorship":

It  is  accepted  that children  say things  that  make  adults  laugh  (...).  The  above  saying

thus  becomes  interesting  coming  from  an  adult  who  should  know  better.  An  adult

would not be expected to exhibit such determination where a trivial pursuit such as tree

climbing is concerned.

This  explanation  gives  proper  information  on  the  original  author  and  does  not  establish  any

plausible semantic difference between the two items.

A.K. Awedoba's remarks on sinseira # 17 are even more confusing  :

Wo mo go ye  o wo pwoni?

Who killed but failed to skin the game?

This  saying  [writes  the  commentator]  has  no  author,  which  suggests  its  antiquity.

However it seems more like a saying than  a proverb  and for that reason belongs more

in this chapter. It is the kind of utterance for which it would be out of question to assign

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authorship  to  the  ancestors  collectively,  as  one  would  in  the  case  of  a  true  Kasena

proverb... (p.241)

It  might  probably  have  been  better  for  the  author,  in  order  to  avoid  such  flagrant  generic

hesitations  in his commentaries, to have restricted  himself  entirely  to proverbs  whose  existence

in Kasena discourse he did not doubt.

Conclusion

The  last  concern  of  this  review  leads  to  the  general  conclusion  that  Awedoba's  work  on

Kasena  proverbs  finds  its  counterpart  much  more  in  R.S.  Rattray's  anthropological  book  on

Ashanti Proverbs  and customs than in Yankah's recent discourse oriented  study on  The Proverb

in  the  Context  of Akan  Rhetoric,  to  which  Awedoba  refers  in his  introductory  chapter.No  real

"contextual  study"  has  actually  been  undertaken,  neither  on  the  proverbs  and  the  situations  in

which they had occurred  and had been recorded,  nor even on the sinseira 's original authors and

contexts of first utterance.

The  reader  of  this  Introduction  to  Kasena  Society  and  Culture  through  their  Proverbs  is

therefore  confronted  with a series of  Kasena "proverbial texts", taken out of context, listed out at

random, find which serve as a basis for  short essays on Kasena "culturally  loaded" words and on

various aspects of Kasena "traditional" life.

Setting  up  archives  on  dying  African  traditions  remains  a  trend  still  followed  by  many

Folklore researchers of today  and  Awedoba did,  in his preface,  acknowledge this purpose  as an

all important objective of his book :

To my knowledge the traditional oral literature of the peoples of the Upper East Region

of Ghana,  unlike  their  languages, is still  to receive the scholarly  attention  it deserves.

(...)  There is thus the pressing need to study the institution and practices of people like

the  Kasena  and  to  document  their  culture  for  the  present  as  well  as  for  the  future

generations.  What  the Kasena  stand  in danger  of  losing  most  is their  literature,  given

the deleterious effects  of the inroads that the electronic media (radio and TV) make into

the society and its projection  of non-Kasena-Nankana norms and outlook.  (Preface)

Akrofi,  A.C,  1958. Twi Mmebusem  -  Twi Proverbs, Kumasi: Presbyterian  Book Depot / London;  Macmillan

and Co. Ltd.

Cauvin, Jean,  1981. Les Proverbes. Les classiques africains, Editions Saint-Paul.

References

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Christaller,  J.G,  1879.  Twi Mmebusem  Mpensa-Ahansia  Mmoano  - A  collection  of  Three  Thousand and  Six
Hundred  Tshi Proverbs,  in  use  among  the  Negroes  of  the  Gold-Coast  speaking  the  Asante  and  Fante
Language.  Basel.

,  1985. Twi Mmebusem -  Twi Proverbs,  compiled by Rev. J.G. Christaller, translated by Fr. Kofi  Ron

Lange, S.V.D. Basel: C. Schultze (B. Reinhardt).

Hyraes, Dell,  1962. The Ethnography  of  Speaking.  In  Gladwin  and William  Sturtevant  (eds.)  Anthropology

and Human Behavior. Anthropological Society of Washington Pp. 15-53.

Kleiber. Georges, 2000. Sur le sens des proverbes. In Langages N°139: 39-58.
Obeng,  S.G,.  1996. The  Proverb  as  Mitigating  and  Politeness  Strategy  in  Akan  Discourse.  Anthropological

Linguistics.  38.3: 521-549.

Owusu-Sarpong  Christiane,  1986. Les proverbes  twi,  une  expression  de  Vuniversel.  Memoire  de  Maitrise,

Paris-Sorbonne (inedit).

.  1989.  De  Tuniversalite  et  de  l'originalite  des  langues  -  Reflexion  men6e  a  partir  de  quelques

proverbes twi. Journal  of  the U.S. T. 9.1.

.  1993. L'alteration  des proverbes akan. In Melanges offerts a Jean Peytard.  Paris: Les Belles Lettres.
,  1999. La  mere  devorante  akan...  Etude  comparative  de deux variantes  asante: le  'document'  conte
(TJkyeame  Kofi  Nsiah  et  le  'monument'  du  cordonnier  Akwasi  Duah.  A.L.A.  Annual  Conference,  Fez,
Morocco.

Pottier, Bernard, 1987. The'orie et analyse en linguistique. Paris : Hachette.
Rattray, R.S., 1916. Ashanti Proverbs (The Primitive Ethics of a Savage People). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Schapha,  Charlotte,  2000.  Proverbe,  proverbialisation  et  deproverbialisation.  In  Langages  139,  La  parole

proverbiale.  Paris : Larousse.

Yankafa,  Kwesi,  1989. The Proverb in the Context of Akan Rhetoric-A  Theory of Proverb Praxis. New York:

Peter Lang.

Notes

'Yankah defines "context" as :

-the wider socio-cultural milieu in which proverbs are used;
-the social data of speakers and audience;
•and the immediate situation which inspired the proverb use.

2 The English proverb actually goes : What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander .
3 Rev. J.G. Christaller #3112,  Fr. Kofi Ron Lange's translation.
4 The open-ended Sankofa proverb, artistically rendered by a bird looking back and which has become the
[Akan] epitome of the "Book of Proverbs", reads and translates in its complete verbal form as follows :

Se wo werefi  na wasan kofa a, yenkyiri.
It is not forbidden to go back and gather what one had left behind  (forgotten).
(making up for a mistake; asking for forgiveness; learning from the past; changing one's mind; giving
someone a second chance, etc... are all acceptable forms of behaviour)

5  Items  listed  in  J.G.  Christaller's  collection,  in  R.S.  Rattray's  or  Fr.  K.R.  Lange's  translation  (our
emphasis).

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