Proverbs are the means by which older generations pass on the fruits of their experience to their children. Every culture or society develops its own unique body of proverbs, using its own language. Tribes without schools use proverbs as a basic teaching tool for social mores. The English-speaking Caribbean is known for its colourful lifestyle, music, dance and speech. Equally colourful are its proverbs, many deriving from African tribal roots, others adapted from colonial masters, or Biblical teachings. Deborah Moore-Miggins has had a fascination with Caribbean proverbs since she was a child growing up in rural Tobago. Drawing from her family experiences and her wide circle of friends, she has put together an impressive collection of Caribbean proverbs, conveniently grouped in areas of ethical subject. Her nostalgic description of exciting island pastimes, such as, catching crabs, pulling seines on the beach and eating mangoes, are riveting. The scene she paints of villagers gathered on moonlit nights to exchange proverbs and folklore holds one spellbound. The result is a valuable work of scholarship, besides being an amusing and enlightening leisure-time read.
Originally from the Côte d'Ivoire, Ahmadou Kourouma spent much of his life working in the insurance industry and living in France and in political exile elsewhere in Africa before returning to Abidjan in 1993. His earlier novels are The Suns of Independence and Monnew. Carrol F. Coates is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Binghamton University-SUNY and has translated numerous books, including Jacques Stephen Alexis's General Sun, My Brother (Virginia).
This little book contains the wisdom of the ages, and is guaranteed to produce a smile of appreciation at the sheer sense of the proverbs you will find inside. From advice you wish your mother had given you, to things you probably suspected, but had never put into words, Lifelines is a book to be read, absorbed and treasured.—Pearl Cleage, New York Times best selling author of What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day This illustrated treasury of proverbs unites the timeless wisdom of Black communities in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas, while speaking to the triumphs and challenges of everyday life. Lifelines: The Black book of Proverbs travels to all corners of the globe to reclaim and preserve African wisdom. This book offers the remarkably wise heart of Africa and her children to readers experiencing career changes, new births, weddings, death, and other rites of passage. Readers will find truth in the African saying, “When the occasion arises, there is a proverb to suit it.” Proverbs are presented in vibrant story-poem form; and are uniquely arranged by key life cycle events such as birth, initiation, marriage, and death. The proverbs can be found under themes such as “wealth”, “parenting”, “change” and “strength.” Inspired illustrations introduce each section along with beautiful vignettes showing how African proverbs comfort, inspire and instruct during different phases of life. Lifelines illuminates how traditions, civilization and spirit survive and thrive, despite centuries of loss of freedom, family, identity, language, land, and wealth. The proverbs offer wisdom for every stage of our lives. Collected in one place as never before, it is the perfect addition to the book shelves of families large and small, from Nairobi to New Orleans and every city in between. From Birth: Every cackling hen was an egg at first. -Rwanda to Marriage: A woman's clothes are the price her husband pays for peace. -Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa (Bantu) and Elderhood: Every time an old man dies it is as if a library has burnt down. -West Africa as well as every stage of life in between, the proverbs found in Lifelines offer the guidance and wisdom to last a life time. Unlike other collections of proverbs, Lifelines hews closely to the cycle of life and draws inspiration from the authors combined 110 years of experience. Askhari Johnson Hodari and Yvonne McCalla Sobers have set out to let their proverbs both tell a story and stand alone. So whether you flip it open to a random page, read it through from start to finish, or go searching for a proverb to match your unique circumstance, you’ll find just the right lifeline to provide the comfort and guidance you’re looking for. From the Hardcover edition.
In "Reggae Wisdom: Proverbs in Jamaican Music" Swami Anand Prahlad looks at the contexts and origins of these proverbs, using them as a cultural sheet music toward understanding the history of Jamaican culture, Rastafari religion, and the music that isthat culture's worldwide voice.
Set in the neighbourhood of “Little Jamaica,” Frying Plantain follows a girl from elementary school to high school graduation as she navigates the tensions between mothers and daughters, second-generation immigrants experiencing first-generation cultural expectations, and Black identity in a predominantly white society. Kara Davis is a girl caught in the middle — of her North American identity and her desire to be a “true” Jamaican, of her mother and grandmother’s rages and life lessons, of having to avoid being thought of as too “faas” or too “quiet” or too “bold” or too “soft.” In these twelve interconnected stories, we see Kara on a visit to Jamaica, startled by the sight of a severed pig’s head in her great-aunt’s freezer; in junior high, the victim of a devastating prank by her closest friends; and as a teenager in and out of her grandmother’s house, trying to cope with ongoing battles of unyielding authority. A rich and unforgettable portrait of growing up between worlds, Frying Plantain shows how, in one charged moment, friendship and love can turn to enmity and hate, well-meaning protection can become control, and teasing play can turn to something much darker.
Ashley Bryan says, "My mother had a proverb for any situation, attitude, or event." Many of us have had the same experience. But have you ever heard, "As a crab walks, so walk its children" or "A log may lie in the water for ten years, but it will never become a crocodile"? These are two of the twenty-six African proverbs Ashley Bryan has chosen to illustrate in this book. Having grown up with proverbs, it was no surprise to Mr. Bryan when he began reading African literature to find African proverbs along with African stories. The proverbs grew out of the lives and experiences of the varied African peoples. Each proverb here is credited to a specific tribe, yet, as Ashley Bryan explains, most were known in other tribes as well. And in fact, all are true for people everywhere. We may not see crabs often, but we understand about crab children, and even people who do not have crocodiles nearby know that they do not begin as logs. This is a book to treasure for its rich universal wisdom and its gloriously evocative illustrations.
The key to the journey of life is to seek the knowledge of those who have experienced life before us. Our elders have passed down many wise words and teachings throughout time and history. The time has come for us to listen intently, rather than try to figure things out on our own. Through the traditional teachings from our elders such as African proverbs, we have been provided with a guide to life, a handbook full of tips on how to handle situations and challenges we may face on a day-to-day basis. These small but powerful gems of wisdom have been passed down from generation to generation, to those on the continent and throughout the diaspora. This modern-day breakdown will allow you to apply these words of wisdom into your everyday life and most importantly pass on to the next generation.
VINCY CARIBBEAN PROVERBS AND IDIOMS SERIES Uncovers amazing proverbs of Vincentian Caribbean culture, charged with wisdom, philosophy and laughter. This book, 401 Vincy Caribbean Proverbs, is as lively and witty as the English Caribbean lingo it represents. MARLON JOSEPH, EXECUTIVE OFFICER, S.V.G. TOURISM AUTHORITY. 401 Vincy Caribbean Proverbsis a breath of cultural air.It effectively mirrors the unique communication skills of a people - the Vincentian peopleone would not be able to avoid cracking-up, as the words belonging to nowhere else emerge, where a people tell their own story, and experience their own reality. DR. GEORGE R. FREDERICK, AUTHOR, DIVISION & DICHOTOMIES - STOP THE BICKERING. Never before this has our Vincy proverbs been recorded with such insightfulness, giving us a deeper sense of who we are. JANICE FRASER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VINSAVE, S.V.G. Brilliant work; makes quite interesting reading. A must-read for generations. DAVID DARKIE WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT, S.V.G. GARIFUNA HERITAGE FOUNDATION. The 401 Vincy Caribbean Proverbs to Guide You comes with a companion website designed to go hand in hand with this book in order to enhance and complete your learning experience.
