Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Wisdom of Proverbs.

September 24, 2019 by  
Filed under Book Club/Book Reviews, News, Opinion, Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) “Without effort no harvest will be abundant.” – Burundi

As many of our people are seeking to establish a more solid relationship to culture and spirituality wisdom is a necessity. Many of us know the proverbs of the Bible, and that of the West. However, have you ever wondered where the elders get their sayings? Many of us are taught to believe we are so far removed from the culture of various African nations, yet we see resemblance of the in different things we do, eat, our rhythm, and our sayings. Some of the witty advice we heard coming up came with the ancestors to this land. African proverbs can be an asset when we are establishing the foundation by which one will live. Wise words on various topics are always needed. This also becomes a great asset when raising children and trying to develop a family identity that includes different wise sayings as principle foundation.

“He who conceals this disease cannot expect to be cured.” – Ethiopia

The Book of African: A Collection of Timeless Wisdom, Wit, Sayings & Advice complied by: Gerd de Ley is nine sections of African wisdom on various areas. It is a wealth of information, and principle. Some of the sayings will remind of us things we have heard the elders say here in the states, but this book allows the reader to have an idea of the origins of said saying. There are sayings that can make one laugh, teach understanding, admonish us as we read, and put certain aspects of life in perspective. Because it is a book of proverbs readers might feel inclined to look at the table of contents and read the chapters that are of interest, or necessity.

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This book may be treated like more of a reference book for some readers verses a book that you would read through cover to cover. I appreciate that the book is divided by subject verses nations. Furthermore, the book compiles sayings from various African nations verses just the nations many readers are familiar with. As I read through the proverbs, I ran across nations that I wanted to look up because they were new to me. There is an extensive bibliography in the back of the book that offers many more sources for African saying that allow for greater research.

“The African race is like an Indian rubber ball; the harder you dash it to the ground, the higher it will rise.” – Bantu

This is a great book to have in your home for your family, and community. These are sayings you an incorporate into your personal life or instill into your children. It does us another area by which we can see the origins of our people still having an active part in who we are as you can now reference that elders’ words. Though it can be seen as a reference…it’s a book that you can decide to read cover to cover as all of the information is valuable.

“Wealth diminishes with usage; learning increases with use. – Zanzibar

The Book of African: A Collection of Timeless Wisdom, Wit, Sayings & Advice by: Gerd de Ley is available on Amazon, and everywhere books are sold.

Staff Writer; Christian Starr

May connect with this sister over at Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/christian.pierre.9809 and also Twitterhttp://twitter.com/MrzZeta.


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