Selected Ika proverbs: their aesthetics and contexts of usage
Education, Summer, 2007 by Canon Benji Egede
Two things about proverbs render them less reliable than the themes of folktale, as a consistent documentation of a people's laws. The first is that some proverbs essentially contradict each other. The second is that proverbs depend heavily on context for their meaning. Consequently, they are easily misappropriated by the unskilled and mischievous" (271).
Finally, it is our hope that greater attention should be paid to the study of Ika proverbs by future scholars with a view to enlarging the frontiers of studies on Ika orature.
WORKS CITED
Abraham, R. D. "Proverbs and Proverbial Expressions", In Folklore and Folklife, ed. R. M. Dorson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972.
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Browne, R. B. "The Wisdom of Many: Proverbs and Proverbial Genres". In American Folklore. ed. Tristram Coffin III. Washington: Voice of America Forum Lectures.
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Nwanne, Ben, ed. Ika: The Land and Its People, Place and Natural Resources of Ika in Delta State. Lagos: Ika Group Publications, 2000.
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Okpewho, Isidore, African Oral Literature: Background, Character and Continuity. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1992.
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Onwuejeogwu, M.A. An Igbo Civilisation: Nri Kingdom and Hegemony. Benin City: Ethiope Publishing Company, 1981.
Seitel, P. "Proverbs: The Social Use of Metaphor". In Folklore Genres. ed. D. Ben Amos. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 1976.
Ukala, Sam, "Performance of the Ika Folktale: The Aesthetic Enactment and Propagation of Ika Folklaw. In Ben Nwanne, ed. Ika: The land and its People. Lagos: Ika Group Publication, 2004. 265-292
Yankah, Kwesi. Proverbs: The Aesthetics of Traditional Communication" RAL 20, 3 (1989): 325-346.
REV. CANON BENJI EGEDE, PH.D.
Department of English
Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria
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