{"id":6422,"date":"2021-03-04T12:00:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T12:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/combonimission.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=6422"},"modified":"2021-02-26T18:40:38","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T18:40:38","slug":"peace-in-african-proverbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/04\/peace-in-african-proverbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace in African proverbs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><i><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">Proverbs, expressions of experiences that left signs on the life and soul of humanity, mark a field of action, indicate a path, point to a danger, and underline a contradiction.<\/span><\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b><i><\/i><\/b><i>So, when the wisdom of a people affirms: It is impossible to make peace with a sword<\/i> (<em>Kongo<\/em> \u2013 DR Congo) and sustains: <i>War is not the resolution to any problem<\/i> (<em>Mongo<\/em> \u2013 DR Congo), another proverb of the same ethnic group assures: <i>Without war, there is no peace<\/i> (<em>Mongo<\/em> \u2013 DR Congo). Violence is under the eyes of everyone: <i>War is spontaneous<\/i> (<em>Chitonga<\/em> \u2013 Zambia); <i>Men who hate stay alive; peacemakers die<\/i> (<em>Nyanga<\/em> \u2013 DR Congo); <i>Peace is a certificate they give you when you enter a cemetery<\/i> (<em>Wolof<\/em> \u2013 Senegal).<\/p>\n<p>Peace goes into crisis for the most diverse reasons. For example: <i>When we lie, we renounce peace<\/i> (<em>Malgascio<\/em> \u2013 Madagascar). Conflicts may arise from incomprehension: <i>No one hates another, they do not understand them correctly<\/i> (<em>Ruanda<\/em> \u2013 Ruanda). Those who want war enter into a logic of destruction. The spectator to a boxing match cries out: <i>\u201cHit him! Finish him!\u201d<\/i> (<em>Kiga<\/em> \u2013 Uganda); <i>When hate reigns in a family, the world is full of dead bodies<\/i> (<em>Mongo<\/em> \u2013 DR Congo). The decision to go to war brings about, among other things, a particular form of injustice: <i>The elderly take the decision of going to war, but it is the young who have to go<\/i> (<em>Baoul\u00e8<\/em> \u2013 Ivory Coast).<\/p>\n<p>A rule to live in peace? Do not disturb those that are stronger than we are. <i>The turtle does not bite the leopard\u2019s paws<\/i> (<em>Pygmy<\/em> \u2013 Gabon). <i>Do not joke with he who is stronger than you<\/i> (<em>Rundi<\/em> \u2013 Burundi). <i>Do not provoke the anger of a strong man<\/i> (<em>Luo<\/em> \u2013 Kenya). It is best to retreat orderly: <i>Give way to he who is stronger than you<\/i> (<em>Swahili<\/em> \u2013 Tanzania). <i>A leopard never meets a gazelle<\/i> (<em>Zande<\/em> \u2013 Sudan), because there can be no true dialogue when the enemy is stronger. At bottom though, he who seeks conflict is one who takes himself too seriously. A toad met a mouse in a swamp: <i>\u201cBe reasonable and let\u2019s live together: you are unlucky, and I am too\u201d<\/i> (<em>Rundi<\/em> \u2013 Burundi).<\/p>\n<p>To avoid conflicts? A golden rule: gently! <i>With force, one obtains nothing!<\/i> (<em>Luganda<\/em> \u2013 Uganda). He who is aware of his own limits and of the damages that a violent confrontation can cause chooses other paths: <i>The frog threatens, but does not go to war<\/i> (<em>Buhumba<\/em> \u2013 DR Congo). If one wants to live in peace, one must keep at bay what can comprise it: <i>He who does not like flies, throws what attracts them far away<\/i> (<em>Rundi<\/em> \u2013 Burundi); <i>If there are ten that prevent you from fighting, there will also be ten to put your intestines back into your bowels<\/i> (<em>Zande<\/em> \u2013 Sudan).<\/p>\n<p>The stubborn who wants violence, will endure its consequences. <i>Blessed be the builders of peace! He who avoids a conflict is worthy of a prize<\/i> (<em>Mongo<\/em> \u2013 DR Congo). <i>Get rid of your tents, bring your hearts closer<\/i> (<em>Tuareg<\/em> \u2013 Mali). Patience is better than conflict: <i>The tree of patience has bitter roots, but its fruit is sweet<\/i> (<em>Popo<\/em> \u2013 Benin); <i>Patience is the talisman of life<\/i> (<em>Nago<\/em> \u2013 Nigeria).<\/p>\n<p>To be patient, to forget, not to nourish hatred and rancour, is difficult. When one is convinced of having been offended or treated unjustly, one enters into a particular state of mind and seeks revenge. The turtle said to the elephant: \u201c<i>You can kill me, but someone will take my revenge\u201d<\/i> (<em>Zande<\/em> \u2013 Sudan); <i>The mosquito is like any other living creature, but when it bites us we don\u2019t care <\/i>(<em>Gbande<\/em> \u2013 Liberia); <i>If you have much anger, you say many words<\/i> (<em>Oromo<\/em> \u2013 Ethiopia). The will to take revenge for a wrongdoing endured grows with time: <i>It is over for the eyes, but not for the heart <\/i>(<em>Yaka<\/em> \u2013 DR Congo); <i>An old rancour and a knotty stick will break your ribs<\/i> (<em>Somalo<\/em> \u2013 Somalia).<\/p>\n<p>Yet there are ways that break the chain of vengeance. For example, accepting the idea that everyone makes mistakes: <i>A cow falls down even if it has four legs<\/i> (<em>Kalenjin<\/em> \u2013 Kenya); <i>Eye for eye increases the desire for vengeance <\/i>(<em>Yoruba<\/em> \u2013 Nigeria). It is not enough to show oneself to be sorrowful for the pain inflicted. <i>To say \u201cSorry,\u201d does not heal the wound<\/i> (<em>Chewa<\/em> \u2013 Malawi). Sorrow is genuine if it brings a different attitude. It is much better if one is able to go along the path of pardon. <i>If your neighbour insults you, do not insult him in turn<\/i> (<em>Yaka<\/em> \u2013 DR Congo); <i>He who pardons avoids trials<\/i> (<em>Yoruba<\/em> \u2013 Nigeria); <i>If there were no offences, there would be no pardon<\/i> (<em>Ibgo<\/em> \u2013 Nigeria); <i>To pardon is to teach<\/i> (<em>Amhara<\/em> \u2013 Ethiopia).<\/p>\n<p><i>(<\/i><strong><i><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">Neno Contran)<\/span><\/i><\/strong><b><i><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Proverbs, expressions of experiences that left signs on the life and soul of humanity, mark a field of action, indicate a path, point to a danger, and underline a contradiction. So, when the wisdom of a people affirms: It is impossible to make peace with a sword (Kongo \u2013 DR Congo) and sustains: War is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}