Proverbs as Theoretical Frameworks for Lifelong Learning in Indigenous African Education

Abstract

Every aspect of a community’s life and values in indigenous Africa provide the theoretical framework for education. The holistic worldview of the traditional system places a strong emphasis on the centrality of the human element and orature in the symmetrical relationship between life and learning. This article focuses on proverbs and the words that form them as important sources of, and foundation for, indigenous African education. The article analyzes proverbs and the power of the spoken word in indigenous African pedagogy. The analysis is used to argue for an increased articulation of indigenous African knowledge into the dialogue on the inclusion of non-Western traditions in the theoretical frameworks for adult education. The article uses the traditional contexts of Ogu and Yoruba of West Africa but draws examples mostly from Yoruba proverbs to present their epistemological significance in traditional African education.