The African, (and ipso facto Malawian) proverb and riddle are knowledge abstractions from societal experience. In oral societies, where the written word is scarce or non-existent, the proverb, the riddle, and the folktale are reservoirs of knowledge and these are passed on, and adjusted, from generation to generation.
That is why they appear to have no known author. One person may have said it one day and other persons may have added one or more elements until it became general wisdom, owned by the entire community.
Collectors of proverbs, riddles and folktales should thus not claim to be authors because doing so is theft lumwi le ngee (in broad daylight).
The proverb and the riddle are a powerful tool for communicating general wisdom, allowing the targeted audience to feel the praise or criticism internally.
Musicians love the use of proverbs. Our own Phungu Joseph Mkasa infuses lots of proverbs in his music. You may remember him singing, chati chubwi sichinaoloke; koma chati kapakapa; Chauluka chidzatera (translate them on your own).
Preachers, pastors and traditional leaders love proverbs and riddles, too. We have heard at funerals proverbs like moto umapita kwatsala tchire, bush fires march on (death) unstoppably, and those burying others.
Poets, too, love proverbs and riddles. The poetry of Jack Mapanje is one great example. Read ‘We Wondered about the Mellow Peaches’, from Of Chameleons and Gods. If you don’t understand the poem, do not blame yourselves. This is because the poem is dense and written in the proverbial/riddling tradition. It can best be understood if given some cultural and political context or background.
In proverbs and riddles, sense is derived rather than delivered; message is constructed through deconstruction since the richness of content is latent rather than manifest.
Tili tonse? No. Anyway. Just continue.
Those of us who followed the manifest political life of the late Vice-President of Malawi, Saulos Klaus Chilima, will appreciate that his communication style was infused with riddles and proverbs.
And his followers loved it. Even his life and death was a riddle. We need context to untangle his life and death. Even Malawi is a riddle that needs to be explained; for how do you explain such excruciating poverty in a land with minerals, fresh water, and peace. No xenophobia. Or is poverty, just like richness, just a figment of the imagination?
As a politician, he knew what his followers loved: proverbs. Some proverbs he constructed himself. Others, he polished up for the occasion.
Remember this: Njoka saweta (Don’t raise snakes). Of course, elsewhere, snakes and other wildlife are tamed, even domesticated, but due care is taken and readiness to care for them is paramount.
Chilima is two years gone now, but his wisdom, the proverbs he loved ought to be in a booklet and analysed to understand his trend of thought. The proverbs and riddles that one often used may point to what one thinks about an issue or a situation or series of situations.
We have no idea what the late VP was going to say at the funeral of his dear friend, Raphael Kasambara, SC, that Monday June 10 2024. But we can only guess what his proverb was to be.
