Welcome to Postproverbial Community

What then is a postproverbial, or to address the form in the plural sense, what are postproverbials? Postproverbials are radicalized proverbial utterances which subvert the logic and the pattern of conventional proverbs...

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SOME RANDOM PROVERBS & THEIR POSTPROVERBIALS

Proverb:  “Mai zan yi da abinda ya gagare wuta,” inji kishiyar konania.
Translation: “I have no business with a fire fighter,” says the co-wife of a burnt woman.

Postproverbial: “Ba ruwana da asibiti,” inji kishiyar mai korona.
Translation: “I have no business with the hospital,” says the co-wife of a corona patient.
Postproverbial: “Mai zan yi da abinda ya gagare wuta,” inji kishiyar mai korona.
Translation: “I have no business with a fire fighter,” says the co-wife of a corona patient.
Africa (COVID-19) Read more

Proverb:  Àìgbọ́fá là’ń w’òkè, Ifá kan ò sí ní párá.
Translation: Not knowing Ifa philosophy, we gaze up, but the Oracle is not in the rafters.

Postproverbial: Àìgbọ́fá là’ń fọwọ́ gbárí, Ifá ju agbárí lọ.
Translation: Not knowing Ifa philosophy, we crack the brain, but the Oracle is more than sophistry.
Postproverbial: Àìgbọ́fá là’ń w’òkè, kìí ṣe f’ẹ́ni t’ó bá mọ’fá á sọ lá t’orí.
Translation: Not knowing Ifa philosophy, we gaze up, that is not for the initiate who can recite it by rote.
Nigeria (Yoruba) Read more

Proverb:  Ọmọ tó ní ìyá òun kò ní sùn, òun náà kò ní fi ojú kan oorun.
Translation: A child who will not allow his mother to rest will himself stay awake.

Postproverbial: Ọmọ tó ní ìyá òun kò ní sùn, orun ni kò kùn ún.
Translation: A child who will not allow his mother to rest must be insomniac.
Postproverbial: Ọmọ tó ní ìyá òun kò ní sùn, à á fún un ní “Valium”.
Translation: A child who will not allow his mother to rest should be administered with valium.
Nigeria (Yoruba) Read more

Proverb:  Ba di ba vana mo, se ba ba tɛa ba vana.
Translation: We exclude others when we eat food, but we do not exclude them when we talk about issues.

Postproverbial: Ba di ba vana mo, a gyei a nia.
Translation: We exclude others when we eat food, I am sitting down and watching.
Postproverbial: Ba di ba vana mo, a gyei a nia.
Translation: We exclude others when we eat food, I am looking on.
Ghana (Kasem) Read more

Proverb:  Àìsí nílé olóógbò, ilé d’ilé èkúté.
Translation: The cat is not in the house, the home becomes the playground of rats.

Postproverbial: Àìsí nílé olóógbò, ló ún mú èkúté ṣakọ.
Translation: The cat is not in the house, the mouse struts about.
Postproverbial: Àìsí nílé olóógbò, ló mú èkúté jọba ní “kínsínnì”.
Translation: The cat is not in the house, and the mouse becomes king in the kitchen.
Nigeria (Yoruba) Read more

Proverb:  Ẹni tó gbódó mì, ìdúró kò sí, ìbere kò sí.
Translation: [For] he who swallows a mortar or pestle, there is no rest, neither standing nor stooping.

Postproverbial: Ẹni tó gbódó mì, kò lè di ọjọ́ kejì.
Translation: He who swallows a mortar or pestle, will not survive the second day.
Postproverbial: Ẹni tó gbódó mì, kò ní jẹ́ ká r’íyán jẹ.
Translation: He who swallows a mortar or pestle, causes us to lose the chance of eating pounded yam.
Nigeria (Yoruba) Read more