Reviving Òwe Yorùbá—The Ancient Wisdom and special appeal.
We are
a Nigerian professional services company specializing in Information and
Communication Technology, training, Culture and consulting services. We write
to introduce our project to you.
Contained in Yoruba indigenous proverb are our very ways of
life, our stories and inimitable experiences – beaten, shaped, coaxed, taunted,
exclaimed, sharpened and sung into the words and phrases we share as a common
inheritance. Our proverbs are the sweat, experiences and tears of ancestry –
the pathways we all have made to negotiate a polyvocal reality. But like the
stolen treasures of old, our inheritances are slipping away into the cold of
the night. Put simply, our languages face extinction. Proverbs are an endangered heritage of Yoruba
people, under increasing threat from Western influences including Western
education. Due to late orthography in Africa, proverbs are generally ascribed
to the elders because the accounts of the original authors are not known. This
submission proposes a solution – a radical collection and creative way to
motivate people to rediscover the centrality of their stories, the music in
their words, and the lost words and world in their languages – ANCIENT WISDOM –
the book and software application of wisdom!
The Yoruba
language is rich
in proverbs. Yoruba proverbs offer wisdom and poetry in
just one sentence. Proverb plays an important part in African cultures all
across the continent. The beauty of proverbs is the universality of their
meaning, everyone can relate to them in some way, on some level. Yet they are also uniquely African and help
us gain an insight to African culture. Yoruba proverbs can convey wisdom, truth, a
discovery of ideas as well as life lessons.
According to most researchers in the domain of African literature,
proverbs play a significant role in both the traditional as well as the modern
African societies. Proverbs hold a considerable place in the society since they
are used to:
1) Synthesize and to conserve a whole
cultural heritage and philosophical heritage which constitutes the wisdom of a
people.
2) Direct and raise masses socially,
morally and intellectually.
3) Consecrate the knowledge of culture as
well as the mastery of a people’s language.
Despite all the importance attributed
to proverbs in Africa, many people especially youths no longer take interest in
proverbs. Today, this cultural heritage is at peril, on its path to
disappearance! The youth are attracted to the modern media (television, computers,
internet, mobile phones etc).
It is not that Africa has no
intellectual contribution to make to the world – far from it. The problem is
that the West has not yet learned to recognize deep wisdom in the form of
concrete proverbs rather than abstract philosophical treatises. In the words of
Cheik Anta Diop “In order to gain a
better understanding of who they are, it is necessary and urgent for the
Africans to examine and to study their history and their civilisation.”
The purpose of this research is to
collect, interpret and build softwares for African indigenous Proverbs starting
with Yoruba Language. Yorùbá Proverbs are wise sayings passed
through generations to teach historical lessons, highlight good morals, and
instil social values. We have been able to collect and collate 5000 (Five
thousand) Yoruba proverbs for this project of
which we shall be releasing in phases. It would be expedient to take a look at brief history
of the Yoruba.
The Yoruba people are one of the
largest ethnic groups in West Africa.
The Yoruba constitute between 30 and 50 million individuals throughout
West Africa (Benin, Ghana, Togo) and are found predominantly in Nigeria and
make up of 21% of its population.
Yoruba is spoken in Cuba, Brazil,
United States and Canada.
The value of proverbs is epitomized in
this Yoruba proverb: “Òwe l’ẹsin ọ̀rọ̀; bi ọ̀rọ̀ ba sọnu, òwe
ni a fi nwa” meaning “Proverb is the horse of speech; when speech is lost,
proverb is the means we use to hunt for it”.
The project is divided into two parts;
a.
The book
b.
The software application for mobile phones.
a.
THE BOOK.
The layout of the book will be designed
in such a way that it will accommodate the proverb in Yoruba language, the
English translation, appropriate time to use them and further explanations
about such proverb. For example;
Yorùbá
A já ‘ni l’áyà bi ailówó lọ́wọ́; ailowo lọwọ baba ijaya.
English
Something which frightens us like lack
of money; lack of money is the arch-frightener.
Further explanation
One should realise that financial
security is one of the greatest benefits in life; if one’s finances are stable,
there are few things that can frighten one.
b.
THE MOBILE APPLICATION SOFTWARE FOR
MOBILE PHONES.
Application Brief:
An Alpha Touch Limited Mobile App will
be developed by focusing on increasing popularity of Yoruba language, so that
24 million people across the world could get benefit through the mobile
application language translation functionality from Yoruba proverbs into
English language, an app will provide information & explanation about the
appropriate usage of those proverbs.
An Alpha Touch Limited Mobile App will
also offer quiz section to test how well the user knows Yoruba language, by
testing his/her MCQ based questions comprising up on the Yoruba proverbs.
UI Interfaces:
(1) User Mobile
interface
(2) Admin Web
Interface
Mobile Application User Interface:
Key Features
The User can view the proverbs in a
list.
The user can view the proverbs
translation in English.
The user can take a quiz.
In which the user has to enter the
missing word of the proverb.
The proverbs will be in Yoruba.
Admin Web Panel:
Key Features
Admin can add Proverbs in Yoruba.
With the translation in English.
Along with its explanation.
Admin can make quiz questions.
By identifying which words should be
left blank.
Platform(s): iPhone & Android
THE TARGET AUDIENCE
The target audience for this collection
of proverbs will be Yoruba speakers, Nigerians in general, African community
and all fans of wisdom sayings who can read either or both Yoruba and English.
For example;
1.
Primary and Secondary schools (private and public) in Ondo state and
south west states.
2.
Examination bodies like WAEC, NECO to include it as part
of their books on language.
3.
States (in south west) and Federal Ministries of Education will be willing to assist in the
distribution of the book by making it part of their textbook
for Yoruba language.
4.
States (in south west) and Federal Ministry of Culture and national orientation.
5.
Departments of Languages of Higher institutions of
learning e.g. colleges of Education, Polytechnics and universities.
6.
Individuals, office holders, CEOs, politicians, orators,
writers, scholars, researchers, Yoruba in Diaspora etc. will be willing to
purchase the book/software.
7.
Actors, filmmakers and
writers.
The beauty of this book is that it
doesn’t discriminate culture and language because of its English translations.
We shall be launching the first phase of the book/software
on the 26th May, 2016 in Akure, Ondo state. More details of which
shall be communicated to you later. We seek your financial support in order to
make this a reality thereby reviving our lost cultural heritage.
BUDGET
Our budget for both the
book and software is N1, 500, 000 (One Million Five hundred Thousand naira. We
appreciate your kind gesture by supporting us on this project. Kindly find our account details below:
Account Name: AlphaTouch Global Services Limited
Account Number: 0122439197
Bank: WEMA Bank Plc.
IN CONCLUSION.
We have discussed with the Ondo state ministry of education
and have established their readiness to include this book in the curriculum of
students. We shall also seek to replicate this in other south western states,
also at Federal unity schools. This project will provide an opportunity for users to
identify the meaning of proverbs, to consider common themes in proverbs across
cultures, and to learn from experiences of the elders. Still more important,
the software will provide opportunity for users to have the proverbs on their
computers. Having project of this magnitude avails generation unborn the
opportunity to use the proverbs and learn from them.
Thank you.
Yours Sincerely,
AlphaTouch Limited;
Ọlálékàn
Fábílọlá
Managing
Director
