By Professor Raymond Mosha
Today I would like to reflect on this proverb that I learned from my ancestors: Wisdom is found in speaking and in silence (my translation). Our ancestors, like all ancient human traditions and philosophies, have always valued the virtue of silence and reflection. The person who could control her or his urge to talk, who could be silent and reflective in turbulent moments, and who would speak as little as possible, was revered as a sage, a wise person.
An Ethiopian proverb says it well: The fool is speaking, the wise is listening. No wonder therefore that the African continent has hundreds of proverbs that call people to be silent and reflective, to be quick in thinking before speaking, and to be vigilant in what they say.
My grandmother used to tell me these two proverbs, especially in moments when I tended to speak non-stop. She would look at me and say: “you have one mouth, but ears are two. So, talk once and listen twice.” The message here is clear, right?
Her second proverb was: “There are things to spit out, and things to swallow.” Then I would look at her thinking about the food that she just gave me. Seeing my confusion, she would say in translation: there are matters that you should say, and things that you should keep locked in your heart. As I grew older, I slowly understood the wisdom that she was giving to me and now, perhaps, more than any other time in my life, I can say that my grandmother was one hundred percent right.
Now there is this proverb that never ceases to amaze me in the monumental riches of our African philosophy. The Bambara people of Mali say: “Each thing gives birth to its child, speech gives birth to its mother.” Can you think of anything giving birth to its mother? Is that thought possible, let alone the possibility of that happening? Food for thought, right?
Here is the translation: Silence is the mother and speech is the child. The child must often stop so that the mother, who is silence, may reign supreme. The child, who is speech, must often give way to silence, so that out of that silence, wisdom can be born. The proverb here teaches us that silence and reflection are crucial in life, if at all we would ever dream of being wise.
