Agba ki wa loja, ki ori omo titun wo

An elder cannot be present in the market and let the head of a young baby twist to one side.

What it means

An elder who sees a baby's head twisting to one side in the market is expected to act. The proverb makes elders responsible for stepping in wherever a misunderstanding could turn unpleasant, and for clearing it up.

Yoruba · West Africa

Source and context

From: Yoruba, West Africa

Source: Yoruba proverb; documented in yorubalibrary.com leadership collection and Babalola & Atanda, "Leadership Principles in Yoruba Proverbs" (2024). Translation and explanation as given for the same Yoruba text in David T. Adamo, "Ancient Israelite and African proverbs as advice, reproach, warning, encouragement and explanation," HTS Theological Studies 71(3), 2015; the saying was earlier shown here in yorubalibrary.com's looser paraphrase ("A town with an elder does not go astray")

The source explains it: it is the responsibility of elders in all situations to make sure that misunderstandings which may lead to unpleasantness are explained and removed. The wording of the meaning is ours.

Leadership

Open in the app →