BÍ ỌMỌDÉ BÁ ṢUBÚ Á WO IWÁJÚ, BÍ ÀGBÀ BÁ ṢUBÚ Á WO Ẹ̀HÌN
Òwe Yorùbá yi wúlò lati juwe òye àgbàlagbà lati wo ẹ̀hìn fún ẹ̀kọ́ nínú ìrírí tó ti kọjá lati yanjú ọ̀ràn tó ṣòro nígbàtí ọmọdé tí kò rí irú ìṣòro bẹ̃ lati kọ́ ọgbọ́n, má nwo iwájú.
Ọ̀rọ̀ Yorùbá miran ni “Ẹni tó jìn sí kòtò, kọ ará yókù lọ́gbọ́n”. Nitotọ ọ̀rọ̀ miran sọ wípé “Ìṣòro ni Olùkọ́ tó dára jù”, ṣùgbọ́n dí dúró kí ìṣòro jẹ Olukọ fún ni lè fa ewu iyebíye, nitorina ó dára ká kọ́ ọgbọ́n lati ọ̀dọ̀ àgbà. Ọlọ́gbọ́n ma nlo ọgbọ́n ọlọ́gbọ́n lati yẹra fún ìṣubú.
Ní àsìkò ẹ̀rọ ayélujára yi, òwe “Bí ọmọdé bá ṣubú á wo iwájú, bí àgbà bá ṣubú á wo ẹ̀hìn” ṣi wúlò fún àwọn ọmọdé tí ó lè ṣe àṣàyàn lati fi etí si àgbà, kọ́ ẹ̀kọ́, tàbí ka àkọsílẹ̀ ìrírí àgbà nínú ìwé tàbí lórí ayélujára lati yẹra fún àṣìṣe, kọ́ ibi tí agbára àti àilera àgbà wà fún lílò lọ́jọ́ iwájú.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
IF A CHILD FALLS HE/SHE LOOKS FORWARD, IF AN ELDER FALLS HE/SHE LOOKS BACK
This Yoruba proverb is relevant to describe the ability of an adult to look back and draw from past experience to solve a problem while a child with no previous experience look forward since he/she has no previous experience to fall back on.
There is another Yoruba proverb that said “The one that fell into a ditch teaches the others wisdom”. Though there is an adage that said “Experience is the best Teacher”, often waiting to learn from personal experience may be too costly, so it is better to avoid the cost by learning a lesson from the Elders. The wise people would always learn from the experience of others to avoid pitfalls.
In this computer age, the proverb that said “if a child falls he/she looks forward, if an elder falls he/she looks back” is still relevant to encourage the young ones, who have more choices of listening and learning directly from the elder or reading the documented experience of others from books or the internet to avoid past mistakes, learn from the strength and weakness of the Elders for future use.
Originally posted 2013-05-03 19:29:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter