ORAL VILLAGE IDEAS
BY
Daniel Appiah-Adjei

Let’s Share The Ancient Wisdom Part 1

Ancient wisdom needs to be inculcated into our Youth for a better future. Proverbs form part of the African Culture. In order to pass on from one generation to another generation there is the need to document them. In everyday Speech, Proverbs are used but the youth are always confused. The wisdom contained in proverbs are God – given and should be employed to shape the Youth of today. Proverbs are used to illustrate ideas, reinforce arguments and deliver messages of inspiration, consolation, celebration and advice.

The arrangements of these have been dramatized by the wise old woman and the wise old man in the Village of Akyeesu.

“Lets share the ancient wisdom” has been carefully compiled and dramatised by Daniel Appiah-Adjei with the hope that it would be used in our schools for our children to benefit from the Ancient wise people.
It is in a form of Drama in series, which brings together the snapshot of the most perceptive, poignant and amusing proverbs to be studied. Please,journey with me and Let’s share ancient wisdom.

PEOPLE IN THE PLAY

1. Nana Tiwaa – An Old Lady from the underworld
2. Nana Tweneboh – an Old man from the underworld
3. Koo Kyei (MC)
4. Lily-Posh, Mr Poopa, Nana Nkasee - Judges
5. 1st Child
6. 2nd Child
7. Mensah
8. Dansowaa
THE SCENE OPENS AT THE COURTYARD OF AGYA TWENEBOA’S COMPOUND. TWO CHILDREN ARE BUSILY POUNDING CORN IN A MORTAR , THEY SING WITH THE RHYTHM OF THEIR PESTLES:
Song: Nana Abera me, w’abera me, W’abare me
Nana Abera me w’abera me kowaayi
Koowaa nyeoo, enyeoo, enyeoo
Kowaa nyeoo nane ee m’agyaeoo
Meaning: Nana has warned me against the dangers of gossiping and I have assured her (Nana) that I have stopped gossiping.
1st Child: Akosua, do you remember how the ancient debate began?
2nd Child: No, I don’t. How did it go?
1st Child: I was not there. But for our sake, Nana Tweneboa and Nana Tiwaa are going to repeat the debate.
2nd Child: The Ancient Wisdom, let’s hurry and go to the grounds.
1st Child: Exactly...(A COCK CROWS)
It is time... (THEY SCREAM AND RUN AWAY)
AT THE COURTYARD, NANA TWENEBOA ENTERS, FOLLOWED BY NANA TIWAA. THEY ARE THE OLDEST MAN AND WOMAN IN THE VILLAGE: THEY STAND FACING EACH OTHER. KOO KYEI ENTERS AND ANNOUNCES THE RULES OF THE DEBATE:
Koo Kyei: Abusuafoo, Nananom, Ladies and gentlemen, today is a special day for us in this village. Especially, we the younger generation. Nana Tweneboa and Nana Tiwaa, have emerged from the underground to share the Ancient wisdom with us. Shall we clap for them?
(THE AUDIENCE CLAP) Thank you. Each one will give us five wise saying at a time and we are going to be the judges. Do you agree? Let me introduce the Judges: Judge one: Teacher, Lily Posh... Judge two, Mr Poopaa and Nana Kasee)
Audience: Yes, we do. Thank you.
Koo Kyei: Now, the game begins. When I whistle, they begin. 1, 2, 3 (he whistles and Nana Tiwaa begins)
Nana Tiwaa: (Clearing her throat) No matter how long and winding the road might be, it will lead you to your destination.
Nana Tweneboah: A leader is he who tells his people what they must hear, not what they want to hear.
Nana Tiwaa: You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don;t try. When the threads unite, they can tie the lion.
Nana Tweneboah: Life without battle is life without victory.
Nana Tiwaa: A coward always hides behind someone else after he has thrown a stone
Nana Tweneboah: A cat in its house has the teeth of a lion.
Nana Tiwaa: He who does not know you, will not value you.
Nana Tweneboah: It is in the house of a coward that people gather and point to the tomb of yesterday’s worries.
Nana Tiwaa: Like the turtle, every man should stick out his neck if he wants to go forward.
Nana Tweneboah: It is easier to carry an empty cup than one which is filled to the brim.
Nana Tiwaa: He who ventures into the bush should close his ears to rattling.
Nana Tweneboah: It is only the eagle that can give an account of the whisper of the cloud.
Nana Tiwaa: Do not run away from rain to hide in a pond of water.
Nana Tweneboah: When you give a friend a goat, you have to let go of the leash
Nana Tiwaa: Tears never flow in the house of a coward.
Nana Tweneboah: A person previously bitten by a snake dreads the sight of a long rope.
Nana Tiwaa: A woman who wants a child doesn’t sleep with her clothes on.
Nana Tweneboah: A determined hunter is never frightened in the jungle.
Nana Tiwaa: A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
Nana Tweneboah: Follow the liar right to his door.
Nana Tiwaa: If you want to smear somebody’s face with mud, be prepared to dirty your hands.
Nana Tweneboah: No matter how far you are from your house, you will keep going until you get home.
Nana Tiwaa: Evil prospers because good men fail to act.
Nana Tweneboah: It is better to eat a mushroom in freedom than to eat meat in slavery.
Nana Tiwaa: It is only when you aim at one spot that your urine foams.
Nana Tweneboah: An animal that gives birth to a young one in the desert must suckle it in the desert.
Nana Tiwaa: It’s only a dead man who has everybody on his side.
Nana Tweneboah: Whoever stands in need of honey should not be afraid of bees.
Nana Tiwaa: Only a goat that is tired of life invites a lion to dinner.
Nana Tweneboah: He who never knows where he is going will never know whether he has arrived.
Nana Tiwaa: If you want to eat a monkey, dont look in its eyes.
Nana Tweneboah: The bird that prays for rain will be soaked by it.
Nana Tiwaa: If you don’t scale the mountain, you can’t view the plain.
Nana Tweneboah: United we are rock, divided we are sand
Nana Tiwaa: He who has the choice has the pain
Nana Tweneboah: White ants can do no harm to a stone.
Nana Tiwaa: If you choose to lie down with dogs you must be prepared to wake up with fleas.
Nana Tweneboah :When the kings loose direction, they become servant
Nana Tiwaa: An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.
Nana Tweneboah : Good resolutions are like babies crying in church, they should be carried out immediately.
Nana Tiwaa: It is a foolish fly that is buried with a corpse.
Nana Tweneboah : If you want to drink clear water from a well be there first.
Nana Tiwaa: It is only the early risers who succeed in filling their baskets with white ants.
Nana Tweneboah: It is better to walk fast than to grow angry at the forest.
Nana Tiwaa: If the nail decided to malinger, it would not pierce butter.
Nana Tweneboah : A man who does no hard work will never know the values of rest.
Nana Tiwaa: The sun will shine on those who are standing before it shines on those who are sitting.
Nana Tweneboah : A lazy man’s farm is the breeding ground for snakes.
Nana Tiwaa: Life is like riding a bicycle, you don’t fall off unless you stop paddling.
Nana Tweneboah :It is too late to fatten the cow on market day.
Nana Tiwaa: It is not by watching a newly-wedded wife that she is going to become pregnant.
Nana Tweneboah :A man is taller than every mountain he climbs.
Nana Tiwaa: If you waste time, surely time will waste you.
Nana Tweneboah:It is in the eyes of a lazy man that maize will ripen.
Nana Tiwaa: Day break, mouth open.
Nana Tweneboah: He who cannot rest, cannot work; he who cannot let go cannot hold on.
Nana Tiwaa: He who cannot find footing, cannot go foward.
Nana Tweneboah: No sweat, no sweet.
Nana Tiwaa: Pray for good harvest, but keep on hoeing.
Nana Tweneboah: If you won’t eat mangoes that fall on the ground, be sure to be strong enough to pick ones on the tree.
Nana Tiwaa: He who is not beaten by the sun or the rain, will eventually be beaten by hunger.
Nana Tweneboah: Don’t see animals around the village and say there is nobody to hunt them.
Nana Tiwaa: A man has to hold his mouth open a long time before a roasted patridge flies into it.
Nana Tweneboah: The dead man does not know the values of his coffin.
Nana Tiwaa: No man is a hero to his debtors.
Nana Tweneboah: There are no shortcuts to the top of a palm tree.
Nana Tiwaa: Success is a ladder, which cannot be climbed with hands in your pocket.
Nana Tweneboah: Those at peace work for it.
Nana Tiwaa: If you wait for a roasted liver to cool, it will cool in somebody’s else’s mouth.
Nana Tweneboah: If you kill time you will burry opportunity.
Nana Tiwaa: The mad man who throws a stone into a crowded market, forgets that his own mother could be hit by his madness.
Nana Tweneboah: A man who’s putting on his armour for war, should not boast like a man who is taking it off.
Nana Tiwaa: If you are digging a pit for your enemy, don’t make it too deep, for you may fall into it. Before buying a house, see who your neighbours will be.
Nana Tweneboah: If you give bad food to your stomach, it drums for you to dance.
Nana Tiwaa: Haste and hurry can only bear children with many regrets.
Nana Tweneboah: A person who sells eggs does not start a fight in the market.
Nana Tiwaa: He who wanders along the beach does not eat his rice dry.
Nana Tweneboah: When a tortoise embarks on a journey he doesn’t ask for directions, because he does not want his enemies to know where he is going.
Nana Tiwaa: A single slip may cause lasting injury.
Nana Tweneboah: Fire is always a good maid, but a bad boss.
Nana Tiwaa: No matter how blunt a matchet, it should never be held by a mad person.
Nana Tweneboah: If you close your eyes to facts, you will learn through accidents.
Nana Tiwaa: Tell your friend a lie, if he keeps it secret, then tell him the truth.
Nana Tweneboah: If you want to fight fire, you don’t wear a shirt made of dry grass.
Nana Tiwaa: He who guards his lips guards his life.
Nana Tweneboah: It is unwise to test the depth of water with both legs.
Nana Tiwaa: Move like a chameleon, look in front, watch behind.
Nana Tweneboah: It requires a lot of carefulness to kill a fly that perches on a scrotum.
Nana Tiwaa: If you have a poor father, that is destiny; if you have a poor father-in-law, that is your mistake.
Nana Tweneboah: Never dump your old pot just because you have bought a new one.
Nana Tiwaa: A bird does not alert his fellow bird that a stone is coming.
Nana Tweneboah: He who defecates along the way will surely meet flies on his way back.
Nana Tiwaa: One only realizes the importance of a well when the water dries up.
Nana Tweneboah: Until a crab finds itself in a very hot pot of soup, it will never understand that water can be both cold and hot.
Nana Tiwaa: Being a good friend of scorpion does not mean that you can’t be stung by a honey bee.
Nana Tweneboah: The rabbit that dances on the broken branch of a high tree must look down to see how many mouths are open wide beneath.
Nana Tiwaa: Do not look at the visitor’s face but at his stomach.
Nana Tweneboah: He that fetches firewood infected with ants should not complain about the visitation of lizards.
Koo Kyei: Ladies and Gentlemen. We come to the end of the first debate. The judges will put their marks together and we will find the winner. Before they do so... Let’s invite the royal dancers to entertain us. Royal dancers, please we are waiting for you...
AFTER THE DANCE, THE 3 JUDGES COME ON STAGE
Judge Lily Posh: Nananom, Ladies and Gentlemen, children and you the public, we searched and searched and searched, we could not find the winner of the two. Indeed, they all have shared the ancient wisdom with us. We shall have them again, next week.
Koo Kyei: Let’s give them a big hand. As she said, next week, the two old wise people will come from the other world to continue for us.

By His Grace, I shall be back