The Persians have a proverb: “A needle’s eye is wide enough for two friends; the whole world is too narrow for two foes.” Let us endeavour to realize as it lies in our power, the processes by which a particular tribe gets together the main body of her proverbs. The sources from which they are largely derived from, the circumstances under which they are created. The fact that a vast number of proverbs are part of the people’s intellectual and moral inheritance. The world has now endured so long, and the successive generations of men have thought, felt, enjoyed, suffered, and altogether learned so much, that there is an immense stock of wisdom which may be said to belong to humanity in common, being the accumulated fruits of all experiences in the past. Humans, more than two thousand years ago, could speak of proverbs. We think of proverbs as sayings on the lips of the wise and the elderly. We have remained blind to the humour, wisdom, and imagination, of which they are full of; and very little aware of the amusement, instruction, insight into matters most proverbs are capable of yielding. As the old proverbs are explored, new proverbs will be born from life and from life’s experience, so too there will be another coalfield from which they will be largely dug, from the plays and poems which a people have made heartily their own. Precious fragments of these will continually teach us valuable lessons. These proverbs will give us the needed intellectual muscle and energy. Just a glimpse of some Igede proverbs.
1. Ang oriri nya okirihye-é á kpụ uhye ka.
2. Ịị ya ọchị gbụrụ uda ka.
3. Ang ọ-hú ụmẹ genggeng ka gba chị ụgbẹyị kpa.
4. Ohe á yẹng la ụdaa ka oo dong ukpenyi ká.
5. Olugbodu a kpa ẹwụ lẹ.
6. Okoji ọ-kpa nwu ịgịrịhya ala ịịwẹ lẹ, ọ-kpa nwụ ilo tì ka lanyị-ị.
7. Ọ-tụ ka ẹkpẹ á ri uhyi ka.
8. Omilodo-ò a tu ka ẹkpẹ ká, ọ kpụ ẹtẹ ká.
9. Ụnụ áa nwa enyi da eeri nya Ohe ká.
10. Angịrị-ị jị ẹpwụ-ọnụ nya ọngọgbahị kaa aalẹ, ẹla ọjẹjẹ juwa.
11. Ụbwọ ookpokpo-ó á họ ẹkịla da egbeju ka.
12. Ụgbọọnụ oluhye bala oleji-i memeeme, ụkpọọnyịrẹ a kaa ru-ala lẹ.
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