The moral value that proverbs bring to us in our daily lives

Alberto Mudjadjo"

The proverb within morality gives us a very deep insight into the importance of peaceful coexistence among men, the concept of good, the meaning of being a man, and brings with it expressions from the depths that condemn any act of invalidity or attempt to fail to comply with the rules for good coexistence between the different social classes. This communication has above all a reflective objective, that is, to provide a pure reflection on the moral value that proverbs bring to us in our daily lives. Cultural anthropology is primarily dedicated to the development of human societies in the world. It studies the behavior of human groups, the origins of religion, customs and social conventions, technical development and family relationships. A very important field of cultural anthropology is linguistics, which studies the history and structure of language. Linguistics is especially valued because anthropologists rely on it to observe communication systems and understand people's worldview. Through this science it is also possible to collect oral histories of the group studied. Oral history is constituted in society through poetry, songs, myths, proverbs and popular legends.The proverb is a brief, simple, codified, poetic text, which axiomatically states nature or experience and which is anonymized or anonymous, and relatively old, has a more or less collective circulation and is fundamentally oral, and can perform, like any literary text, multiple functions, although the main ones are didactic and moralizing.The proverbial text, from north to south of Mozambique, in the various linguistic communities, reflects, although almost always biasedly as is typical of any literary text, an extremely fine sensitivity towards orphans. The Mozambican proverbial collection is rich in intimidating/prescriptive advice, which it gives to non-orphaned children, perhaps because their situation is truly privileged in relation to orphans, for whom proverbs are reserved describing their pitiful situation and expressing wishes of respect, of reaffirmation of the divine protection of the ancestors. Cultural anthropology and the use of proverbs for the realization of morality finds that theToday's man finds it difficult to understand this proverbial concept, because when he thinks about morality, he usually imagines something linked to rules and prohibitions, more or less uncomfortable and arbitrary impositions, coming from parents, teachers, religious ministers, in short, limitations on freedom imposed by society. Saint Thomas's concept is completely different. He does not even conceive of morality as something imposed, nor as a "matter reserved for religious people", and even less as something constraining or repressive of human freedom! What he does say is that morality is the being of man, a doctrine about what man is and is called to be. For Saint Thomas, morality is understood as a "process of self-realization" of Man, a process carried out freely and responsibly and which affects the most fundamental level, that of being-Man: When it comes to morality, however, human action is seen as focusing not on a particular aspect, but on the totality of Man's being; it concerns what one is as a Man. Note that we are characterizing morality, speaking of achievement and in the Mozambican proverb (in the singular), and not of achievements (plural) in the various sectoral aspects of life: finances, health, etc. For morality concerns precisely achievement; achievement not of this or that partial aspect, but that which affects the totality, what one is as a Man. Here are some examples of proverbs and their moral function: - Okhala onokhalihaniwa– Living is helping each other to live. For human beings, existing and coexisting are the same thing. Life has many setbacks and setbacks, be they illnesses, setbacks or fatalities, which we can only overcome with the friendship, affection or support of our family and friends. Men need the help of women and vice versa. Children need their parents, and parents rely on their children for help. Those who isolate themselves from others out of pride, selfishness, greed or any other base motive are condemned to sadness and death. No one in the family gets sick alone, and no one is ever left alone with the task of raising their children. Some traits of Ubuntu, the African philosophy. - Opanke mùpa, onroromela olupa – He who makes arrows trusts in his aim. He who goes to the high seas believes he knows how to fish and knows the secrets of the sea well. This proverb conveys the idea that things, in order to be carried out successfully, require not only intelligence, but also will. Similar proverbs in Portuguese would be: He who does not tire, achieves and Trouts are not fished in dry bragas. Some of the proverbs from southern Mozambique show another side, that is, only the intimidating nature that aims to maintain order in remote societies where the law of government is not felt, and in these societies where proverbs of a mythological nature arise but with an anthropological and, above all, moral foundation. - Ku fa ka huku, matandza ma bolile. The hen died, the eggs rotted. (Children without a mother are all orphans. Changana proverb).

2025/12/3