ALTRALANG Journal
Volume 7, Numéro 2, Pages 478-487
2025-12-10
Aesthetics And Meaning: A Poetic Comparison Of Selected Igbo And Alago Proverbs.
Authors : Ose- Agbo Chika .
Abstract
Proverbs are pivotal in Nigerian society in terms of edifying language and enriching meaning in human communication and researches abound in this area. However, the neglect or inadequate research on minority literatures have created a wide gap particularly in paremiological studies between the major and minority Nigerian cultures. This paper, therefore is an attempt at inclusiveness; it draws attention to the proverbs of one of Nigeria 's 'minority'' and less researched culture- the Alago of North Central Nigeria, this study explores the aesthetics, literariness and poetic values of Alago proverbs by comparing it with one of Nigeria's 'major' and vastly researched proverblore - the Igbo proverb. This ethnographic oriented paper adopts the structural formalist approach and incorporates an admixture of methodological techniques such as interviews, participant observation and review of available literature. The outcome of this study will contribute to bridging the gap in paremiological studies between the majority and minority cultures in Nigeria. This study observes that Alago proverb is replete with poetic devices such as simile, metaphor, symbolism, personification, alliteration, parallelism, paradox, etc., Other areas of similarities include functions, use of images and syntactic construction; this affinity in thought pattern, expression and experience is explained by Carl Jung's "Collective unconscious ". This study, therefore concludes that the Igbo and Alago proverbs present similar thought patterns in terms of values, philosophical insights, world view and beliefs thus buttressing a common humanity. However, the difference in geographic location, flora and fauna account for the seeming difference in their use of imageries.
Keywords
Alago, ; inclusiveness, ; proverb, ; Igbo, ; aesthetics and collective unconscious.
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