Kupambanua (Distinguishing aphorisms from proverbs and others)

 

Pambanua - distinguish; explain, clear up.

Like the fruits in the photo, it is when you cut through them that you clearly distinguish them from each other.

Msemo (aphorism)

Nyumba ya mnandi haingii mwingine ila mnandi mwenyewe.

-          The house(nest) of a cormorant is not entered by anyone other than the cormorant itself.

According to myth and custom, “The cormorant's nest is said to be attached by a sort of cable to the bottom of the sea. It is in this habitation, crank and flimsy though it be, that the cormorant is supposed to sit and hatch its young; hence, it may be, the above saying: Into such a crazy thing no other bird would venture, even if it might.”

Aphorisms are often short witty statements that require prior context for interpretation because they aren’t based on self-evident truths, common sense, methodology, nor scientific reasoning. This distinguishes them from adages, proverbs, axioms which are based on self-evident truths and hence can be used as a basis for further reasoning and argument. The unscientific nature of aphorisms makes them useful in areas where no methodology nor scientific treatment is applied, for example politics.

It is common sense for anyone who has observed cormorants by the seaside to know that they build their nests on trees, in rocky cliffs, or on the ground. And that they only dive into sea waters to catch fish. But the often cited spectacle of cormorants plunging and diving into the seawater is attached to a myth that they might have a nest under the water because nobody accompanied them to see where they go before coming back up with fish until some people fitted some cormorants with miniaturized video recorders where they have been filmed diving to depths of as much as 80 metres (260 ft) to forage on the sea floor.

Another famous aphorism is:

It is not possible to step into the same river twice.

— Heraclitus

Without prior context, the above statement wouldn’t make any sense to anybody. A prior appropriate context to aid in interpretation would be a situation where somebody is having trouble making a decision because of having various alternatives to choose from.

Aphorisms are more suited to motivating quicker decision-making because most decisions are often determined by heuristics. In relation to that, they are used to shape customs and prejudices.

Other popular aphorisms include:

-          Two wrongs don’t make a right.

-          Ignorance is bliss.

-          No pain no gain.

-          "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." - Jimi Hendrix.

All these aphorisms must be interpreted from prior context to be able to assess whether the aphorism is appropriate or not to the given situation.

 

References

TUKI (2001), Kamusi Ya Kiswahili-Kiingereza; Swahili-English Dictionary. Published by Taasisi ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili (TUKI), Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

W. E. Taylor (1891). African Aphorisms: Or, Saws from Swahili-land