I spent about 2 minutes trying to figure out what category to put this blog post. I just put it under lifestyle because there wasn’t anywhere else to place it.
King of Boys was a breath of fresh air in Nigerian cinema. It was in no way perfect, but it was a daring attempt to rise above the current state of Nollywood. I enjoyed the movie and the 6 part sequel. One of my favorite things about it was how much Yorùbá was in it especially the Proverbs.
A lot of them felt special because of their delivery, the meaning, how graphic Yorùbá can read and everything else in between.
Because I love to share what I enjoy here are my favourite proverbs from the show. English translations are in Italics.
1. Igi tó yẹ ka fẹhìntì tó bá wó lu ní kò lè pa ni.
A tree that cannot support us when we rest on it cannot kill us if it falls on us.
This was said by Makanaki to Ọba in the movie and the delivery was scathing. Ọba was called weak in 10 different ways in that proverb. A tree that even when it falls can’t hurt anyone.
Reminisce did a great job with his role and I can’t wait to see what he does next.
2. Kí ní ànfàní bàtà fún ẹni tí ò lẹ́sẹ̀?
What good is a shoe without a foot?
Kí ní ànfàní ọjọ́ to yọ́ ti òrùn ò yọ?
What good is the day without the sun?
Bí ọjọ́ gbogbo bá dúdú, tó dúdú kẹṣẹ-kẹṣẹ
If all the days were dark, very dark.
Bí gbogbo nǹkan ẹni sọnù, ẹ̀yàn ò le mọ̀
A person wouldn’t know if they lost everything.
Bí ojú ẹni bá sì fọ́, bí wọ́n jí ni wúrà èèyàn ò lè mọ̀
One who is blind wouldn’t know if all their gold were stolen.
This isn’t a proverb, it’s a dirge but it was do compelling I think it deserves a place on this list. I felt so sad while watching Ẹniọlá Salami lament by the graveside of her children. She was so consumed with pain nothing else mattered and it was communicated through the verse. You can find the dirge in episode one of the sequel.
3. Òjò lóùn ní lọ́wọ́, onílé ni ò ní gbà fun.
The flood is determined to wash away the house but the owner must be ready to prevent it.
The final one on the list is in the movie itself. I like it a lot because the past few years have been about coming to terms with the fact that life is hard and no one is coming to save me. I’ve learnt a lot about wearing joy tightly enough that it keeps you afloat on the bad days. And as Sarah Lawrence prescribed; I know how to be shocked and dismayed and not lie down and die.
These are my top 3 but I’m not done yet. Tomorrow, there will be a blog post up that contains every single proverb in the King of Boys saga. It took hours of re-watching the show and more hours of editing to get this out so I hope you are as excited as I am. If you haven’t seen King of Boys, you should. It’s available to stream on Netflix.
Till tomorrow!
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