Village News

“A proverb is the wit of one, and the wisdom of many.” ~ Lord John Russell

A proverb is folk piece of wisdom expressed through brief sentences handed down from generation to generation. Life is complex and sometimes we need quick and memorable wisdom to guide us. Every culture develops wise sayings based on their common ethos, traditions, and particular context.

Here are three reasons why proverbs consist of brief sentences:

1. Repeatable. Proverbs are often rhythmic and easy to repeat to oneself and others. This provides the community a common way to communicate about life that is easy to spread, while providing the next generation on-ramps to important life understanding.
2. Relatable. Proverbs often refer to experiences that most people know and can relate to. They draws conclusions that most people would have drawn but in small creative nuggest offer find just the right ‘play on words’.
3. Reliable. The short, punchy style of proverbs enables it to be passed on easily so that the meaning and purpose is carried between listeners. After hearing a proverb a couple of times, the brain makes connections that this is a trustworthy saying because it makes sense in their context and comes from more than just one person.

Proverbs may have simple sentence structures, but they carry centuries of wisdom that answer difficult life questions for a specific social environment. Some of us have twenty years of life experience, some have seventy, but proverbs have centuries.

At Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) we showcase the Mennonite experience of the past five centuries. These years included many challenges, tragedies, and accomplishments. With experience comes wisdom. How sad, that today we know so few proverbs and stories from the collective wisdom of our heritages.

As often migratory people, Mennonites could only bring a few items from one part of the world to another. Many things were lost or left behind. However, there were several intangible treasures they could always bring, including the many proverbs they had learned in Low German (LG). For many of these proverbs, “inspiration came from the Bible, the barnyard, the plow, the seasons, the social order of medieval lord and serf, and out of the natural cycles of birth, life and death” (Isaias J. McCaffery, Mennonite Low German Proverbs from Kansas).

Most in my generation and the next no longer speak LG, but if we could at learn some proverbs we will carry with us a wealth of wisdom and culture for ourselves and next generation(s).

I’ll close with this Low German proverb:

Tiet(Ziet) bringt Roose.
Time brings roses.

Meaning: in time life brings rewards. If your life is presently in the gloom of winter, spring will eventually arrive. Patience is a virtue backed by faith. This proverb shows the Mennonite understanding of how life is lived in seasons, not days and minutes.