“‘I Drank The Water Of Life Before You’: The Hidden Yoruba Wisdom Behind Ẹ̀gbọ́n & Àbúrò”

Ẹ̀gbọ́n and Àbúrò: Older or Younger Sibling

In Yoruba, age matters.

Even if you are only one day older than a person, you are the ẹ̀gbọ́n, and they are àbúrò.

You would claim, “Mo mu omi ayé sin ẹ,” meaning “I drank the water of life before you.”

You are the ẹ̀gbọ́n, and the person before whom you drank the water of life is your àbúrò.

You might wonder what the significance of the terms ẹ̀gbọ́n and àbúrò is.

Follow me to the House of Iya Oyo to listen to her semantic deconstruction of Yoruba linguistics.

“It is about wisdom,” Iya Oyo explains. “The water of life gives you wisdom, and the longer you remain on earth, the more of it you drink”

“So,” I ask, “how does that connect with ẹ̀gbọ́n and aburo.”

“I knew you would ask,” she proceeds. “Ẹ̀gbọ́n is formed from Ọgbọ́n, wisdom. Egbon as you must notice is constructed from Ẹ̀ plus gbọ́n. Gbọ́n is wise. Ẹ̀gbọ́n, therefore means one who is wise.”

“I’m following you, Ìyá Àgbà ” I assure her.

“Ọgbọ́n is conditional, of course.” She reminds me. “Nobody has all the wisdom about everything. You are only wiser than people who know less than you—that is, specifically, your àbúrò.”

“I see,” I responded.

“Watch children at play,” Iya Oyo continues. “One is the ẹ̀gbọ́n and the other is the àbúrò. The Ẹ̀gbọ́n, in whom wisdom resides, asks ‘What is that?” pointing to an animal the Àbúrò has never seen before. The Aburo, not wanting to look ignorant, makes a stupid guess—“Kòkòrò (insect). The Ègbọ́n condescendingly pronounces, ‘Stupid, (ọ̀dẹ̀) it is a redneck lizard.’ You would notice that the Ẹ̀gbọ́n says ‘ọ̀dẹ̀’ which is stupid, before providing the answer. That is the way we use language in Yoruba when dealing with those we are older than. It doesn’t mean that the person is stupid. The Èébú (stupid) is just to show we are older.”

“I have heard plenty of that before,” I reply. “You are not supposed to take it seriously. You just brush it away.”

“Exactly,” she continues. “If you want to continue to enjoy the wisdom that your Ẹ̀gbọ́n is feeding you, it is important to ignore the èébú part. You are someone who takes the èébú, before getting the explanation or illumination of wisdom. Bú is from èébú. Rò is to explain. Rò is from èrò, which means thinking.”

“I get it now,” I concluded. “Àbúrò is the one who is swallow the eebu to benefit from the èrò, or wisdom.”

“À-bú-rò,” she says. “Even you are becoming smart, stupid.”

“At least I’m smarter now than one minute ago,” I chuckle. “Can you tell me more about Èrò?”

“Ọ̀dẹ (ignoramus),” she dismisses me. “You want to gain all the wisdom of the world in one day?”

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Picture shows Aworosaṣa Moyọ Okediji explaining an idea to some OAU students who came to talk with him at the Akodi Orisa, Ile Ife.

Lati Ọwọ Aworosaṣa Moyọ Okediji