African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African folklore 606
——. 1995. Speaking for the Chief. Okyeame and the Politics of Akan Royal Oratory.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
KWESI YANKAH
See also Chiefs; Oratory; Proverbs
OLD MAN AND OLD WOMAN
According to Westermarck, old age in Morocco traditionally “inspires a feeling of
mysterious awe which tends to make the man a saint and the woman a witch” (1930, 46).
Indeed, Moroccan proverbs make it clear that respect is due to the males’ “white hairs”
(ibid.). To designate elderly men, apart from precisely the term “white-haired” (shâ’ib,
shîbâni), the following are used in the folktales of the Maghreb: shikh, to indicate and
address, with reverence, a learned gentleman (mostly in religious matters); hakîm, for a
“doctor” in the occult sciences (e.g., Desparmet 1910, 90–122); Qdîm ar-Rây (lit., “old
opinion”) from the narrative cycle of the Banu Hilal, who, because of his perception of
the hidden implicit meaning of things, plays a specific role of mediation among his
people (e.g., Galley and Ayoub 1983, n. 57, 154). Of equally common use in the Arabian
tales of Algeria is mudabbir, a form whose meaning suggests the ability to clear
entangled situations and find pragmatic solutions (e.g., Desparmet 1909, 91, 226;
Bencheneb 1946). An interesting aspect of his function in society lies in his choice of the
metaphorical language to be used appropriately in questions of great issue; such choice
being founded on tacit rules of decency (due to age, sex, kinship) as well as on aesthetic
criteria (Breteau and Galley 1970, 57–66). In brief, whatever status the old man is given
in the tales, he seems to have not only stored knowledge and wisdom from a lifetime of
experience, but also acquired a deep insight into sociability. He intervenes within the
family, or at a wider social level, thus contributing to safe practical settlements among the
members of the group.
In North African folktales, the old man, generally, in his relations with young
individuals, plays the role of the helper (El-Shamy 1995, N 825.2, N 835). As such, he
exercises an important determinant influence, perceptible, for example, from the
treatment of these recurring themes: In one, a young hero, at a crucial stage of his/her
solitary journey (by the spring, at a crossroads, on a faraway mountain, and so on), comes
across an old man. As a reward for a favor asked and fulfilled, the latter gives him
precious, sometimes enigmatic, advice which, if blindly obeyed, ensures success and,
ultimately, social recognition (e.g., Baklouti 1988, 106, 118–121). Another common
sequence has an old peasant or fisherman rescuing abandoned infants from a trunk that he
finds floating on the river or sea. He adopts, feeds, and educates them (e.g., Desparmet
1910, 241–64). Also, there are tales about an old huntsman/sultan who saves a young
maiden lost in the Wasteland. He takes her under his protection and sometimes marries
her and builds a family with her (e.g., Galley and Iraqui Sinaceur 1994, 86–91). In these
three samples, the old man seems to find himself exactly where he is needed, whether he
shows the way to the inexperienced hero and helps him/her to overcome forthcoming
perils, gives a home and education to forlorn babies, or provides a shelter and security in