Privileging indigenous discourse via animation: A study of proverbs from Beautiful Plateau Proverbs on Facebook

Proverbs are concise philosophical sayings that are popular among a particular folk. In Africa, proverbs are crucial in every conversation, serving as a powerful tool for the transmission of culture, ideas, and manners from one generation to another. Several scholars have discussed proverbs from their aesthetic features, sociological functions, discourse analytical views, post-colonial approaches, and many other approaches. Still, less attention has been given to aiding access to indigenous African proverbs via animation. This paper attempts to use a close reading technique to discuss how animation highlights the significance of indigenous knowledge embedded in proverbs. Anchoring on Ngugi wa Thiongo’s concept of linguistic decolonization which he advocates as a means to combat cultural imperialism that has elevated European languages over indigenous languages. Nguigi furthers that cultural imperialism perpetuates colonial legacies that alienate African identities; thus, reclaiming indigenous languages by placing them in the mainstream of discourse where technology rather helps to accentuate access at a time when African languages are endangered is essential for genuine self-definition and an understanding of knowledge and culture. Beautiful Plateau Proverbs is a compendium of animated proverbs from the myriad ethnic groups in Plateau State, North-central Nigeria. This work argues that proverbs are still vibrant in contemporary times, and merging with them animation not only aids understanding of these proverbs but also gives deep insights into a people’s worldview, culture, and tradition. The work also highlights the colonial legacies that have eroded or replaced indigenous knowledge with Western ideas through modernity. The paper concludes that animation is a tool that should be adopted by researchers to enhance the decolonial process in institutions because of its ability to provoke critical thinking within students and the society at large.