Abstract
This research focuses on the proverbs in the songs of Akobe and its poetic content as important sources of, and foundation for, understanding the place of proverbs in the indigenous Bini society. It seeks to analyze poetic elements in the proverbs in Akobe songs as an insight into the interpretation of the power of the spoken word in indigenous African society. The analysis is used to argue for an increased articulation of indigenous African knowledge into the dialogue on the inclusion of non-Western traditions in the theoretical frameworks for societal interaction and other communicative events in the society. This research work uses the proverbs of Akobe in traditional contexts and draws illustrative examples of proverbs used in the songs. The theory the researcher employs for this research is that of cultural semiotics, since the way in which we conceptualize an objective world is almost entirely dependent on cultural codes. This study establishes, beyond doubt, that oral literature is as creative and artistically inclined as the written literature. Proverbs of Akobe, and by extension, proverbs in Benin kingdom in general, contain literary elements that enable the message of the minstrel to be relevant to the people. This study indicates that beyond the social and cultural implications of the proverb is an intricate and predominant interplay of poetry and other aesthetic resources inherent in these proverbs.