December 3, 2007

Amuum isong isiduogho iduo (He who touches the ground seldom falls)

In the seventeenth century, the English preacher and writer, John Bunyan, wrote a poem that has been translated into several languages and made into hymns. He wrote: He that is down needs fear no fall, he that is low no pride. The Annang, had a different understanding; rather than see being lowly as a guarantee against a fall, our forebears see being anchored as being the most secure guarantee against falling down. When one touches the ground, the danger of falling rather than being totally eliminated becomes reduced. The occasion for using the proverb was warning the young against the dangers of not being truly anchored. When one knows the tradition and stories of the land, the dangers of making a mistake is reduced. The stories of the land and of our origins allow us to know who we are. In a sense our identity is communal. We therefore take our identities from those who lived before us and from the claims already made for us. Our identities come from our history and as Benjamin Disraeli once said, it is when we know what has been done, that we can know what to do.
Several decades earlier many people believed science had the answer to all of life’s problems. There was optimism that science would bring cures to all of what was ailing us, but as the scientist Thomas Khun observed, science itself was a part of the problem and so he called for a new paradigm. Today, many people have realized that no matter how far we have gone, what is considered knowledge is relative and may not be relevant at all places and at all times. What is enduring and what gives life meaning is who the individual is and what such an individual thinks. Our history and our sense of self and interpretation become important. The world now celebrates diversity as a result of this new understanding. One way to deal with others, therefore, is to become comfortable and knowledgeable about our own culture. It is such grounding that prevents mistakes in dealing with others. Those who are knowledgeable and prepared are ever ready to deal with the changing world. It is such people who avoid mistakes.
No matter what we do in this life, good preparation is essential to success. Those who are grounded and knowledgeable seldom fail. Every one has a goal and nearly everyone wishes to do better but only very few people take the time and establish a road map on how to get from where they are to where they want to be. The result is that we believe in good luck or we blame some forces (Ifot) that we have not seen. This life is a series of choices and consequences. We either plan and reap success or we fail to plan and then see misery. Benjamin Franklin once wrote that failing to plan is planning to fail. Do you have a goal? Do you want to advance and grow? Do you have a road map of moving from where you are to where you want to be? Remember, it is those who are grounded and are prepared that do not fail, yes our ancestors believed that those who are cautious are the ones that can stand. May you find a solid ground to touch today and may you never fall.

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Annang Wisdom is an inspirational letter produced as a service of the Annang Heritage Preservation Project. No part of this publication may be transmitted, forwarded, copied, stored or recorded without the permission of the Annang Heritage Preservation Inc. Please send all comments and requests to ancientwisdom@annangheritage.org.