Ubuntu-as-Unity: Indigenous African proverbs as a ‘re-educating’ tool for embodied social cohesion and sustainable development

Abstract

This article seeks to contribute to the discussion on how Africa can realise greater sustainable development by highlighting the value that Indigenous proverbs play as re-education tools for Ubuntu which can foster greater cooperation for good on the continent. It shows how these proverbs are used by their communities in educating them about Ubuntu with an emphasis on social cohesion, giving rise to an empowering reconceptualisation of what it means to be African as embodied in the term – Ubuntu-as-Unity. The findings demonstrate that Indigenous African proverbs which espouse the Ubuntu-as-Unity philosophy contain principles and values which the continent can currently benefit from in its pursuit of integrated sustainable development. The article makes a contribution by asserting African identity through Indigenous proverbs which can be used as ‘re-education’ tools for fostering continental well-being. The term ‘re-education’ is employed because the proverbs are forms of Indigenous knowledge which are grounded in embodied practices and the lived experiences of African peoples which predate formal curricular and classroom practices. Ubuntu-as-Unity can thus serve as a practical and living philosophy that can be applied by ‘re-educating’ peoples in social action today in order to advance Africa’s renewal.