Benjamin Quarshie
Kelcy Menkah Poku
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- 1Department of Creative Arts Education, Mampong Technical College of Education, Mampong, Ghana
- 2Department of Art Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana
- 3Department of Psychology and Business School, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
Traditional knowledge reflects the essence of a community, embodying its truths and ancestral lineage. Preserving this knowledge is vital for maintaining identity and cultural roots. However, viewing it as the sole marker of ethnic ancestry overlooks other factors, such as genetics and the interplay of beliefs and practises. Beliefs and practises, shaped by cumulative wisdom, represent a dynamic core of traditional knowledge influenced by geography, experiences, cultural encounters, and resource availability. Tradition is not static but evolves with time, adapting to the needs of the era. Thus, it is essential to critically evaluate traditional knowledge within its temporal context to distinguish sustainable practises from those that may hinder progress. This paper examines select traditional knowledge embedded in proverbs from two Ghanaian ethnic cultures, Akan and Ewe, through the lens of 21st-century sustainable practises. The focus is to demonstrate that whilst some traditional knowledge endures, others align with modern skills like creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and collaboration—key to socio-environmental sustainability. The paper begins by appreciating Ghanaian traditional knowledge and its practical applications in daily life. It then presents a selection of proverbs with their interpretations, followed by a critical review guided by 21st-century benchmarks with the aid of ChatGPT 4.0 and Gemini 1.5 pro language modelling Artificial Intelligence (AIs) after authentication of the selected proverbs by language experts who are also vested in Ghanaian proverbs. The analysis highlights the nuanced fabric of traditional knowledge, identifying some proverbs that remain relevant and adaptable for daily usage in educational and industrial organisations to elicit 21st-century competencies. The paper concludes with recommendations for scholarly contributions and educational initiatives grounded in traditional knowledge. These initiatives aim to foster sustainable, innovative practises that meet contemporary needs, bridging cultural heritage and modernity.
1 Introduction
Ghana is renowned for its vibrant multicultural diversity, where a rich tapestry of ethnicities is unified by shared cultural heritage. This diversity is reflected in a myriad of beliefs, practises, and traditions encapsulated within arts, folklore, and other cultural expressions. Amongst these, proverbs hold a significant place as a form of folklore (Amponsah, 2023), embodying verbal artistic expressions crafted through daily oral communication. These proverbs, often classified as “words of wisdom” (Načisčione, 2022), serve as profound tools for logical and critical reasoning. They hold immense potential to shape the thinking, behaviour, and innovative competencies of individuals and groups (Avoseh, 2012; Al-Azzawi and Salih, 2021).
Ghanaian proverbs, as a subset of traditional knowledge, are not only a repository of ancestral wisdom but also a medium for cultural preservation and societal growth under frameworks such as the National Folklore Act [Collins, 2019; National Folklore Board (NFB) Ghana, n.d.]. Their versatility is evidenced by their adaptation into visual symbols like Akan adinkra and Ewe agama, which have transcended local use to gain global appeal (Kwabena, 2020). These applications underscore the ongoing relevance of proverbs in bridging cultural traditions with contemporary artistic and scientific innovations. Despite these advancements, the literature reveals a gap in understanding how proverbs retain their relevance in modern contexts, particularly in fostering 21st-century thinking and ingenuity. Whilst there has been significant scholarly effort in documenting the diverse types of proverbs used by ethnic groups across Africa, including Ghana, little has been done to explore their application in educational contexts. For example, Appiah-Sekyere (2016) examines Akan ethics embedded in proverbs and Humanist ethics correlation in terms of advancing moral values in society. He found that Some Akan proverbs promote ethics and positive moral behaviour, arguing that morality is not only typical in religion but also in traditional knowledge. That study, though emphasises ethics and values as particularly pertinent in our technology-driven era where competencies such as critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving are paramount, it did not specifically focus on analysing a collection of proverbs that advances all the 21st-century skills. Again, the extent to which Ghanaian proverbs are utilised within educational contexts to advance these 21st-century thinking and ingenuity in learners remains underexplored. Whereas these gaps are not the central focus of this paper, it is essential to emphasise that proverbs possess a timeless quality; their wisdom endures as a generational legacy of cultural antiquity. It therefore raises a question which underpins this current study: “Do Ghanaian proverbs corroborate the philosophical constructs of 21st-century thought?” Establishing such a connection would provide a robust foundation for further research into the pedagogical application of these proverbs, particularly their role in fostering 21st-century competencies in learners.
This study, therefore, aims to re-examine selected Ghanaian proverbs within the framework of contemporary socio-cultural and educational needs. Proverbs, with their symbolic and metaphorical richness (Avoseh, 2012; Barone, 2021), possess untapped potential to influence cognitive and behavioural development in learners. In this regard, by investigating the alignment of Akan and Ewe proverbs as the two most populous linguistic groups in Ghana (Statista, 2023)—with the philosophical constructs of 21st-century ideologies, this current study seeks to bridge traditional knowledge with modern pedagogical practises. The findings are expected to contribute to the broader discourse on the role of cultural artefacts such as proverbs in education and innovation. They will not only underscore the relevance of proverbs in preserving identity and cultural heritage but also highlight their utility as instructional tools for nurturing cognitive and behavioural capacities. Furthermore, this exploration could position proverbs as critical catalysts for sustaining industrial revolutions, thereby enhancing their value in contemporary and future contexts.
2 Brief literature
2.1 Contextualising proverbs as traditional knowledge in socio-environmental education and its implications on 4th industrial revolution
Traditional knowledge serves as an authentic wellspring that delineates the essence of a community, encapsulating its truths of existence and ancestral lineage. In Africa, proverbs have been identified as one of fountains of traditional knowledge that reflects the wisdom of indigenous societies (Owomoyela, 2021). Proverbs, as a form of traditional knowledge, play a critical role in conveying cultural values, social norms, and collective wisdom across generations (Yankah, 1989). They encapsulate the lived experiences and practical wisdom of communities, making them valuable tools for socio-environmental education. By embedding moral lessons and practical advice within culturally resonant narratives, proverbs provide a relatable and impactful means of educating individuals about sustainable practises and community resilience - proverbs therein have the potentials of modifying the behavioural constructs of individuals and society (Yankah, 1989; Owomoyela, 2021; Barone, 2021). It is therefore necessary to revisit our traditional knowledge, contextually aligning their philosophical underpinnings to modern practises. We have a responsibility to add to the knowledge of the ancestors whilst preserving the invaluable once through frequent usage in our daily endeavours.
In the context of socio-environmental education, proverbs offer insights into indigenous knowledge systems that emphasise harmony with nature and sustainable resource management. They can serve as educational tools that bridge the gap between traditional ecological knowledge and modern environmental science, promoting a more holistic understanding of sustainability (Agyekum, 2019). Even as their importance has been greatly established, the use of proverbs in most societies have been restricted to adults or specific functions. In Ghana, proverbs have been often visualised into traditional symbols used for creating various forms of artefacts such as printed cloth, wood carving, or paintings on buildings. For example, the Akan adinkra symbols or Ewe agama symbols that visually represent proverbial sayings (Kwabena, 2020; Sea, 2022) by the various ethnic groups. Thus, the use of proverbs becomes very relevant in daily endeavours of the people. This opens up the conversations on how these proverbs can be incorporated more in daily communications to impact thinning and behaviours of the masses than just treating them as sacred or concepts reserved for the “wise.”
Whereas societies thrive to make life better in this current 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) characterised by the fusion of digital, biological, and physical innovations that presents both challenges and opportunities (Zervoudi, 2020; Zoldan, 2021), integrating traditional knowledge into our modern practises would be prudent. Proverbs, as repositories of traditional knowledge, can inform and enhance technological innovations by providing ethical frameworks and sustainability principles rooted in centuries of experience. Key amongst the 21st-century thinking skills and competencies that have been identified by some experts (Geisinger, 2016; Hummel and Hummel, 2024) include;
• Critical thinking and problem-solving, Creativity and innovation
• Communication and collaboration
• Information literacy
• Media literacy
• Technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural interaction
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership
• Global citizenship
• Sustainability
• Financial literacy
• Health literacy
• Learning to learn (metacognition)
Incorporating proverbs into 4IR-driven education can foster critical thinking, creativity, and ethical considerations amongst learners, which can be achieved through the agility of teachers (Quarshie et al., 2022). The application of traditional knowledge in contemporary contexts involves integrating this wisdom with modern practises to enhance socio-environmental sustainability. Traditional practises that align with sustainable development goals can offer valuable insights into resource management, community resilience, and environmental stewardship (Nepal, 2024). By identifying and promoting such practises, we can foster a more sustainable and holistic approach to development.
3 Methods
This study aimed to delineate the Indigenous and traditional knowledge embedded within the philosophical constructs of selected Ewe and Akan proverbs as two most spoken ethnic languages in Ghana (Statista, 2023). In this study, we espoused the explorative design in qualitative research approach for a thematic textual content analysis of the selected proverbs (McKee, 2003; Morsanyi and Stamenković, 2021). These proverbs were identified through Boolean search in which is a type of search technique allows for use of keywords and logical operators to limit, broaden or define the scope of the search from internet database (an example of keyword combination used for the search is, Akan proverbs and meaning.pdf). First, we randomly collected a total 240 proverbs for each language enlisted in referenced journals and local blogs such as Kambon and Dzahene-Quarshie, (2017), Diabah and Amfo (2018), Dogbey and Sapaty (2019), Kwabena (2020) and Sea (2023). The pull of the collected data was cleaned to remove duplicates in MICROSOFT EXCEL. These proverbs with their literal meanings were examined critically out of which 41 were shortlisted given their relativity with human socio-environmental contexts. Next, the proverbs and their literal meanings from these sources were assembled in a single document for advanced selection of a total of 41 (19 Ewe and 22 Akan). The criteria for selection focused on those within the scope of societal and environmental dynamics relating to humans based on their literal meanings. In doing this, the focus of the study which has to do with the extent of how the proverbs support 21st-century philosophical constructs in education and industry remained the principal factor throughout the selection. To wit, any of the proverbs relating negatively or positively to the 21st-century skills and competencies constituted the total sample for critical and contextual analysis in this study. Regarding credibility, the selected proverbs were further validated by two language experts and elders with profound knowledge of proverbs in each of the ethnic groups, respectively, to establish their authenticity and meaning thereby enhancing the credibility of the deductive analysis. Following this validation, both the proverbs in their ethnic languages and their meanings were explored through language model AIs (Chat GPT 4.0 and Gemini 1.5 pro) to gain further insights into their alignment or contradictive correlations with 21st-century philosophical underpinnings and practises in education and industry (see Tables 1, 2). An example of the prompts used include: “Justify why this proverb aligns or contrasts 21st-century competencies: [The PROVERB as written in Akan or Ewe and its literal meaning as written in English].” The initial insights from both AIs were then critically compared, interrogated for further analysis using a critical content analysis approach, akin to the method employed by Santoso et al. (2024), to advance arguments of deductively (Santoso et al., 2024; Kim et al., 2020). This analysis included logical justifications through textual dialogue on how the selected proverbs, especially those supporting 21st-century competencies and philosophies, as traditional knowledge, can be promoted and used in educational or organisational practises.
Table 1
Table 1. Selected Ewe and Akan proverbs that align and reflect 21st century skills and innovation.
Table 2
Table 2. Selected Ewe and Akan proverbs that contrast 21st century skills and innovation.
4 Results and discussions
4.1 Analysis of selected Ghanaian proverbs through the lens of 21st century skills and the 4th industrial revolution
In this section we present a critical analysis of the meanings and philosophical contexts of selected Ghanaian proverbs through the lens of 21st-century thinking and skills sets for the 4th Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), categorising them as promoting or not promoting innovative thinking. As posited earlier, the goal is to highlight their usability in teaching and learning, organisational practises and everyday life application to promote problem-solving in society. For each of the ethnic groups selected for this study, the proverbs collected in relation with the scope of societal and environmental dynamics relating to humans based on their literal meanings were recategorised into two groups. The first group contains proverbs and their meaning (literal and actual) that contextually align with 2st-century philosophies (Table 1) whereas the other group are those that contrast 21st-century competencies and philosophies (Table 2). Also, included in the table is an expanded contextual insight from the AI analysis of how the meanings of the selected proverbs correlate with the 21st-century industrial innovation ideologies.
4.2 Discussions
From the results, it was found that there are Seven Ewe and 16 Akan proverbs that align and reflect the education, socio-environmental and industrial construct of our current world. In this score, there were more Akan proverbs that support 21st-century ideologies that drive education and industry than that of the Ewe people. We found this correlating to the impressions highlighted by Appiah-Sekyere (2016) that the Akan people project work as great ethical value and abhors laziness which is often promulgated through the expression “Adwuma, adwuma” (Work, work) and its response “adwuma ye” (work is good) (Appiah-Sekyere, 2016, p. 112). This could account for the several proverbs contextually supporting the 21st-century skills which include critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, information literacy, media literacy, technology literacy, flexibility, leadership, initiative, productivity, and social skills (Çiftci et al., 2021; Kennedy and Sundberg, 2020; Rios et al., 2020). Take for example the Akan proverb “Wotwa dua a, ɛdu soro” (When you cut a tree, it falls down)-a proverb which highlights the awareness of consequences of actions. Contextually, competencies required for the 21st-century workplace include critical thinking and innovation with marginalised risky repercussions when dealing with socio-environmental challenges. Hence, consequences of design concepts that cause the depletion of the earth should not only be rethought, but effective design thinking should help mitigate the production of inventions that promote devastating consequences on the natural environment globally. But, such proverbs as this one frequently used in the Ghanaian education and industry settings to drive some environmental sensitivity and responsiveness in the daily routine of the people remain rhetorical. Rather illegal mining “galamsay” and waste management has been identified as one of the major threats on the environment in Ghana (Aikins, 2024; Lissah et al., 2021). Interestingly, Accra and Kumasi where Akan is widely spoken are listed as top cities with waste management problems (Kwakye et al., 2023) whereas illegal mining is mostly done in Akan communities. It creates the notion that the proverb has not proven any moral or ethical influence on the people, and perhaps because it is not even frequently used in daily communication. Again, the findings revealing only a few Ewe proverbs reflecting and aligning with 21st-century ideologies does not underscore that Ewe people are not industrious. Instead, the Ewe people have also been identified, particularly the Anglo-Ewe as illustrious and hardworking (Venkatachalam, 2015). For both ethnic groups to possess some proverbs that can be used to advance the nurturing of 21st-century competencies require a further inquiry into the frequency of proverb usage in Ghanaian educational setups, industry, and public places. The analysis of the findings also reveals that some of the proverbs from both the Ewe and Akan origins reflect similar concepts. For example, the Ewe proverb “Afɔ meyia nugbe; atagba tsia aƒe o” (The foot does not go on a mission and leaves the thigh at home) and the Akan proverb “Fufuo nko ara nnante” (Fufuo does not walk alone). Both proverbs contextually advance collaboration and need to mobilise needed resources. This consolidates the common notion that the various ethnic groups in Ghana have a blend of shared cultural norms, values, and practises (Kwabena, 2020; Sea, 2022; Agyekum, 2019). Looking at the philosophies of the 4th Industrial Revolution which emphasises the fusion of technologies and the blurring of lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres (Trauth-Goik, 2020; Kennedy and Sundberg, 2020; Çiftci et al., 2021), it can be posited that our search could not establish a set of Ewe and Akan proverbs that directly highlights technological and digital advancements. However, inferences from some of the proverbs fits well within the contexts of digital applications. For example, the Akan proverb “Wo mfuo dɔɔso a, woyɛ ne nyinaa (If you have many farms you have to cultivate them all) promotes the competency of handling all responsibilities within stipulated deadlines. Giving the current digital technological world the ability to multitask and meet deadlines is admired and the wide range of AI tools and other digital applications have made it easier, leaving no room for excessive excuses for underperformance due to workload. This proverb, when deeply analysed in digital contexts, highlights the need to take advantage of modern technologies to complete tasks without delays. In another light, we found some of the proverbs possessing duo contextual meanings, making it difficult to position them under the two groupings in this study. The final placement of such proverbs with two sides were therefore done based on the in-depth interpretation and relatedness to 21st-century philosophies. For example, the Akan proverb “Mfomsoɔ mpa onipa ho “(To err is human) acknowledges human limitations and gives the opportunity to learn from mistakes and grow. When misapplied however, people may give excused for lack of diligence in their work with claims of human limitations. The modern industrial action, though permits experimentation, does not give room for excessive error so as to reduce loss and maximise efficacy – a caution is therefore recommended when applying such proverbs with duo implications.
5 Conclusions implications and limitations
5.1 Conclusion
This article examined a selected Akan and Ewe proverbs as a body of indigenous and traditional knowledge through the lenses of 21st-Century skills and philosophical underpinnings. The focus was to identify the proverbs (indigenous and traditional knowledge) that support the philosophical constructs of 21st-Century thinking and competencies. The study found a total of 23 (Seven Ewe and 16 Akan) proverbs that align and support 21st-Century philosophies of design thinking and innovation for socio-environmental sustainability through a contextual critical analysis of the selected proverbs. These proverbs are worthy of everyday usage in creative and innovative organisations, serving as strong motivation for critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving competencies in this modern world of various global socio-environmental challenges. We argue that traditional knowledge is inherently dynamic and evolving alongside the communities that use them. Therefore, scrutinising these philosophies through the lens of contemporary needs is essential, particularly in the realms of problem-solving and environmental sustainability. This approach is exemplified in our study by analysing the selected proverbs from Ghanaian cultures (Akan and Ewe) through the lens of 21st-century skills and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The analysis highlights proverbs that align with critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving, recommending them for cultural heritage and sustainability through frequent usage. Contextually, there are some proverbs (12 Ewe and six Akan) identified that may discourage the daring or adventurous philosophical underpinnings of the 21st-Century inspirations for design and innovation, potentially hindering progress. However, their socio-cultural significance could be impactful in different contexts. This therefore does not necessarily mean they are bad proverbs. Again, as shown in the results and discussion, Akan proverbs that support 21st-Century education and industrial competencies were found to be over twice of those found in the Ewe proverbs. This does not mean the Ewe people on the other hand, are not industrially conscious. Again, it was thought that since some proverbs support environmental responsiveness and sustainability, these proverbs would have impacted the behaviour of the people. However, gross cases relating to waste management and illegal mining remain an environmental threat. It can therefore be concluded that these proverbs have not largely influenced societal thinking in dealing with socio-environmental challenges in Ghana.
5.2 Implications and contribution
Methodologically, our paper is the first to explore critical contextual analysis of selected Ewe and Akan proverbs to ascertain their relatedness to the 21st-century ideologies in education, industry and socio-environmental paradigms. The paper therefore contributes to existing literature on Ghanaian proverbs. Our use of the language model AI is to gain insights into the proverbs, and sets the pace for other scholars to delve into similar fields. It provides insights on different scholarly applications of the trending AIs in scientific research. Again, given that some traditional knowledge codified in Ewe and Akan proverbs inculcate a sense of environmental stewardship and responsibility, there is a need to maximise the use of such proverbs in schools, institutions and industries to incite a sense of environmental knowledge in the people. This paper, therefore, becomes the first to expose the relations between some Ghanaian proverbs and 21st-Century thinking and competencies, thereby reemphasising the timeless relevance of traditional knowledge especially as codified in proverbs or wise sayings. The paper also highlights the need for organisations and institutions to assume a sense of responsibility to incorporate some of our proverbs as traditional knowledge into their organisational cannons, vision, mission, and core value statements due to their potential impact in this industry 4.0. It also outlines the essence of educational institutions encouraging teachers to integrate the use of proverbs in their learning environments to help modify the behavioural and thinking faculties of learners for positive attitudinal change. These qualities of our study, potentially, could impact policy and practise on use of local Ghanaian languages both in the formal and informal settings for preservation of Ghanaian culture, identity, and transformation of public mindset towards environmental stewardship.
5.3 Limitation and recommendation
Whereas our study focused on analysing selected proverbs through the 21st-century philosophical lenses, this could have been complemented with interviews to engage other experts and ethnic elders, adding more texture to the qualitative discourse. Also, to further understand the impact of the proverbs in the behaviour and thinking of the two ethnic groups, an ethnographic study could be helpful. Future studies looking into the specific aspects of everyday life of the ethnic groups could be conducted and analysed against their most frequently used proverbs for inferences to be made on how the use of proverbs actually reflects the behaviours of the people. An extensive inquiry into the frequency of proverb usage by the Ghanaian people in daily speech amongst the youth and elderly especially in education institutions and workplaces could be insightful to shape policy on Ghanaian folklore and cultural identity.
Author contributions
BQ: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. KM: Data curation, Resources, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.
Funding
The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
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Keywords: 21st-century skills, Akan, competencies, ewe, proverbs, traditional knowledge
Citation: Quarshie B and Poku KM (2025) Dynamic resonance: unpacking Ghanaian traditional knowledge through proverbs for modern socio-environmental innovation. Front. Hum. Dyn. 7:1456870. doi: 10.3389/fhumd.2025.1456870
Edited by:
Dickson Adom, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, GhanaReviewed by:
Louis Nyahunda, University of Venda, South AfricaSamuel Awuah-Nyamekye, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Copyright © 2025 Quarshie and Poku. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Benjamin Quarshie, YmVuamlxdWFyc2hpZUBnbWFpbC5jb20=