Politics and Society in the Mirror of Proverbs

Proverbs are one of the most widespread and common forms of literary expression, and no nation is devoid of them. They are a mirror reflecting the feelings of peoples of different classes and affiliations. They are also an embodiment of their various perceptions, customs, traditions and beliefs in vivid images and comprehensive human connotations through their characteristics and features. They are thus considered the living memory of peoples because they are quickly circulated and spread and transmitted from one generation to another, and from one language to another across different times and places, in addition to being characterized by brevity, beauty of expression and density of meanings. Therefore, they are considered the vessel of nations and the storehouse of their experiences. They are also a means of preserving experiences and wisdom to be transmitted from one generation to another. The idea of the article revolves around the social and political connotations in proverbs, carrying the popular and national heritage. They are a mirror reflecting the various experiences of the individual's life and expressing the various classes and categories of society. Through them, we can learn about the various relationships existing within society to the social relationships within the same family. The question raised here is what is the role of proverbs in politics and society and what is the role of politics and society in proverbs? To answer these questions, the study relied on the analytical-descriptive approach. The results indicate that the loss of proverbs was affected by the political circumstances of society from the pre-Islamic era to the modern era, and the effect of that appeared in the image of proverbs. The effect of society also appeared from a social perspective, as the effect of the environment in which the Arab lived appeared, and many proverbs were found in the modern era that depict for us what is going on in that society.
 Keywords: Arab society, proverbs, cultural systems, politics, society.
1.Introduction
Proverbs are one of the oldest artistic and linguistic forms that carry human and civilizational connotations, and reflect a cultural heritage that represents the essence of practical experience, and carries aspects of the commonality in human consciousness and their perception of the universe and their relationships with each other. Many of those working in thought and literature have been interested in using proverbs in their various creations, and they have also been a primary material for practical research and studies. For example, the role of poets in this field is very important, as they constituted a primary source for these proverbs, which revolved around the fact that proverbs are always the kernel of their poems or the essence of their endings, as the poet sometimes creates a poem that is an explanation or interpretation of a proverb. There is a diversity of intellectual products, both written and oral, that Arab culture stores, and what distinguishes this heritage from the diversity of sources and richness of experiences, highlighting that Arab proverbs carry a lot of morals and meaning and wisdom that gives them leadership in describing reality and warning of its shortcomings. Every society abounds with many proverbs that are considered an integral part of the intangible heritage that must be preserved because they are an important tributary that contributes to societal development. Proverbs express the system of moral values and social psychological trends of the people through the reflection of the data of the environment and society in all its natural, social, economic and cultural aspects. The proverb usually includes wisdom, a sermon or advice, so it is extracted from the life experiences of previous generations... In addition to being distinguished by brevity and the prevalence of humor, lightness and charm. Proverbs are of great importance in our daily lives and play a major role in modifying the behavior of individuals through their psychological impact on them. They are capable of creating positive trends in them due to the lofty social values they carry. They are also one of the most important historical sources for knowing the psychology of peoples, and their intellectual, mental, civilizational and moral development over time, in addition to monitoring the various events of life. Proverbs are characterized by the phenomenon of rhyme that proverb writers were keen to adopt when composing the proverb and choosing words that are balanced on the rhyme regardless of the compatibility and harmony of their meanings together. It also resulted from the suffering of the members of society in the past in daily life when they were exposed to difficult life situations, but today we enjoy a comfortable life far from pain and suffering, so how can it be a source of inspiration for the current generation to invent new proverbs? Therefore, we must intensify efforts to introduce the prosperous generation to old proverbs and educate them about the importance of preserving what remains of them. Proverbs have been affected by the prevailing social situation in our current era and what is characterized by the existence of different social situations, where you find today members of the same family in different and perhaps conflicting directions.

Materials & methods

Cultural criticism has been associated as a critical approach that studies literature, moving from the superficial aesthetic aspect of the text, in search of the hidden implications behind that artistic rhetorical aesthetic form, which hides behind it the negatives of societal culture, and attempts to explore its unconscious implicit systems that do not appear on the surface of the language, as it is a system that has accumulated across a group of cultural, political, social, historical and economic contexts, and in light of our focus of cultural criticism on the systems of proverbs and wisdom. These proverbs and wisdom were distributed among several different fields ranging between: morals, wisdom, advice and guidance, agriculture, buying and selling...etc., based on their implicit meanings behind that apparent aesthetic context of the proverb or wisdom, as the latter contained several implicit meanings for a single proverb, as a single proverb may fall within several fields. The study relied on the analytical-descriptive approach.

Discussion & Result

Proverbs were affected by the political circumstances of society from the pre-Islamic era to the modern era, and the effect of that appeared in the image of proverbs, where courage and bravery that enabled sovereignty were the most obvious meanings in the metaphors of the pre-Islamic era, and knowledge of the conditions of society, including the tribalism, instability, and continuous, endless wars between its tribes, was the explanation for that. The political dispute between the Umayyads and the Abbasids also left its clear effect on proverbs, for an era where the role of tribalism in directing events was clear, and the proverbs reflected to us the skills and arguments that each group tried to seize, whether from the Abbasids or the Umayyads, and thus they are more deserving. The effect of society also appeared from a social perspective, as the effect of the environment in which the Arab lived appeared, so the elevation of the status of the quality of generosity was clear in the image of proverbs, and the woman in that society was free and not degraded, and no one served her, and in that proverbs for the woman, there is an indication of praising her tribe as well, so the status of that woman is from the high status of her tribe. - The impact of the Islamic conquests on their social lives was evident in the proverbs of the Umayyad era, where a current of entertainment and corruption prevailed in their lives, and they imitated the people of the conquered countries. On the other hand, proverbs appeared that depicted the opposite current to that corrupt current, represented by asceticism and Sufism. The important effects of society in enriching the experience of proverbs and the impact of that on their general pattern are also evident to us, and we have shown them in different climates of society politically, socially and culturally.
 

Conclusion

Proverbs were affected by the political circumstances of society from the pre-Islamic era to the modern era, and the effect of that appeared in the image of proverbs, where courage and bravery that enabled sovereignty were the most obvious meanings in the metaphors of the pre-Islamic era, and knowledge of the conditions of society, including the tribalism, instability, and continuous, endless wars between its tribes, was the explanation for that. The political dispute between the Umayyads and the Abbasids also left its clear effect on proverbs, for an era where the role of tribalism in directing events was clear, and the proverbs reflected to us the skills and arguments that each group tried to seize, whether from the Abbasids or the Umayyads, and thus they are more deserving.The effect of society also appeared from a social perspective, as the effect of the environment in which the Arab lived appeared, so the elevation of the status of the quality of generosity was clear in the image of proverbs, and the woman in that society was free and not degraded, and no one served her, and in that proverbs for the woman, there is an indication of praising her tribe as well, so the status of that woman is from the high status of her tribe.The impact of the Islamic conquests on their social lives was evident in the proverbs of the Umayyad era, where a current of entertainment and corruption prevailed in their lives, and they imitated the people of the conquered countries.On the other hand, proverbs appeared that depicted the opposite current to that corrupt current, represented by asceticism and Sufism.The important effects of society in enriching the experience of proverbs and the impact of that on their general pattern are also evident to us, and we have shown them in different climates of society politically, socially and culturally.