As How Now?
Africans have theories that explain their realities! I am usually not a fan of Genz’s slang, but the phrase ‘AS HOW NOW?’ has thrilled me, made me laugh and wonder so much how they (Genzs) came about the combination. And now it makes sense to me as an exclamation, as well as a question.
I watched a video of a non-African lady, (the qualifier is intentional, to show that it is not African), who believed in The Four Burners Theory. This theory according to Google is acclaimed as:
a work-life balance metaphor suggesting life has four main quadrants — Family, Friends, Health, and Work — that function like burners on a stove. The core premise is that to be truly successful, you must turn down or turn off one or more burners, as finite energy prevents all four from operating at high capacity simultaneously.
This means that there are four things that matter in life and the very successful do not keep the four burners on at the same time. She gave examples of non-Africans who are very successful because they had to keep either the family or friend burner or both off in order to be very successful.
The justification for AS HOW NOW? emanated from my class where I teach MA and Ph.D. students courses in African Studies. I emphasize that theories MUST be contextual and that there is an URGENT need for Africans to become intentional in systematizing African sayings, life principles and parables to show the theories in them. In this case, the four burner theory will not totally explain the survival techniques of the African. Without being essentialist, Africans need to engage their theories. I, therefore, highlight the five burner theory to avoid or repair ‘home trouble’.
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While listening to justification for the four burner theory, the first thing that came to my mind was AS HOW NOW? I do research in the African belief system and rather than talk about a four burner theory, we have a FIVE burner theory that recognizes the identified four burners and at the center of the four burners is a burner that sustains all the four burners at the same time. Although as expected, each burner has the intensity it needs to deliver on its purpose. This fifth burner is the burner of an external force. Some call it religion, others call it spirituality, many Yoruba call it, orí (life personality), àyànmó (destiny), etc. This is however not the space for the ‘religion/spirituality’ debate. I choose to call it DIVINE burner.
Africans, and in this case, the Yorùbá, have a clear understanding of the possible influence of invisible forces, which can either negatively affect or enhance the performance of one or all four burners. This fifth burner is in place because there are the ayé (witches), ajogun (malignant spirits), and many other forces that can affect the performance of the burners. The reality of these forces is summarized in King Sunny Adé’s Sung, Éní bínú wa, éèní pọn omi síbi á ti mu, tó bá pọn omi síbi áti mu, éè ní roko síbi áti jẹ, tó bá roko síbi á ti jẹ, éèní mọ ọ̀nà tó ma gbà …. (Whoever is jealous of us, will not fetch water to where he/she can drink, and if he/she is able to fetch water to where he/she can drink, will not farm where he/she can eat, and if he/she succeeds to farm where he/she can eat, he//she will not be able to locate the road to the place). This basically shows the possibility of ineffective hard work. So it does not matter whether one switches off the family or friend burner in order to concentrate on hard work, if malignant forces are at work, hard work will not be productive. There are forces capable of neutralizing hard work or health care efforts.
This among other things shows that switching off either family or friendship burners is not enough for hardwork or healthcare to bring success or good health. This belief is strong even though the Yorùbá say iṣé ni oògùn ìṣẹ (work is the antidote to suffering). To have siblings is not enough, there must be cordial relationships in order to enjoy family or friendship. For ẹ̀yìn kùlé lọ̀tá wà, ilé ni aṣeni ńgbé (the enemy is behind the house, but the one that hurts one, lives in the house).
This is why for the Yorùbá, the fifth burner becomes relevant, because as I tell my students, reality in the African space is not just in the form of matter, there are oun àìrí (things that are not seen). The fifth burner keeps the other four burners active and sustains equilibrium.
It is also very important to highlight that to attempt to succeed with only the fifth burner alone is a quest for failure. That is why the African theory is NOT a one burner theory, but a five burner theory. For Africans, there is no need to switch off any of the four burners. As a matter of fact, a successful person is one who is able to balance the five burners at the same time. The fifth sustains the other four burners. For the Yorùbá, each burner plays a significant role in the life of a successful person.
Family and friends for the Yorùbá are very important, there is the saying that igi kan ò le dá igbó ṣe (a tree does not make a forest). One is regarded to be successful if he/she impacts the lives of family and friends. There is also the saying; bi a ò kú, ìṣe ò tán (as long as there is life, there is hope), this speaks to the continuous effort one has to make to succeed or maintain health. The burners are switched off only when one dies.
