Esan, like many of the tribes south of the Sahara, is rich in parables. ‘Itan’ is the Esan word for proverb. ‘Itan’ also means insinuation or innuendo. To differentiate which one is being employed in a speech, the verb that precedes the Esan noun would always be the deciding factor: “kpa itan” means “speak in parables” while “fi itan” means “insinuate, make allusion.” The collection of Esan parables is not exhaustive, because, a) they are not fixed, but dynamic and adaptive, b) the use of Esan parables is a common cultural feature among all Esan people. Some parables in the list below, has an acronym “LIT” (Lost In Translation) attached to it. The attachment suggests that the proverb and its usage or implied meaning, may not be translated to be true to its original meaning.
- Aah ii fi ini bhi otọ kha khin oha-ọtan. (Do not go hunting for squirrel while you have an elephant as a catch.)
- Aah ii di isira ọnọ khin eni khin obhio ohue. Or, Aah ii khin obhio ohue mhan ọnọ khin eni. (You do not change to a small house cat in the presence of one who can change to an elephant.)
- Amẹn ni ọrhia la muọn ii gbera ọle a. (The water one would drink can never flow past one.)
- Aah ii yi ọbhẹnbhẹn khui ọkhọh. (Do not ask a mad man to chase fowls away, since he would do it madly.)
- Ene wwue bhi uwa kha yyọ ele mmin okpodu? bi ene wwuẹ bhi ole ki da ta yẹ. (What would they say who slept outside if those who slept inside complained of harassment?)
- U’u ii ji Aah gui na. (Death is impervious to appeal.)
- Ẹwa’ẹn Aah rẹ gbi efẹn nọ ribhi ẹkẹ akhe. (Killing a rat that is holed up inside an earthen pot requires wisdom.)
- Ufẹmhẹn si obhokhan kha na, Aah ki yọ owualẹn kkaniọhle ni ọle. (When the arrow from a child’s bow travels far, an adult is suspected to be responsible.)
- Ose ii gba ni usẹnbhokhan. (A young man's beauty is never without defects.)
- Eji Aah nyẹlẹn ọhle Aah khọ. (People resemble where they live.)
- Udo ni Aah daghe ọ' vade ii degbi ọrhia bhi ẹlo. (A missile that one sees coming does not blind one.)
- Eji ọboh da gui otọ ọhle ọle da horiẹ. (A native doctor disappears only where he is used to.)
- Aah ii ri ebi Aah nanọ bui awa re. (You don’t tempt a dog with something to lick, since dog is an avid licker.)
- Aah gheghe yọ ni olimhin kha mhẹn bhi ẹlo, ọhle Aah da ri ukpọn bhọ. (Clothing a corpse is simply to beautify it.)
- Ose enọdeọde ọhle enọdeọde viẹ bhi itolimhin. (In a funeral each mourner mourns the fate that befalls him, not the deceased.)
- Ọmọn nọ yyu ọle mhọn ose nẹ. (It is the deceased child that is always the prettiest.)
- Ohu bha lẹn ebialẹn si ọhle. (Fury does not know its owner’s strength otherwise a weakling’s rage would be tempered with restraint.)
- Agbọn khi ese. (It is human beings that do disguise as supernatural forces.)
- Ọnọ ii ribhi eni, ọle Aah ri enyan si ọle tọn bhi egbi era’ẹn. (It is the absent one whose yam would always be kept beside the fire.)
- Eto kha rẹ re, Aah yẹ lẹn eji ukẹhae nae. (No matter how hairy the head becomes, the forehead remains distinct.)
- Aah kha yọ ni Aah sikoko, Aah bha yyọ ni Aah simama. (A call to gather together is not an invitation to muddle or stick together.)
- Aah kha khin ẹkpẹn fo, ebi Aah khiẹn ki fo. (After changing to a tiger, you simply have no other thing to change to.)
