A picture is worth a thousand words

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” That’s a proverb. In fact, that’s a proverb about proverbs. A timeless truth is embedded in a simple, punchy, memorable declaration that calls for immediate assent (and can stimulate endless engaging debate). “A stitch in time saves nine.” “Many hands make light work.” “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” “Bad company corrupts good character.” “A man will reap what he sows.” Each of these comes from a single, familiar (to traditional societies, less so for modern urban settings), everyday context but speaks to many contexts.
A context, in this sense, is a cultural context often represented (or representable) in narrative. Thus, a proverb is the distillation of a lifetime of stories, the observation of many lived narratives captured in a single such story applicable to any one’s story. Stories (including history, tradition, fables, myths and riddles), and discussions about them, and songs, dramas and dance for them, and proverbs summarizing them, are the typical non-school, non-literate way for individuals and communities to remember. Not only to store important truths but to use them.