Old Devil

General Information about Item:

• Verbal lore, proverb
• Language: Spanish
• Informant: Gabriel Onate
• Date Collected: 10-15-18

Informant Data:

Gabriel Onate is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. He was born and raised in what he describes as a “typical Mexican household”  in Los Angeles, California. His parents are married and he has one younger brother. His family’s values are more conservative and traditional compared to his own, but he still holds onto much of the Mexican culture and traditions, even now that he no longer lives at home. On campus, Gabriel is the Undergraduate Advisor for La Casa, a living learning community for Spanish speaking students.

Contextual Data:

Gabriel was told this proverb during his first time visiting Mexico. It was also his first time meeting his grandparents and, as a little kid, he did not know what to expect of the trip. He knew that he would have to respect his grandparents no matter what, even if he did not agree with them, because that was expected in Mexican culture (respecting elders no matter what). Gabriel’s mom told him this proverb to remind him that, despite  his own opinion, an older person is wiser and can pass wise things onto him. Therefore, he must always respect them, because they likely know more and know better than him. She told him this to prepare him for meeting his grandparents for the first time, and, to this day, he still respects them regardless of their different opinions.

Item:

Orally transmitted proverb:

“Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo.”

Translation:

“The devil knows more through being old than through being a  devil.”

Transcript:  

“So there was this one time where I, um, as a little kid…I was meeting my grandparents for the first time. I was going to Mexico and…I didn’t know what to expect ‘cause I’d never met my grandparents from my mom side before and there’s just this whole cultural thing around being Mexican where you respect your elders no matter what. Even if you disagree with them, which, to this day there are some things i don’t agree with my grandparents, but I still respect them because they are my grandparents nonetheless.One of the things I remember being told is,“Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo,” which literally translates to, “The devil knows more through being old than through being a  devil.” And I think that just went on to like… what my mom meant to explain is that it meant that, like, you had to respect older people. Don’t take wisdom through old age for granted. And that’s just coming from the fact that maybe I don’t agree with everything my grandparents say, but they are still wise; they have a lot of wise things that they can pass on to me. It was really nice meeting them for the first time.

Collector’s Comments:

• This proverb falls into the theme of “Proper Behaviors” in Spanish Proverbs.
• It shows that within Spanish culture, respecting and listening to elders are important values.
• The structure of the proverb, itself,  has two clauses, cause and effect, and follows the “__ than __” Dundes formula. It is also a metaphor using a character (the devil), a common trend in Spanish proverbs.

Collector’s Name: Vi Nguyen

Tags/Keywords:

• Verbal Lore
• Spanish Proverbs
• Family