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Eldership

For us Africans, the word ‘old man’ is not one who is old, or who is very old. It is one who knows, one who is wise. So then, you can have ‘old man’ who is 20 years old, and you can have ‘child’ who is 75 years old. It is a question of having knowledge, of having wisdom. The ‘old man’ is a man who knows, a man who is wise. In Africa, we don’t believe that ‘old man’ absolutely means one who is old in age.

-The Great Nana Amadou Hampâté Bâ