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2J'2.^A- ^^
HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY
FROM THE FUND OF
FREDERICK ATHEARN LANE
OF NEW YORK OaM of i8^
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A-t-^^^A..
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WIT AND WISDOM
WEST AFRICA.
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o
WIT AND WISDOM
PROM
WEST AFKICA;
OR,
A BOOK OF PROVERBIAL PHILOSOPHY, IDIOMS, ENIGMAS, AND LACONISMS.
COMPILgD BY
«/.,vA. RICHARD F. gURTON,
(Late) H.M/8 Consul for the Bight of Biafra and Fernando Po,
Author of " A Hlsaion to Dahomey/' " A Pilgrimage to
£1 Medinah and Meccah/' Ac.
.0
LONDON :
TINSLEY BROTHERS, 18, CATHERINE ST., STRAND.
1865.
IThe Right of Translation is reserved.']
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v\
IViAY 7 U;v)0 j
^^/^
LONDON : BRADBURY AND KVAN8, PRINTBBS, WHITEFBIAWL
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TO
AN OLD AND VALUED FBIEND,
ADMIRAL THE HONOURABLE HENRY ANTHONY MURRAY,
(BACHEI/)R, D 4, ALBAKY,)
THIS ATTEMPT
TO MAKE THE WEST AFRICAN DESCBIBE HIMSELF,
IS AFFECTIONATELY ADDRESSED,
ONE OF HIS " RECLAIMED."
Cbese Iaxus
WEAK -WBITTEV TWO YSABA AGO. I LEAVE THEM A SORROWFUL MEMORIAL or THE DATS THAT HAVE BEEN. .
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MOTTOES.
A proverb Is the horse of conversation : when the conversation flags, a proverb revives it ; proverbs and conversation follow each other. — Yoruba
SAYING.
5. A wise man will hear, and wiU increase learning ; and a man of under- standing shall attain unto wise counsels.
6. To understand a proverb, and the interpretation ; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. — Proverbs, Chap. i.
The 1^8 of the lame are not equal : so is a parable in the mouth uf fools,— Pro VER 38, Chap, xxvil.
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PREFACE.
As able linguist has remarked, tbat the highest object of language-study is to obtain an insight into the cha- racters and thought-modes of mankind. This may be effected in two ways : firstly, by an accurate acquaintance with the verbal forms in which its ideas find utterance ; secondly, by the investigation of its literary composi- tions.*
As regards the African tongues, too much labour has hitherto been lavished upon the adits and portals which lead to the temple of knowledge. Sir William Jones, in the last century, made the same complaint touching Asiatic dialects. The " true expression of the national spirit, containing the secrets of a race's mental organisa- tion,'* and "revealing the origin of customs long for- gotten," is not to be sought in accidence or in vocabulary. And they who maintain, as some have done, that " the
• The R«v. J. L. Dohne, Missionary to the American Board, C. F. M. — **A Zulu-Kafir Dictionary Etymologically Explained, with copious illustrations and examples, preceded by an introduction on the Zulu-Kafir Language." — Cape Town, 1867.
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XU PREFACE.
spirit of a nafcion is exhibited to our minds in the living words which have conveyed its ideas for ages, as clearly as its physical appearance is presented to our eyes," and that ''thus the national language is the only safe exponent of the national character," have chosen, it appears to me, the more imperfect means of attaining the wished-for object.*
For Africa has an embryo literature, and hardly re- quires that one should be begotten by strangers, " for the propagation of Christian truth and the extension of civilisation." Some peoples, as the wild and pastoral tribes of the southern regions, have been said to be destitute of traditions. " The savage custom of going naked," we are told, " has denuded the mind, and de- stroyed all decorum in the language. Poetry there is none : the songs are mostly repetitions of a few hyper- bolical expressions. There is no metre, no rhyme, nothing that interests or soothes the feelings, or arrests the passions; no admiration of the heavenly bodies, no taste for the beauties of creation. We miss the cul- tivated mind which delights in seizing on these objects, and embodying them in suitable words." Finally, the
* Humboldt, Pers. Narr. Chap. IX., remarks, ** There are certain points in which idioms the most dissimilar concur one vith another. That which is common in the iutellectaal organisation of man is re- flected in the general structure of language ; and every idiom, how- ever barbarous it may appear, discloses a regulating principle which has presided at its formation."
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PBEFACE. X111
massiveness and bulkiness of the languages, — whicli bear the stamp of the people who use them, — " has caused weakness in the intellect of the native."
But surely these opinions regarding the absence of oral literature, if the phrase be allowed, amongst the so- called Kafir races, are greatly exaggerated, if not wholly erroneous. The Eev. Mr. Moffat often refers to the fables and apologues of the Bachwanas (Bechuanas). "Les Bassoutous " (Basutu), says M. Casalis,"^ alluding to their proverbs, " me paraissent avoir ^te particuliere- ment heureux dans ce genre de composition. Leur langue, par sa precision energique, se prete admirablement au style sententieuz, et Tel^ment m^taphorique est entree si abondamment dans sa formation qu'ou ne saurait la parler sans s'habituer insensiblement k revetir ses pense^ de quelque image qui les fixe dans la memoire." As an instance of this metaphysical style, we find amongst his catalogue of Sisuto proverbs, " La pointe de Taiguille doit passer la premiere ; " meaning, " Be discreet in your dis- course, avoid disguising the truth by evasive words."t This does not confirm Mr. Dohne's views.
Even if, however, Mr. Dohne's dictum be correct in the case of the Kafirs, it is distinctly not so when
* l^tudes snr la kngne S^cbnana, par Eug. Casalis, Fart III. p. 84.
t I should rather explain this by our kindred expression, '^ in- troduce the sharp edge of the wedge first ;" or, as the West Africans say, "Softly ! Softly caught the monkey."
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XIY PBEFACE.
applied to other African tribes, even to those of an in- ferior organisation, mental and physical.
Amongst the negroid races of the seaboard and the interior, MM. Dard and Koelle* have shown that there is a vernacular literature. The latter has transcribed a yarietj of '^ tales in the same language, and about the same words, in which they have been told over and over again, to beguile many an idle hour in a land where nature's richest bounties are obtained without almost any labour." He soon managed to collect a MS. of about 800 pages, which constituted a rich material for grammatical investigation, and of which he published a limited collection. And he justly remarks, that they present the student with the proper means of acquiring a correct and thorough acquaintance with the language. "Translations of books made by foreigners — ^for in- stance, the Bible — cannot fully answer this object ; and even to tell a native English phrases for the purpose of having them translated into his own tongue, is a mode of proceeding not quite safe, inasmuch as it often places him in the temptation of adapting his own language to the English idiom : the whole peculiar cast and features of a language can be thoroughly learned only when we hear natives express their thoughts in their own mother- tongue." He includes in his work sketches of no little
* These authors will presently be more distinctly allnded to.
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PR£FAC£. XV
importance, depicting the two most powerful nations of Central Africa, the Bornuese and the Fulas, with the sensible observation, " that where all is still enveloped in 80 much darkness, any such sporadic glimpses of light become of great value." Of the fables, it can only be said that we recognise in them a specimen of that old- world literature which immortalised -^sop, and which enables the Fanjatantra still to remain the text-book of Hindostan.
M. Koelle proceeds to a deduction, in which he would compel all to agree with him, by merely substituting the word " Negroid " for " Negro." The Bornuese, like the Wolof, are semi- Semites — they have the Koran and the Arab alphabet:* we may, therefore, expect to find a superiority in their compositions over those of the pure African. " It is hoped that the publication of these first specimens of {[anuri literature will prove useful in more than one way. Independently of the advantage it offers for a practical acquaintance with the language, it also introduces the reader to some extent into the inward world of Negro mind and Negro thoughts ; and this is a circumstance of paramount importance, so long as there
* The Yai Syllabariam which, like the Cherokee alphabet, excited a nine-days* wonder in Europe, was the invention of a race cognate with the Mandenga, and who probably derived from the Koran the idea of writing their mother- tongne. They call the world 'Monya" and a wife '^namusi," which sufficiently shows their theology, and the sonrce whence they drew the most important of their words.
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XVI PBEFACE.
are any who either flatly negative the question, or, at least, consider it still open, * Whether the Negroes are a genuine portion of mankind or not.' It is vain to speculate on this question from mere anatomical £sLctB, from peculiarities of the hair, or from the colour of the skin : if it is mind that distinguishes men from animals, the question cannot be decided without consulting the languages of the Negroes, for language gives the expres- sion and the manifestation of the mind. Now, as the grammar proves that Negro languages are capable of expressing human thoughts — some of them, through their rich formal development, even with astonishing precision — so specimens of their * Native Literature' show that the Negroes actually have thoughts to express ; that they reflect and reason about things just as other men. Considered in such a point of view, such speci- mens may go a long way towards refuting the old- fashioned doctrine of an essential inequality of the Negroes with the rest of mankind, which now and then shows itself, not only in America, but also in Europe. Such views may, perhaps, be excusable in those who have never heard black men speak, except in a language foreign to them, and which they had to learn from mere hearing ; but when I was amongst them in their native land, on the soil which the feet of their fathers have trod, and heard them deliver in their own native tongue stirring extempore speeches, adorned with beautiful
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PBEPACB. XVll
imagery, and of half-an-hour or an hour's duration ; or when I was writing from their dictation, sometimes two hours in succession, without having to correct a word or alter a construction in twenty or thirty pages ; or, when in Sierra Leone, I attended examinations of the sons of liberated slaves in AJgebra, Geometry, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, etc. — then, I confess, any other idea never entered my mind but that I had to do with real men.**
Proceeding further South, we reach the Gold Coast, whose population is purely pagan, and which afforded the Ashante, Cormantyn, and " Guinea Niggers," once so well-known in Jamaica and in the Southern States of the American Union. M. Zimmermann has supplied us with specimens of proverbs, of historical composition, of the old stories of the Accra people, and of speeches delivered by the chiefs during the poll-tax disturbances, which occurred in January, 1854. About 3000 armed men, " protected " by Great Britain, assembled at night, sometimes near, at other times under the guns of our forts. The people having formed a large circle, with the Caboceers, headmen, captains, and speakers in advance, and having saluted one another in due form, chose their speakers and witnesses to accompany them to the several groups, and delivered orations of a Hibernian and repeal tendency, which the Eeverend Eeporter transcribes with evident zest. We have also a specimen of a Ga-fable :
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XVm PBE7ACE.
" Spider and Spider-son and three Ghosts," — the spider, who is supposed to have created the first man, being therein brought to shame.* Then follow Lalai, or songs, which are, however, mere tautologies. The author re- marks, '* Short Ga-Bongs are composed at random during plays and processions, dances and labours. They are often witty and satirical; but we are still too little acquainted with this part of the language to have a sure footing as to metre, time, ellipses, and other points. Proverbs and fables or tales, which already exist by hundreds and even thousands, are also continually pro- duced by young and old.f But it is also difGicult, especially with the latter, by which many a moonlight night is occupied, to get them correctly — ^their style and spirit partly expressed by theatrical changes of voice, by songs, by imitations of noises and interjections, are, as in the case of the speeches, generally lost in writing them down. Bespecting the proverbs, it is to be remarked, that though they form as it were the expression of the law and manners of the country, they appear ofben very
* Of these Anansesem, or spider-Btories, more in a fatore page. Boeman (Description of Gainea, Letter 17) is dtj authority for as- serting that the Gold-Coast people believe the first men to have been made by the spider. M. Zimmermann speaks of it rather as a popular demon than a creator.
t There are men at Accra, Mr. Addo of the British hotel, for instance, who have a ripertoire almost as copions as the Arabian Nights, and to which Europeans listen with cnxiosity and wonder, if not with admiration.
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PREFACE. XIX
ambiguous, and allow not only a bad, but often also an unclean use."*
Still advancing eastward, we enter the land of Yoruba, of which it will be remembered Dahoipe and Benin form part.t "It would seem,*' said the good and learned Bishop Vidal,J " that there is scarcely an object pre* sented to the eye, scarcely an idea excited in the mind, but it is accompanied by some sententious aphorism, founded on a close observance of men and manners, and, in many cases, of a decidedly moral tendency. It is true
* Perhaps the worst of the whole are the songs, which are mere repetitions. The hymns and spiritual pieces, translated by Catechists, bear the impress of want of power. The two following were ex- temporised by Krobo children after the first fruits of the tribe had been baptised, and the second alludes to that event. They are sung, we are told, to a very sweet tune.
1.
It is God's first bom
Who died ! oh !
This is what grieycs us '* too much i"
He will come ! oh 1
Oh yes ! oh yes i my friend !
2. Pfople come, but people come not yet I oh I To-day, when our Father has not yet come ! Yea I yea ! yea I my friend !
Which is somewhat like the improvisation by Mr. Theodore Hook.
t A few specimens of Dahomian sayings will be offered to the reader. Benin is not behind her sister provinces in tale and tradi- tion, but my stay in that city was too short to make coUectiona.
t Introduction to Mr. Growther's Yoruba Grammar.
b 2
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XX PBISFACI.
that this concise and pointed method of speech is, in a degree, common to all nations amongst whom civilisation has made but little progress ; for, as has been justly re- marked, * proverbial expressions are peculiarly adapted to a rude state of society, and more likely to produce effect than any other ; for they profess not to dispute but to command ; not to persuade, but to compel : they conduct men, not by circuitous argument, but immediately to the approbation and practice of integrity and virtue.* • In the Toruba, however, there is an extraordinary exuberance of these sententious sayings, not confined to any particular caste, undertaking to be the guide of the rest ; but every- where in the mouths of all, imparting a character to common conversation, and marking out a people of more than ordinary shrewdness, intelligence, and discernment. If brevity and elegance be regarded as the two main excellences of a proverb, the Yoruban aphorisms may claim an equal rank with those of any other nation in ancient or modem times ; for besides the condensation of the discriminating sentiment into a small compass, — which is always observable in them, — there is, for the most part, also an almost poetical contrivance or con- struction of the parts, which marks a refinement of taste greater than we should naturally have expected.** • " I believe that the number and the character of these
* I hardly think that the. Bishop ever could have compared the Yoruban with the Arab or Persian proverbs.
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PREFACE. XXI
proverbial sayings will almost bear us out in calling them the national poetry of the Yorubas. I am not aware of the existence amongst them of any heroic pieces, or war and hunting songs, such as those which prevail amongst the southern tribes, and of which Casalis has given us several remarkable specimens. The poetry of the Yorubas, if I may call it such, seems rather to be of the didactic kind, probably evincing a diflferent character of mind in the people, and which cannot fail, I think, to remind us, both in sentiment and style, of some of the poetical books of Scripture."
The Bishop then proceeds to point out a characteristic which he believes gives the proverbs of Yoruba their peculiar claim to be considered a national didactic poetry. It is the same feature which Bishop Lowth considered one of the grand characteristics of, and which Bishop Jebb proved to be the sole distinctive characteristic of, the Hebrew poetry, — the system of parallelism.* After
* '< Denoting a certain equality or resemblance between the members of each period, so that in two lines, or members, of the same period, things shall answer to things and words to words, as if fitted to each other by a kind of rule or measure."
With diffidence, due when dififering in opinion with three bishops, I venture to remark, that in the Semitic dialects, and in other than Aidatie and Indo-European tongues, — as the Persian, — which imitate their style, the habit of balancing sentences naturally produces this parallelism. And I believe that the Thousand and One Nights would supply as many instances as can be found in the Hebrew poets.
In another point I can hardly agree with the learned Mr. Vidal,
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ZZll PBEFACE.
adding mstaDces of the gradational, the antithetic, and the introverted, he concludes, " Such is the striking feature of parallelism which so evidently characterises the Yoruba proverbs. It is this which gives them their claim to the title of poetry ; for there does not appear to be anything which can be strictly called rhythm or metre in any of them ; although the feature which I am about to notice may be regarded as a slight approximation to it. I mean, that there is in the main a conformity of length between the lines which are designed to be parallel or antithetic ; and that where there is a third line, either preceding or following, which stands alone, it is of a different length from the others, and, in most cases, considerably longer. These stanzas, if we may call them so, of three lines,*
viz., that the Toruha must he excluded from the extensive alliteral family of Unguages, — e.g., Congo, Damara, Sichwana, and Kafir, — -which occupies the whole of Africa south of the equator. The dis- tinguishing points of the Hamitic tongues are these. 1. The root is a consonant, followed by a vowel — monosyllabic, as opposed to the biliteral Semitic, — so that vowels do not initiate roots, nor do consonants, except liquids and nasals, terminate them. 2. An inordinate reduplica- tion and combination to aasiBt the roots, whose simplicity demands some such aid. 3. The distinction, not of gender, but of the personal and the impersonal, the animate and the inanimate. 4. Negation in the verb by a negative voice. 5. The absence of a passive voice. 6. The peculiar and artificial system of euphony. 7 and final, The change of words at the beginning instead of at the end of tbe vocable; where per- formatives or affixes take the place of the Aryan suffixes. Tried by these tests, the Toruba clearly belongs to the ti-aus-Sahara family.
* The characteristic of the indigenous Sindhi poetry is the stanza of three lines, the third numbering two or more feet than the first
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PBXFACB. XZUl
are of very frequent occurrence amongst the Yoruba proverbs, and the peculiarity just noticed will, I think, be found to prevail almost universally in them."
I will conclude this portion of the subject with ex- tracting two passages from the Introduction above quoted.
" I must not omit to mention, in this brief account of the Yoruba proverbs, that there is a degree of moral light observable in them which renders them peculiarly interesting, and gives them, I may add, a real value in connection with the inquiry into the moral government of the universe ; inasmuch as it presents us with a lively comment on the words of St. Paul concerning the Gentiles, * which show the work of the law written in tbeir hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.' (Eom. ii. 15.) These proverbs, in many instances, display ideas concerning the providence of Gt)d, the moral rectitude of actions, or the practice of social virtues, which (to say the least) we should hardly have expected to find in a people so wholly separated from the influences, direct or indirect, of that revelation which God was pleased to make of Himself to man.* The
and seeoDd. I hare quoted many instances of this pecoliarity in « A History of Sindh."
* I believe, on the contrary, that the whole of Tornba shows more or less the effects of £1 Islam. With respect to the Kafirs,
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XXIV PBE7AGS.
words of Casalis, with reference to the Sisuto proverbs, are, in mj opinion, even more applicable to those of the Torubas. 'Sous le rapport moral, il est int6ressant d'observer les vestiges de cette conscience universelle, a laquelle Dieu a confie la direction de toute creature infeelli- gente. Nous acqi^erons par la la certitude qu'il n'est pas d'homme sur la terre qui ne sache discemer entre ce qui est moralement bon et moralement mauvais, et qui par consequent en soit susceptible d'encourir la condamna- tion attachee a la transgression des lois divines.* Amongst his list of Sisuto proverbs, we meet with some that express a moral sentiment; as, for example, 'La trappe prend le grand oiseau aussi bien que le petit ; * * Le sang humain est pesant, il empeche celui qui Ta r6pandu de fuir;' ' Le meurtrier dit, Je n'ai tue qu'une b^te, mais Tanimal sans poil (rhomme) ne p6rit pas sans ^tre veng6;' 'L'homme ^trompeur est une aiguille k deux pointes.' But there is something more striking in the high standard of morality obser- vable in the sayings of the Torubas, displaying as it does a conscious recognition of the intrinsic excel- lence of those peculiar virtues which we commonly regard as being appreciated only in civilised society.*
it must be noted that they are a mixed race of African, Arab, and perhaps Persian blood.
* The fact is, civilisation takes too much upon herself. There is more of equality between the sayage and the civilizee — the difference
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PftlFACK. ZXT
Were we to measure this people hj the standard of their proverbial moralitj, we should come to the conclusion that they had attained no inconsiderable height in the development of social relations, having passed out of that savage barbarism, in which every indiyidual lives for himself alone, into a higher state of being, in which the mutual dependence of one member on another is recognised, giving room for the exercise of social virtues as a sort of moral compact for the safeguard of society."
After illustrating his dictum by instances, Mr. Yidal draws the following deductions : —
'' Surely these are indications of no ordinary percep- tion of moral truths, and sufficient to warrant the infer- ence that in closeness of observation, in depth of thought, and in shrewd intelligence, the Yoruban is oh rvxifp avrip —no ordinary man. The existence of proverbs such as these, amongst a people situated as the Yorubans are, is a fact pregnant with many thoughts, on which the theo- logian and the moralist may dwell with advantage, and may awaken in all an interest in a nation towards whom the sympathies of the public have been already directed by the exciting events of their recent political history.
being one of quantity, not of qaality— than the latter will admit. For man is everywhere commensurate with man. Hence, whilst the average Englishman despises the Tomba, the Yoruba '* reciprocates" with hate and fear.
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ZXVl PBETAOE.
We can now see a little way into the thoughts and feelings of that people, which has come prominentlj before our notice as the butt of the last efforts of the expiring shive trade, and the repeller of those efforts : ♦ we can now dive a little into that sea of mind, to which the Dahomian tyrant would fain have cried, * Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further ; ' which he would fain have bound in the chains of slaverj like the Persian monarch of old, but which refused to be fettered, rising up wholly like a flood, and forcing his proud army to flee before it. Surely great interest must attach to an insight into the mind of such a people, now for the first time furnished to the civilised world in the work before us, by one of the most intelligent amongst them, t whose long acquaintance with foreign civilisation renders him capable of appreciating the importance of the work which he has undertaken, and of estimating the difficulty which attends upon the task of rendering intelligible in a new language, the ideas of another, wholly diverse and alien." * • • • *
The idea of the present compilation was suggested to me by an old and favourite work—the delight, indeed, of all Anglo-Eastern students — " Eoebuck*s Oriental Fro-
* To which ve may now add, ''and sinoe its re-establishment, itself the most ardent of enslavers." Within the last four years it has sold off some 20,000 — Ijaye people, its allies.
t Then the Eev. Mr., now the Right. Bev. Bishop Crowther.
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PREFACE. IXVll
Terbs," whose breadth of plan has rendered it a kind of manual of Asiatic thought.* Without attaching high importance to aphorisms and apophthegms as the " con- centrated expression of profound sagacity " — indeed, the saws and adages of most languages generally run in pairs, the one contradicting the other f — ^we may not the less regard them as " often the characteristic representa- tion of modes of thought peculiar to the people amongst whom they are current, and therefore valuable accessories to the delineation of national manners and opinions." It seemed to me that the readiest, indeed the only, way of understanding the negro is to let him speak of himself
* "The nations of the East have always delighted in the significant brevity of aphoristic eloquence, and the Proverbs of Solomon are a satififiictory testimony of the antiquity and extent of their employ- ment amongst the Jews. The Arabs were not less addicted to this phraseology than the Hebrews, and the vast collection of Maidain forms, perhaps, but a limited repository of Arabic proverbs. Many of them have, of course, passed into the languages of Persia and India, but there is no want of such idioms in those dialects of a purely indigenous origin : the latter is especially rich in this respect, and the student of Hindustani, or Hindi, can scarcely open a book in which he is not hampered by the recurrence in almost every page of idiomatic phrases of local application, unfamiliar allusions, and proverbial sententiousness." — Introduction to Capt. Thomas Roebuck's Collection of Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases in the Persian and Hindoostani Languages. Calcutta, 1824.
t So the poet says : —
''AH things are double, one against another."
And to quote one proverb against another, there is our English dictum : — '^Wise men make proverbs, and fools use them.'*
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ZXYIU PBE7A0E.
in his own words, and that if ever a book aspires to the title of ' L* African peint par lui-meme,' it must be one that contains a most compendious collection of purely Hamitic proverbs and idioms. Already the Englishman begins to own that he cannot dive into the abysses of the Chinese and Japanese character : the Eussians and the Anglo-Americans declare — and perhaps all nations, pure and mixed, might do the same — that they cannot be un- derstood by foreigners. The African has long been con- fessedly a puzzle. That the Japhite — we will retain these useful but conventional and provisional terms — cannot enter into the mysteries of Hamitic organisation, is easily proved by the vast scale of different gradations ranging between the two extremes, which make the negro in European opinion either an angel of light or a goblin damned. Those who have observed him the longest, indeed, seem to have elicited only a series of contradic- tions ; witness the Author of " Eighteen Tears on the Gold Coast." " Joy and sorrow," we are told, "reckless gaiety and gloomy despondency, exaggerated hopes and distracting fears, unbridled passions and humble meek- ness, ardent love and cool indifference, furious hate and cordial friendship, prodigal profusion and griping avarice, atheistical unconcern and bigoted superstition, sway by turns their versatile minds, and with a rapidity of change which startles and confounds us." What can be made of such a definition or a description as this P
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PREFACE.
XXIX
The matter was ready to my hand, as soon as the thought of a collection suggested itself. I had but to borrow, under due acknowledgement, from the manj proverb-lists of linguist authors, who have translated them from various African tongues, with a view to illus- trate the grammar rather than the logic of the negro. The books from which I have copied are so scattered, as will appear in the following pages, that the general reader never has an opportunity of perusing them : and this wiU^ it is trusted, justify me in publishing such a com- pilation.
This Handbook contains a total of 2268 proverbs, idioms, enigmas, laconisms, and words conveying know- ledge concerning the people's habits and superstitions. Of these, 226 are in the Wolof Tongue, 83 in the Kanuri, or Bornuese. I have appended but few explanations to them, principally because their manifestly Semitic modes of thought render them sufficiently intelligible to the European mind. On the other hand, the contrary has been judged necessary with the purely Hamitic, whose richness of metaphor and whose peculiar method of envisaging moral and physical phenomena, to say nothing of an ellipsis often forced and sometimes obscure, renders them like a Sankrit or a Prakrit, as compared with an Arabic or a Persian book, unfamiliar to us, and beyond or beside, as it were, our views. Of these there are 265 in the Oji, or Ashante, language ; 221 in the Qa, or Accra,
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XXX PREFACE.
tongue : the latter are less diffusely illustrated, because explained by the former. Ensue 608 in the idiom of Yoruba, most of them necessitating a somewhat lengthy explanation. A few are borrowed from the Efun, or Dahome, one of the many dialects of Yoruba : there is a small collection from the Isubu and Dualla of the Bight of Biafra : the miscellaneous collection containing a total of 87; the Efik dialect of the Old Calabar Eiver, in the Bight of Biafra, has supplied 814 ; and, lastly, there are 14 specimens &om the Mpangwes (Fans) of the Upper Gaboon Eiver.
The orthography of the original collectors has been, by the advice of my learned friend, Mr. William Stirling, M.P., of Keir, retained.
I relieve the reader from further preface, hoping that he will find as much pleasure and profit in perusing, as the compiler has had in collecting, during the dreary solitude of a rainy season in the Tropics, the '^ Hand- book of West African Proverbial Philosophy."
FSBKAHBO Po,
JvXy 20, 1863.
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CONTENTS.
I. — PROVERBS IN THE WOLOF TONGUE .... 3
II. — PROVERBS IN THE KANURl TONGUE . . 41
III. — PROVERBS IN THE OJI TONGUE 63
IV. — PROVERBS IN THE GA OR ACCRA LANGUAGE . . . 133
V. — ^PROA'ERBS IN THE YORUBA LANGUAGE . .179
VI.— PROVERBS IN THE EFIK, OR OLD CALABAR, LANGUAGE 323
VARIA VARIORUM 413
VII. — PROVERBIAL SAYINGS AND IDIOMS IN THE MPANGWE
(fan) TONGUE 439
MISCELLANEOUS PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS . . 445
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^
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PKOVEKBS
nr
THE WOLOF TONGUE.
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WIT AND WISDOM
FROM
WEST AFKICA.
PEOVERBS m THE WOLOP TONGUE.
♦— -
The subjoined collection of Proverbs is eitracted from that excellent work, M. Dard's Grammar.*
The "Wolofs, formerly called JolofFsjf are mentioned by many travellers. As early as a.d. 1446 they were known to the Portuguese; and in the reign of King
* Grammaire Wolofe, on M^thode pour 6tndier la langue des noiis qui habitent Lea Boyaomes de Bourba-Tolof, de Walo, de Darnel, de Bour-sine, de Saloiune, de Baole, en S4n6gambie. Suivi d'un ap- pendice oH sont ^tablis les particularitds lea plus essentielles des prln- cipales langnes de L'Afriqne Septentrionale. Far J. Dard, Institntenr de r^cole Wolofe-Fran^ise dn Senegal, Autenr des dicticHiiiaires Wolof et Bambara. ImprimI par autorisation da Boi & rimprimerie royale, 1826.
It is popularly said in Senegal that no one will ever speak Wolof like M. Dard. The reason is, that, under the new regime of compulsory French instruction, the vernacular language languishes, — loses all its raciness.
f According to the Folyglotta Afrieana '^Jolof '* is merely a "Wolof" district.
B 2
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4 WIT AND WISDOM FROM WEST APBIOA..
John, one " Bemoir," of princely house, visited Lisbon in state, was baptised, and did homage to the European king. Their habitat is " Senegambia," the country be- tween the rivers Qambia and the Senegal, the latter separating them from the Assanhaji, who are held to be the Sanhagii of Leo Africanus. They are " black, but comely," with long-oval faces, finely- formed features, straight noses, and jetty glossy skins : in character they are brave and dignified, and they are distinctly not negroes, but negroids.
Their language difiers from those around them, and is remarkable for copiousness and picturesqueness. It is widely extended, because Senegambia has long been — like the North African coast — the importation-place of European goods intended for Central Africa, for Tim- buktu, Hausa, Bomu, and the upper Nigerian basin. Besides the natives of the maritime countries, the people of Bundu, Kayaga (Galam), Kaarta, Kasson, Fuladu, and Bambara, all afiect it. As M. Dard remarks, Mungo Park has often used, in his " African Travels," expressions which he deems Mandenga, but which may be Wolof. For instance, in the story of " poor Nealee," " Kang-tegi ! " — " cut her throat ;" would be, in "Wolof, " Kung akateke !" — " let her head be cut off ! " and " Nealee affeeleeata," is equally corrupted by the author or printer from Nealee afeyleata, which signifies moreover not " Nealee is lost," but simply " Nealee breathes no more."
In "Wolof the Proverbs are numerous and expressive : the people are exceedingly fond of them, and a Euro- pean with any knowledge of these wise sayings, can travel amongst them not only in safety, but with all respect. I would request the reader to compare these
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PE0YEBB8 IN THE WOLOF TONGUE. 5
and the Kanuri proverbs, which are both Moslem, with those of the Kafirs or Infidels in the Oji, the Ga, and the Yoruba languages. M. Dard's orthography is preserved throughout.
1.
Ba nga sainata rone, rone a la diaka saina.
When thou seest the palm-tree, the palm-tree has
seen thee.
2.
Jalele sainou ane na sainon gnissetil dara, tey mague dieki thy soufe gnissa yope.
The child looks everywhere and often sees nought; but the old man, sitting on the ground, sees everything.
3. Htiole don napa thy tate on morome am omeley. The diver-bird cannot catch fish behind his companion. K.B.— Omel^ is " to catch an abundance of fish."
4.
Ion jalele vaja thia saine keorre la ko degney. • What the child says, he has heard it at borne,
N.B, —Distinctly referring to the " enfant terrible" class.
5.
Lon gony ry ry, gnife a di ndeey am.
The great calabash- tree has had a seed for its mother.
6. Son baton on nda diakono thia nsakje dieetlL If only the small measure goes to the shop, the millet will last long.
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^
6 WIT AND WISDOM TBOM WEST ATSICA.
7.
Jadhie sou sassonl, don baw.
If the dog is not at home, he barks not.
8.
Pondhie on naigne de na jaija ah taw, tey sailo yagonL
The house-roo^ fights with the rain, but he who is sheltered ignores it.
9. Jama sa bope mo gnenne kon la ko waja.
Know thyself better than he does who speaks of thee.
10.
Tabaje son diamante mbande todhiele (de nga ko todhia).
If you practise your *prentice-hand upon a large jar, you will break it.
11. Jamoul aya na, tey ladhieteoul a ko raw. Not to know is bad, not to wish to know is worse.
12. Tape don dieala yape. Meat eats not meat. N.6. — Meaning, beggars do not devour one another.
13.
Son doul kone toubeye diouly aya. But for the wide trowsers, prayer would be a scandal. N.B. — Because prostration would be indecent.
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PROTEBBS IN THE WOLOr TONGUE. 7
14.
Kon amonl ndeey nampa xname am.
He who has no mother sucks his grandmother.
16. Kon ley jamone ndialbene, mondhie di noflaye. If you know the beginning well, the end will not trouble you.
16. Sopa bour ayonl, wandey bonr bou la sopa a ko guenne.
• To love the king is not bad, but a king who loves you is better.
17.
Kou tey jamone kon nga bokala bakane, mon di sa ande thy adouna.
Whoso knows one who will die with him, he . {the known) wiD be his friend in this world.
18.
Vitte de na anda ak morome am, tey dou masse am.
«
* Man should take as companion one older than himself.
19. Bafete dhiko mo guenne dhiko dhiou bone. A good action is better than a bad action.
20.
Nitte gou Ion nga dinthia mou de& thia lojo am doyoul deukala.
A man who touches what you have shut up, should not dwell with you.
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8 WIT AlTD WISDOM PBOM WEST AEBICA.
21.
La diarake ama di yonja sou ko niw amone diala. What the convalescent refuses, would give pleasure to the dead.
22. Guema na dee, ndigui y£ge. I believe the death, because of the bones.
Diaeekat ou yaje. demmetil dianew.
The bom-merchant goes not to the other world.
24.
Bala nga toufou, fetal y beutte.
Before curing ophthalmia, the ejes must be seen.
25. .Sou bounte ou naigue amone y gobar kaine dou guenna.
If the door had daggers, no one would leave the room.
26. Bula nga onyou naika fa. Before one replies, one must be present.
27. Sou doul kone barame lojo di koudou. Without fingers the hand would be a spoon.
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PEOVEBBS IN THE WOLOF TONGUE. 9 28.
Saw don maee y taliba. Sunniiig about gives no scholars. N.B.-^Our " Rolling stone gathers no moss."
29.
Sou ma jatMo sonfe, dorey fa ma naika.
If I wanted to collect sand, I should begin where I am.
30. Lou diarake bone bone, mana waka niw. He who is scarcely convalescent, can stifle a dead man.
81. Teuradi agonl dianew.
He who always turns when sleeping, does it no more in the other world.
32. Lou bouki oma oma, mana bare ak bay. Though the wolf be lean, he can contend with a goat.
33. Mbajaney dou faikey dee ou borome am.
The cup finds not out its master's death. N.B.— Because it passes into other hands.
34.
Sou nitte diaJey dangogne am di simey thierey,
bou ko niana nieje.
If a man makes soup of his tears, do not ask him for broth.
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10 WIT AND WISDOM TBOH WEST AFEICA.
35.
Jaidhie on nthiokaire ak sene am kon thia fatte gnessi oma.
She whom the partridge loves, as she whom he hates, would starve if they forgot to scratch the ground (for food),
86. tfbote a guenne beugna ndoje, wandey xnon tangne bokon thia.
The frog enjoys itself in water, but not in hot water.
87. Oane yon barey bougalonl xnbame sent Many guests matter little to the ass of the inn.
88. lo mana xnana bire on nitte difa na thia lon nga yagouL
Thou knowest not what man's stomach can contain.
89.
Kon gniro kone xnaee la, difa thia ndabe la ngaine boka.
He who takes thy part at the dish to give it to thee, had better allow thee to take it.
40. Eon lajonl laika laja til diaee. He who makes not soup for himself, will not make honUlie for sale.
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PaOVEEBS IS THE WOLOE TONCHTB. 11
41.
Beugneti ma laje, bel sama bope defa bosse. 1 want no boiled meat if my head must be the trivet (which supports the pot).
42. Eon jaiba laje on ndeki defon gnon ko thy nope am. When you give a man boiled meat for breakfast, jou do not pour it into his ears.
43.
Kon tenba ak y sabare danon ak y ngnote, son nga laine laikonl, kone itte gnon dhiegna la laine.
He who jumps upon the corn-bundles falls with the ears, and if thou dost not eat them thou wilt be the less charged with eating them.
44. Dhignene dhion ondhie am dee, dara bongalou ko thia. A woman who has lost her rival has no sorrow.
45. Bonr bon amonl y nitte don done bonr. A subjectless king is no king.
46.
Eon di bengna rindi bope am, son gnon ko beugney nndi varronl yonja.
He who wishes to blow out his brains, need not fear their being blown out by others.
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12 , WIT Al^D WISDOM TEOM WEST ArBICA..
47.
Barey nieje, barey thierey ko guenna. Much soup is better than much broth.
48. ITa gore ayebir, tey bou mon aye lamigne. Let man be bad if (only) his tongue be good.
49. Boigne de na ree, wandey derette anga thia souf am. The teeth may laugh, but the blood is above them.
50. Wathial jale yon» nejeley maguati ko. Prevent him not who walks in the fire, for it would be a great compliment.
51. Lou berafe feta feta dala thia ande am. Toasted seeds jump, but they always fall towards their companions.
52. T gore yope ametil diabar, y dhigaene yope ametil diakar.
All men have not wives, and all women are not married.
53. Daw raw thy ngore la boka. He who runs away and escapes, is clever.
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PBOTEBBS IN THE WOLOE TONOUB. 13
64.
Daw dhitou don xnaee kailifiet.
To run the best, does not give the highest rank.
66. Bala gna fadhiana diaka verle. Before healing others, heal thyself.
56. Tonne amonl nkerre.
A road has no shadow.
57, ITdegam barame on deye mo aye^gnennetey nthiastane. If the big finger be greedy, the heel is more so.
58. New na mo guenne dara. • A little is better than nothing.
69. Faka na la, mo gnenne jamon ma la. " I have forgotten thy name," is better than " I know thee not."
60. Son enre nawey, mbote don fannde. If the fly flies, the frog goes not supperless to bed.
61. Fassale son ittey togna.
He who separates men that are fighting, should not strike them.
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14 WIT ABD WISDOM FROM W£8T APRIOA..
62.
Diama sakete don ndana.
The hunter who pierces the tree, has not shot well.
63. BedMne don dhiaka saja hope. Horns grow not before the head.
64. Oadhia ndoje, sa deiume a thia maitL To cleave water hurts the stomach.
65. Mpetaje on rabe la. The pigeon of the animal is there.
N.B. — A Senegambian phrase, uaed to stop a conversation con- cerning one absent, when suddenly there appears somebody who is lilcely to let him know what was said. M. Dard considers this proverb a proof that negroes formerly used carrier pigeons. It may, however, allude to the mythical pigeon that whispered in the Prophet's ear.
66.
Yaidil, so guissey guemal. Deny, but what thou seest believe !
67. Mpithie son bagney daije, souje la niala. If the bird drinks not at the stream, it knows its own watering place.
68. Lou mpithie nana nana, nanetil nane on gneye. The bird can drink much, but the elephant drinks more.
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FBOTEBBS IN THE WOLOF T0NGT7B. 15
69.
Mpetaje mon naika thy talle, niro oul sabine ak ma thia kaw garap.
The voice of the pigeon on the spit is not like the Toice of the pigeon on the tree.
70. Lou narre barey barey sou dengue dickey dicta ko. Lies, however numerous, will be caught bj truth when it rises up.
71. Hthiokaire beugua na seube, wandey dcu dhiou mcu andala thy nthine.
The partridge loves peas, but not those which go into the pot with it.
72. Oarap gou nga rcmba mcu sanni la y mbourcti sou thia euluek so, nga romba fa.
If the tree under which you pass throw bread to you, you will pass it again to-morrow.
73. Nejala kou la fassale, nejala kou la dana a ko guenne.
To flatter one who separates us is good, but it is better to flatter one who strikes us.
74.
Ama na kou la ni ma yenna la, toy sa ndabe la beugua saita.
There are people who place a basket on jour head to see what you carry.
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16 WIT UfD WISDOM F£OM WEST AFRICA.
75.
Boigne a di sakete on gnemigne. Teeth serve as a fence to the mouth.
76. Jadhie bon gnenna amoul boroxne. The dog that has left the house has no master.
77. Maitite on jole sou naikone thy tanke gnou soja ko. If the stomach-ache were in the foot, one would go lame.
78. Lu nga niaka niaka njel, jama ni diabar on baye ndeey la.
Though thou hast no mother- wit, thou knowest that the father's wife is mother.
79. Sou bidow done mbourou, barey kou fanana bity. If the stars were loaves, many people would sleep out.
80.
Assamana modi bonr y mbare.
The sky is the king of sheds.
81. Ooudi modi hour ou nkerre. Night is the queen of shades.
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FR0T£BB8 IS THE WOLOP TONGTTE. 17
82.
Sonfe modi bonr y lal. Earth is the queen of beds.
Diante modi boor y niton. The sun is the king of torches.
84.
Mpethie on sagor Ion nga fhia gawanton kone yobool gonbe.
If jou go to the sparrows' ball, take ears of com for them.
85. Bala nga dhiton diote. Before preceding, one must reach.
86.
Kon di dioee kon ko wata defa, amonl kon ko bota. He who cries to have himself dragged, has no one to carry him.
87. irtortor on garap gope don defa dome. All the flowers of a tree do not produce fruit.
88.
Kon mana faiya don jaron thy ndoje.
He who knows swimming, dies not in the water.
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18 WIT Airo WISDOM TEOM WEST ATBIOA.
89.
Son sipon n^abo gaennetey pate. If he who buys milk is proud, he who sells it should be prouder.
90. Haiije lamigEe thy ndiaee, demma fon sorey a ko gaenna.
To vaunt one's goods is good^ but it is better to go where thej are bought.
91. Bate on dengne yomba na jama. The voice of truth is easily known.
92.
Samme bagna na naqa barame. A shepherd strikes not his sheep.
93.
Gneye von doja ndiolore mo loii ndine am sakon.
If the elephant were to walk about at mid-day, every- body would call him.
94.
Jaije diama ane na enlenk, tey niaka-sontonra taje ko di teye.
He will fight to-morrow ; but if there is a dispute, it is to-day.
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PBOYEBBS IN THE WOLOF TONGUE. 19
95.
Tebou thia nangon fhia, kon la ihia yoni nga gaw thia demma.
We go quickly where we are sent, when we take in- terest in the joumej.
96.
Sajadiy laikadi, veradi, tole bon mon ama dongoup don thia ama.
Not to bud, not to eat, not to be cured, give no grain in one's field.
97. Ke dialou yonja, jama na Ion jaiwe. He who weeps from the morning, knows what makes him weep.
98.
Bala nga rera dioka.
Before losing the road, one must rise up.
99. Demmal mo gaenne do demma. " Go ! " is better than " Don't go ! "
100.
Kon la ni maeel sa alale, sa ngnarame la bengna. • He who tells you to giye away your property, deserves your thanks.
101. Voe on bire diafe na degua. The song of the stomach is hard to hear.
0 2
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20 WIT Ain) WISDOM TBOM W£ST AFBIOA.
102.
Satou kon ko logua yabi damme.
If 70U fill your mouth with a razor, 70U will spit blood.
108. Baton don wata bope am. A razor cannot shave itself.
104. Talla dekala yomba na ko. To resuscitate, is easy to Allah.
105. Tag^e bai onl dara.
e destroys all things.
106.
Mongne a guenne. Patience is good.
107. Jama a guenne. Knowledge is good.
.\
108.
Fora nenba don jelo diebaley.
One returns not what one hides after finding it.
109. Mana a gnenne. Power is good.
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PB0TSBB8 IK THB WOLOl* TONOUB. 21
110.
Waje 7 mague doyonl vaidi.
Thou shalt not contradict an elder's words.
111. Bi bire ama Ion nga laika baje na thia. To have plenty to eat, is good for the big belly.
112. Jalele bagna na lo mon tamma. The child hates him who gives it all it wants.
113.
Son gnon la ittey thy berab, bainaine yone do fa demma.
If they smite thee in a place, thou wilt go there no more.
114. Xoampa diapa na nitte thy diombasse on kanl ^ Curiosity often leads men into bitterness.
115. Son mbajaney done nana yore, kaine don ko soUa. If the hat drank the brain, nobody would wear it.
116. Oarap lo thia gadhia mon s^jatL
The split tree still grows.
117. Senpadiallegne don dindi jonjane. To make a summersault, will not remove a rupture.
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22 WIT AND WISDOM FBOM WEST APBICA.
118.
Talla son done defa sago bagney, defa sago sopey.
If Allah gives reason to hate, he also gives reason to love.
119. Ion saja y donngne naw gnenaon bandiolL Everything that has feathers flies, except the ostrich.
120. Son dhionkana yomba na danela. "What lowers itself, is ready to fall.
121. Eewale gna thia gnethie, dana manon ko diama. The hind in the sea fears not the hunter.
122. Bon noppe done rathia laje, gnon woa mbame. If ears could stir boiled meat, one would call the pig. 1
123. Eon amonl y noppe don degna. He who has no ears, hears not.
124. Lanthie tati la, nga mbare dengna. If you have nothing to eat, you will not seek lodgings.
125. Eon sango denrre na vaton diegui safara He who covers himself with cotton, should not approach the fire.
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V
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PBOYEBBS IN THE WOLOP TOKGUE. 23
126.
Dome Ion xnou fietika thy vene on ndeey am la nampa.
The infant sucks only what it finds in its mother's breasts.
127. Kon amonl mbonbe sa bire MgnsL, He who has no shirt, shows his stomach.
128. Kou ama dhionr diaee laine. He who has goods can sell them.
129. Bala nga togua ama rande. Before cooking, one must have provisions.
130. Boreey lenfe a la reelo. One laughs not without cause.
181. Bala nga sanni dira. Before shooting, one must aim.
132. Sou nga aibaey fasse varra ko. If you have a horse, mount it.
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24 WIT AVD WISDOM FBOH WEST A7RI0A.
1S8.
Lon gname barey barey, mondhie dieja.
Although 70a have many provisions, you will see the end of them.
184.
Kou la diaka dMoudoii eupe la 7 sagar. He who is born the first, has the most of ragged clothes.
N.B. — ^Because the younger children—in Africa— get the best
185.
Kou diakey vajetane don ko mondhie.
He who begins a conversation, sees not tbe end.
186. Onou ma done waja baye, dhionroa ma laine. I have not begotten all that call me sire.
137. Kon soUa yerey yon diafe, legny anga solla sagar. He who wears too fine clothes, shall go about in rags.
188. Kon vorra kon la donl vorra, Talla vorra la. He who betrays one that betrays him not, Allah shall betray him.
139. Navete bo dika di taw y jale bon ko gnome. If live coals fell in the bad weather, no one would go out.
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PBOTEBBS IN THE WOLO! TONOUB. 26 140.
Kon nga ni vaukal ma, don la vaukal fou la na^a. He who says '' Scratch me ! " shaU not be scratched where he wishes.
141.
Lon dogua danou gaenaou jale.
All that one cuts falls to the ground, except the melon.
142. Manon gnon ama dara tey sonou gnou thia. No good without truth. N.B. — Nul bien sana peine. .
143.
Ella w%ja bou ntoute, tey deguelou bou barey. One must talk little, and listen much. N.R — Talk is silver, silence is gold.
144.
Lou dougua thy benne noppe gnenna thia baley. "What goes in at one ear goes out by the other.
145. T waje you baje, dou mae lou gno laika. The best words give no food. N.B. — Fine words butter no parsnips.
146.
Kou naike ndaje bope am, tey TaUa ndaje gnop. Each for himself, and Allah for all.
147. Hiare y beutte de nagnou gnenna gnissa asse benne Two eyes see better than one.
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26 WIT AND WISDOM 7B01C WEST A7BI0A.
148.
Ama na y beutte you guenna ry asse guemigne am. His eyes are larger than his mouth. N.B. — A popular proverb in Asia as well aa in Africa.
U9.
Zou naike sopa na niro am. Everybody likes those like him.
150. Ouenne galle dou yeba morome am. One boat does not load another.
151. Dou gnou tekjale niare y nague you mbakante. One cannot part two fighting bulls.
152. Dou gnou laikelo nitte sou sourey. One should not press a full man to eat.
158. Eaine dou waja lou mou jamoul. 1^0 one should say that which he knows not.
154. Sou beugua jalisse ligueya. He who loves money must labour.
156. Eoudi di binda nopalikou. He who writes, rests himself.
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PBOTXRBB IS THE WOLOF TONGUE. 27 156.
Lekatte sou done nitte kou ihia de£o, gname mou yonja.
If the plate were a man, the soup put into it would make him weep.
157. OuetMe kou ko jouasa toya. He who crosses the sea, is wet.
158.
Hiare gnou gouda sikime, dou gnou fonante. Those that have long chins cannot kiss one another.
169. Demma fo yonne amoul monguenne dieki lojo nene. To go where there is no road, is better than to remain without doing anything.
160. Sou la la nague day dakja nga teuda. If the bull would throw thee, lie down.
161. Faleou ma nthine lou bajoul. •
I listen not to the caldron which boils not.
162. Faleou ma barame bou amoul ve. I listen not to the finger that has no nail.
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28 WIT AKD WISDOM FBOM WEST ATBIOA.
163.
Lenfe Ion la Talla tegaa kaine manou ko dindi.
The thing which Allah has placed, cannot be displaced by any one.
164. Kou manonl dara, dou defa dara. He who can do nothing, does nothing.
165.
Eon gnenne di hour thy adouna, mo gnenne di diame thia lajira.
The more powerful one is in this world, the more servile one will be in the next.
168. Diaka lae dou taje nga aiya. The first who speaks of lawsuit is not always right.
167. Eon sa bagne dee do ko dioee. He who loses his enemy, weeps not for him.
168.
Lou nga sopa sopa dome ou diambour, sa dome guenn^la la ko.
If you love the children of others, you will love your own even better.
169.
Ope dhiou maiti dou taja dee.
A severe malady does not always kill.
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PBOTSBBS IN THE WOLOF TONGUE. 29
170. Sou nga dialon lai lala la. If you pise too early, the dew will wet you.
171. Kaine dou dogua la ou dMane. No one cuts the serpent's net.
172. Eou dagua dhiane, dou la ni wathia ko. If you trample on the serpent, no one will say to you, '* Don't!"
173. Sa rama, di sathia sou maguey diala guette. If the child robs when he begins to walk, he will plun-« der a sheepfold when he grows older.
174. Sarra diante dou ko taire finka. To place oneself before the sun, does not prevent its continuing its path.
175. Soula nkerre dou ko taire tora. To coyer the shade of sand, does not prevent its flying.
176. Dara dou doe nitte, jana lou mou amouL Nothing can suffice a man except that which he has not.
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30 WIT UnS WISDOM TBOM WIST AJFBIGA.
177. Eou di jassaba yonne amonl serre. He wlio amuseB lumself in ell-ing the road, has no stuff to measure.
178.
Daigue dou bour, wandey kou ko bengua joussa sonini sa 7 dalle.
The rivulet is not a king, yet he who would cross it removes his shoes.
179. Venne fepe on dongoup don diara salon.
A grain of millet is not worth a calf.
180. • Eon Talla maee mon ama. He to whom Allah gives, has.
181. Lou mpithie naw, naw dala thi sonfe. The bird flies, but always returns to earth.
182. Eon dajka jadhie bel tMa saine kenrre nga bai ko.
He who hunts a dog home, then leaves it.
183.
Oneye manonl thy dalgar dara, jana gassam-gassama bai.
An elephant can do nothing to a tamarind-tree, except it be to shake it.
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FROTXSBS IN THE WOLOF T05QTJE. 31
184.
irthine don ama kavare ndigoi sa&ra. The caldron has no hair by reason of the fire.
185. • Ecu Talla sanni faite do ko mana fakou.
He at whom Allah has discharged a shaft, cannot ayoid it.
186.
Pon dhianaje yabey wonndoo, nkane a fa diagney. When the mouse laughs at the cat, there is a hole.
187.
Sou gna douguey thy naigue yoiy'a, guenna youja do jama niata laa a thia naika.
If you weep on entering a house, and also on leaving it, you wiU never know how many beams it has.
/ 188.
NL Kedo yope dou gnou hour. / All soldiers are not kings.
189.
Guene on golqe gouda na, wandey lou nga thia lala borome yegua.
The monkey's tail is long, and yet if you touch it, its owner feels (the Unuih).
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I
V
WIT AND TaSDOM FROM WEST APBIOA. 190.
Samme sagna na maee mew, wandey sapioiil maee salon.
The shepherd can give sweet milk, but he cannot give a calf.
191.
Sagore bengna na dougoup, wandey don baya.
The sparrow loves millet, but he labours not.
192. Barey dongoup faikey dewanne a ko guenna. Much millet is good, but it is better to find next year.
193. Vata a gnenne vaifa.
Shaving is better than plucking the hair.
\194. Ghiisia de na taja jama. Seeing excites to knowing.
195. Done gueramonl Itaine gaw dee a ko maee.
The heir thanks nobody but the sudden death.
196.
Dhiguene doyonl volon, ndigni Ion mon la waja, waja ko la morome.
Trust not a woman: she will tell thee what she has just told her companion.
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PEOTEfiBS IK THB WOLOF TOKeVS.
83
197.
Eon bens^ laime, gnomel yambe.
If jou like honey, fear not the bees.
198.
Bala nga laika onbil sa gnemigne. Before eating, open thy mouth.
199. Fon nagne naika bonki dee fk. Where are the cattle, there the wolf shall die.
200. Tendal doyonl digala niw. You do not tell a corpse to go to bed.
201.
Kon yakey lojo bai koudon don ko niarel a.
He who puts aside his spoon to draw from the pot with his hand, does not do so twice.
202. Onon yamoul y lorre, don gnon ma^'ando sonngonfe. Those whose saliva is not equal, should not chew flour (puin 9) together.
203. Daigne on pote y jame am don ko nana.
They who know the unwholesome well^ drink not from its water.
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34 WIT ASl> WISDOM FBOM WEST AFRICA.
204.
Ama sauo de na apela barey, wandey don apela weje. One may haye much milk, but it is never too white.
205.
Mbtganey mo natta thy sa bope they diekon thia bon ko natta thy sa bope on naweley.
If the hat which you try on fits not your head, do not make your neighbour try it.
206.
Mere mandingne, doja bon gaw a ko gnenne.
It is better to walk than to grow angry with the road.
207.
Fatfatlon don fEuuale mbame senf ak y nope am. Shaking the head separates not the ears from the ass.
208. Senpadiallegna don la fassale ak y teigne. A summersault does not separate the head from the lice.
209. Lakaye on Yalla, jalanjon don ko dindi.
Boiling in the sand will not loosen the knot which Allah has tied.
210. Fon sikime diama saino ko fa yobon.
Where the chin goes, the eyes carry it.
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FBOTEBBS IK THB WOLOF TONOUB. 35
211.
Eon dengaa watite ou dhiane borome anga fa faikonL
One walks on the serpent's tracks when it is no longer there.
212.
Lou nga telle telle dioka, yonne dhitou la. He who rises early finds the way short.
213.
Zon di nana ngneloo son diothey thy sano diala; He who lives upon air has no milk.
214. Hthiokaire lo naw di gassa sou daley doupi dhiandhie. If the partridge that scratches when flying should alight at the grange, it will throw the grain about on all sides.
215.
Son nga &ikey gnou di joulo, sou nga thia farey, wajetey dengue gua.
If you meet with those who quarrel, you may take one side, but at least speak the truth.
216. Oarap gou la souttonl dou la maee nkerre. The tree which is not taller than thou art, cannot shade
D 2
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36 WIT AND WISDOM FBOli WEST A7BICA.
217.
Beutte dou yenooi w^mdey lou bope atana jama na ko.
The eye is not loaded, but it knows all that the head carries.
218.
So nionl tota, niou la bow, niti le dhiangne do ama ligueye.
If you remain not at home, if you enter not, if you appear not, you will find no work.
219.
Sissey die rafete on ndongue a ko guenne. It is better to carry to market good merchandise than to be stingy of it.
220. Boka ndeey don taja mane.
The children of the same mother do not always agree.
221.
Talla don rayala nitte y bagne am.
Allah does not destroy the men whom one hates.
222. SLou la sontta nga ni ko ndiole mi To him who is larger than thou art, say "I am a dwarf."
N.B. — Meaning, caU great, only him who is more powerful than thyself.
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PBOYBBBS IN TBB WOLOP TONGTTB. 37
Lamba dadioul dara mo gnenna noe dioiL To catch and hold nothing, is more tender than butter. N.B. — ThiB imitatiw our saying about "many a slip/' &o.
224.
So dey diemma ngnampata dialame mbole nga amonL
He who tries to bite the iron, is without corn-ears to
eat.
N.R — ^Dialame is a little iron cylinder serving to separate the from the cotton.
225.
Xou la ni, nga ni ko, joulo ylaw gaw. If jou speak to him who speaks to you, a dispute will soon start up.
Kon beta bouki jadhie baw la.
He who swaddles the wolf, will be barked at by the
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11.
PEOVERBS
THE KANURI TONGUE.
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PROVERBS IN THE KANURI TONGUE.
Thb following Proverbs and Sayings, Laconisms and Figuratdve Expressions, are taken from the Bev. M. Koelle's work.* The reader will bear in mind that the
* African Natiye Literature, or ProyerU, Tales, Fables, and His- torical Fragments in the Eannri or Boma Langaage ; to which are added, a Translation of the ahore and a Kanori-English Tocabnlaiy. By the Sot. S. W. Eoelle, Church Missionary. London, Church Mis- sionaiy Honse, Salisbory Square, 1854. I hare retained the rererend gentleman's orthography, necessarily omitting, however, signs and accents.
Bomu (Boraon, Bemn) Proper, according to Dr. Barth (yoL ii. p. 201) is the nudeos of the Great Central African (and now quasi- Moslem) Empire in its second stage, after Kanem bad been given np. It is boonded on the north by the Tibbn, south by Mandara, to the east by the Chad Lake, and to the west by a small body of water, popularly known as the Teou. The limits usually assigned are 200 miles along the western shore of the larger lake, and about the same distance inland. The people, who call themselyes Kanuri or Kanowry, are known by twenty cuts on each side of the face, one on the centre of the forehead, six on each arm, six on each leg or thigh, four on each breast, and nine on each side, a total of ninety-one ents. The country is an extensive plain, once very populous ; in the chief market, '* Angomu," the crowd has been estimated at 80,000 to 100,000 souls. Taking the word Bomu in its widest sense, the popu- lation has been r^sed to five millions. The old capital, Bimi, is said to have covered from five to six square miles, and to have contained 200, 000 souls. Early in the present century, however, it was overrun with dreadful devastation by its western neighbours, the Fellatahs. The
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42 WIT AI7D WIBBOM FROM WEST AFBICA.
Bornuese, though described by some travellers as '' com- plete negroes both in form and feature," are, like the Mandengas and Wolofs, a Moslem race, with a consider- able amount of Semitic innervation, and their proverbs will contrast strongly with those current amongst the Pagans of the Gold Coasts and Yoniba.
1. Vontsenin kampnnye lanentsia, ate gerganemmL If one who knows thee not, or a blind man scolds thee, do not become angry.
2. Ago komande ntsinite, dnnon manem, pandem bago. If thou seekest to obtain by force what the Lord has » not given thee, thou wilt not obtain it
8.
Eabn datsia, kargon bago.
The days being finished, there is no medicine.
N.B. — Meaning^ if one's time to lire is completed, no medicine can ward off death.
country recoyered under the Shaykh who waa yiaited by Major I>enham in 1823 ; this man, a native of Eanem, of humble birth but great energy, rallied round him a band of spearmen, had a Tiaion of the Prophet, hoisted the green flag, and, after a ten months* campaign, liberated his country, and replaced the rightful sultan on the throne. The picture of this worthy, ''squatting on a sort of cane-basket, covered with silk," must be fresh in the recollection of every reader of African travels.
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PROVEEB8 IF THB KAITUBI TONGUB. 43
4.
Ago flignbe nunin, ngafobe nun bago. Thou seest what is before, not what is behind thee. N.B. — Meaning, thou knowest the past, but not the future.
5.
Angalte silman gani karga, kalalan karga. 'Wisdom is not in the eye, but in the head.
Kampuro ago yiminya, ka miukontsibetiiro gansr gem, dngo siro ye ; wageya niro '' ago sinuni " tsenia, ka muskontsibetiye sedaro naptsin.
K thou girest anything to a blind man, lay it first upon the staff in his hand ere thou givest it to him ; in the next world, when he shall say, 'Hhou bast not given me anything ! " the staff in his hand will bear witness.
7. Oedi kanadiben tsannawa. At the bottom of patience there is heaven.
8. Earn bnrgo souartia derege ademmaro kotsi. Being prepared before-hand is better than after- thought.
9. Kam neontse bagote si manantse bago dabu kam meoguben.
He that has no house, has no word in society.
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44 WIT ijrB WISDOM TBOM WEST APBIGA.
10.
Mana kamnye ndi nemetsia, tilo gonem, tilo kolone.
If a woman speaks two words, take one and leave the other.
11. Bnrgontse bnrgo kenyeribe gadi. He is as cunning as a weazel.
12.
Eamte ago ngala kammo tsedia, nemgalate pattsegin bago.
If a man confers a benefit upon another, that benefit is not lost (to himself).
18. Kannu kam tsebui. Fire devours a man. N.K— Meamng, << He is in great affliction."
14.
Earn dantse keli kwoya, sima na kannubero ger- tegin.
He draws near the fire when meat is raw.
N.B. — He who desires an object, is glad to adopt the requisite measures. The Persian proverb is, " For an object, men kiss the donkey's tail."
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PBOTEBBS IN THE KAKrBI T0K6UB. 45 15.
Earn kam tserageni dago ago nantsen taimageni. V. One does not love another, if one does not accept any- thing from him.
N.B. — ^Amongst all Africans, MoslemB as well as Pagans, friend- ship seems to consist simply of giving and taking presents.
16.
Tama sngo diniabe.
Hope is the pillar of the world.
17. Leman sngo diniabe.
Biches are the pillar of the world.
18. Leman sngo robe.
Property is the prop of life.
19. Soba tsirebe mnsko ndin tei Hold a true friend with both thy hands.
Kai^enem kamnro yimia, niga ntsetso.
If thou givest thy heart to a woman, she will kill thee.
N.B. — This and the sneer against the veracity of the sex in No. 10 are truly Semitic
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46 WIT AND WISDOM PEOM WEST APBICA.
21.
Kngui timi litsia, wa niga beantseskin. I will pay thee when fowls cut their teeth. N.B. — Like the Latin *' Ad Grsecas kalendas."
Kargete, sima kam kaniiTiro tsatin, sima kam tsan- aaro tsatin.
It is the heart that carries one to hell or to heaven.
23. Earn kargen kam tseteite sima kerdigo. He is a heathen who holds another in his heart. N.B. — ^Meaning, who bears malice.
24,
Kam neme am wnrabe tsatseranite neme kitabube tsetseraniy kam neme kitabnbe tsatseranite, neme komandebe tsetserani.
He who does not believe what the elders say, will not be- lieve the sayings of the Book (the Bible) ; and he who does not believe the savings of the Book, will not believe what the Lord says.
N.B.-^TliiB was apparently dictated to M. Koelle by some Christian convert. He informs us, that Pato Hamaba> i. e., Heaven, was the original Kanuri name for Qod, now generally superseded by the Arabic *« Allah."
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PB0VBEB8 IN THE KA.NUEI TONGUE. 47
I
26.
M nemketsindo, wote kargenemga kamnro yimmi. Whatever be thy intimacy, never give thy heart to a woman.
26.
Kaliae afi nemgalantse yaye tatanem dibigo tseteni.
Whatever be the goodness of a slave, he does not come, up to a bad son.
27.
Ealia ago kaBxnersibe gani: kaliaro mersanemia, sima niga ntsetso.
A slave is not a thing to be trusted : if thou trustest a slave he will slay thee.
28. Earn yantse ganawate asimtse tsakkata. One who has a younger brother, his secrets are covered. N.B. — Meaning, he has a confidential friend — in Africa.
29.
Kamte ago ngala dimia, Allaye ngalan niro pats- artsin. If one does good, Allah will interpret it to him for
good.
80.
Eomande kammo leman tsi yaye, tata bago kwoya, lemante manantse bago.
If our Lord gives riches to a man, and there are no children, the riches have no word.
K.B. — ^Meaning, they have no object, no value.
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48 WIT AND WISDOK FUOM WEST ATBICA.
31.
Earn komande tata tsinnama, asimtse Allaye tsakto- eaamage.
The maa to whom the Lord gives children, his secrets Allah covers.
32. Ago fagiibete» komande genya, ngndo dabu knru- guamai tsnroi bago. ^ As to what is future, even a bird with a long neck can- not see it, but the Lord only.
83. Sinia yermanem bagoro, yermanemma ngalgo. >( Since thou hast no benefactor in this world, the having one in the next will be all the more pleasant. N.B. — ^A consolation to the poor.
84.
Earn yantse tsambnna bagoya, siga wadadai tsatin.
He whose mother is no more, him distress carries off.
N.B. — Amongst all the Moslem negroes, the mother is ever the best friend. So Mungo Park's Mandenga said, ** Strike me, but do not abuse my mother 1 "
85.
Earn asirntse kamnro gnltsegia, kamnte siga tsaba setanbero tseako.
If a man tells his secrets to his wife, she will bring him into the way of Satan.
N.B. — Rather a contrast to the English proverb, '* He who would thrive must ask his wife i**
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FBOTBRBS IN THB KA.NUBI TOITGUE. 49
36.
Kamnye tsaba ngalaro kamga tsaldn bago. A woman never brings a man into the right waj^
37. Earn kana kugnibe ntsetsoma bago, sai Alia
"No one can kill the appetite of fowls save Allah. N.B. — ^Meaning, *' Man cannot satisfy them."
38.
Ago dinianyin koron kimyinno tata tseragenago bago.
Nothing in the world loves its young more than a she- slave and an ass.
39. Vi talaga kwoya> ate galifd sobanemmL If thou art poor, do not make a rich man thy friend.
40. VuBotoro lenemia, ati pato galifiiben tsamnemmi J£ thou goest to a foreign land, do not alight at a rich man's house.
41.
Bultnro dinia watsi tsabalan.
It became day whilst the hysna was on its way.
K«R — Meaning, "The man's strength was broken before he attained his object"
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50 WIT JiSD WISDOM FBOM WE&T AFRICA..
42.
Wuma mei ** taiga kamagimbe/^
I am '' King Elepbant-bag."
N.B. — Meaning, '^ I am so Btrong that I can cany an elephant in a bag,** or *' I am ao powerful a» to think nothing too difficult for me.*'
48.
Wit tawangi dngo tsabalan wnro dinia wasegi.
I arose early, but the dawning day overtook me on tbe way.
N.B. — Meaning, "I married a wife in early youth, but had no children by her."
44.
KanxLwari nonemmi kwoya, kanuwate nonemibat If thou dost not know hate, dost thou know indiffer- ence?
N.B. — Meaning, " How is it thou didst not perceive that I love thee not, even though thou didst not discover that I hate thee ? '*'
45.
WxL gesga gana nuke, kolonge; kura gongimbal
If I see a small tree, shall I leave it and take a large
one?
N.B. — Meaning, " If I have a chance of marrying a young man whom I can easily manage, shall I pass him by and marry one who is too strong for me f "
40.
A certain man took a long journey, on which he passed a rich man who had many children, all of them girls ; he saluted him, saying, " Aha talaga umse*^ — poor man, how
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PBOTIBBB USr THX KASVUL TONGUB. 51
art thou ? This man was yezed to hear himself called poor. He next passed a poor man who had many little children^ all of whom were boys, and him he saluted, saying, " Aha galifu «ww" — ^rich man ! how art thou ? This man was vexed on account of being called rich. He next met a man who had neither wife nor children, and who, at night, slept in a pitch-dark house without lamp ; him he saluted, saying, " Aba kampu umse'* — blind man ! bow art thou? This man was vexed at being called blind. At last |^e met a man lying under a hangar^ a tree with very long and sharp thorns ; him he saluted, saying, ^ Aha koa ngwrdegi wuse*^ — lame man ! how art thou P This man was vexed, to hear himself called lame. When the traveller returned, afber a long time, he visited these men again, and saluted each by the directly opposite title ; but then they were again vexed, since, during his absCfhce, the prophecy contained in his former addresses had been realised.
47. A certain man had a most beautiful daughter who was beset by many suitors. But as soon as they were told that the sole condition on which they could obtain her was to bale out a brook with a ground nut shell (what is about half the size of a walnut shell), they always walked away in disappointment. However, at last one took heart of grace, and began the task. He obtained the beauty; for the father said, " ham ago Uuru haditaia Uido** — be who undertakes what he says, will do it.
N.B. — Tbe Hindoos have a eomewhat similar fabliau coDcerning a sand-piper, who, in revenge for the loss of his young, began to
E 2
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52 WIT AKB WISDOM FBOM WEST ATHICA.
drj up Samudra Devta, or the ocean. Both teach men not to admit the word " impossible " into their Tocabulftriee, and to consider nothing too high for human will to attain. So it is popularly said amongst ourselves that, if a man really determined to win it, he might wear the crown of England.
48. Once in a famine a woman asked her husband to look after the pot au feu while she was going to fetch water. On her returning unobserved by him, she found that when skimming off the foam or scum he filled a calitbash with it, and hid it somewhere, supposing it to be the best part of the food. The woman did not let him know that she had seen him play this trick. But at dinner, when the husband, trusting in what he had hid, said to her, ''give me only a little, and let our children haTej>lenty," she said to him, "ahantsa ate hilguro higela gullemmi^* — father ! do not call scum, harvest ! He did not under- stand what this meant till he went to eat what he had put aside for himself, and, as might be expected, found the calabash empty.
49. The question was once asked — " Kamunyin hoangamfin nduntsa ngvhugo ?** i.e.. Who are more in number, the women or the men ? One answered, '^ Ebangama ganago^ hamtma ngvhugo ; ago Jcamuga nguburo tsedenate^ koan» ga mana kamube pantnnte siga kamuro tamissagei, atemr arokamutenguhuy^ i,e,, Men are the minority, women are the majority ; the reason why there are more women is this, that men who listen to what women say, are counted as women.
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PBOYEBBS IK THX EANUSI TOKGhUB. 53
50.
The Fula once sent the following message to the go- vernor of a town — "iba belama Tsarami Daduimate tegera Ueba dugo andi Hro heam yate dinye yeyogo ! " — literally. May Sarah's son, the governor of Dadui, make dumplings, till we come and bring him milk, and mash them, that we may drink together ! This message refers to the Fula practice of mashing dumplings in milk and then drinking it : the meaning is, " Prepare thyself for war, and get dinner ready for us : we are about to attack and to defeat thee.**
51. On the other hand, the Burmese governor returned the following message to the Fula — ^^ Sandi koanya kwoya, isa, ngo heri denesyana, Jealu tsayute, wua sandyua huiye!** — literally, If they are men, let them come; behold, I have cooked meat, let them bring the sauce, that I and they may eat it. The meaning of this is, " I am prepared for war and battle : we will fight as soon as you come."
52.
Sintse tilo dinian, tilo lairan.
He has one foot in this world and one in the next.
KB. — Meaning, ha ia in imminent danger : as we say, " He haa one foot in the graye.*
53.
Andi ngafo lukranben bonye. We shall sleep behind the Koran. N.B.— Meaning, '* We shall feel more secure after an oath."
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54 WIT AISTD WISDOM FBOM WEST AFBICJl.
54.
Kalantselan dangL
I stand on his bead (i.e., surpass him).
N.E — Eala, the head, is much used in phrasefl, e. g., I see my head, i.e,, I think or deliberate ; I lift up my head, i.e., I am highly pleased ; I take out a person's head, i.e., I can deliver him ; I hold a person's head, ue., I help or protect him. No. (9.
65.
Wnte dabnndon wu bago. As for me, I shall not be in your midst. N.B.— Meaning, " I will have nothing to do with you."
56.
Kargeni na tilon naptsenL
Mj heart did not sit down in one place (i.e., I toas uneasy ^ disquieted),
57.
Tigini amtsi.
Mj skin is cold (i.e., lam sad, grieved),
58. Tsi manaro or Lebalaro yakeskin. I put mj mouth into the matter or dispute (i.e., I meddle with it),
59. AUa kamuro kalantse tsin. Allah gives a woman her head.
N.K — Meaning, God gives a safe delivery: so they say a woman has obtained her head, i.e., has been safely confined. Also,
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PEOTE&BS IS THE Ki.KUEI TONGUE. 65
*' KcUani pandeiki " means, I have received my head, i,e., I have escaped safely, I baye been delivered. This expression is used especially in regard to the delivery of a woman in childbed, but also in regard to any other deliverance. Similarly, '' Allah gives a persoE his head," i.e., saves, rescues hitn : used by man referring to re- covery from illness, return from battle, &c. (See No. 54.
60,
Pesga gereskiiL
I tie a face (i.e., pull a long face^ look displeased).
61.
Manande ngalema toaba tilon tsnlngeni.
Our word never left one and the same road.
N.B. — ^Meaning^ " We never fell out or disputed with one another."
62.
Sandi manantsa na tiloro tsasake. Thej put their words in one and the same place. N.R —Moaning, '' they are all of one mind."
63.
Myaye Allayo agomesagenate sitema ruiyen. What Allah has decreed for us, that we shall see (i.e., experience),
64. Allah artseki beiantso !
Allah give thee good luck.
N.B.— So also they say Allah bless thee— keep thee— grant thee longlifei
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56 WIT AND WI8P0M nOM WEST AFBIOA.
66.
Alia barganem or Alia bargando (gotse). May Allah take his blessing from you. N.K — ^A g;reat oune.
Bennade.
A bug : the Bomuese, like the pagans of TJnyamwezi, consider the smell aromatic, and they suppose the aroma of Paradise and that of bugs to be of the same nature.
67. Kam kalantsen nigawa besgero letsin bago. One who has been three years married does not go to the Besge, or dancing place of young people.
68.
Vgadza.
A loup«garou, one who can transform himself into a hjSBna, as in Abyssinia. According to M. Koelle's infor- mant, there is a town in Gazir called Kabutiloa, in which eyery person possesses the gift of lycanthropy.
69.
Na dabn kambo.
One's natire place (literally, where one's " dabu " or umbilical string was buried after birth).
70. Binia fatsar kamtsi. The dawn has cut through — ue,, day dawns. They
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PBOT£BBS Ur THB KAISUBI TONGUE. 57
distinguish between guhogum hurgobe, the first cock- crowing, between two and three in the morning, and gubogum dcregebe, the second cock-crowing near dawn.
71. Dinia kan dabntsi
The sun is in the centre of the world (i.e., It U noon).
72. Ago gedintse bagote nemero, si aram.
It is forbidden to tell anything that has no foundation.
73. Karge gereskin or Earge taskin. I tie my heart, or I hold my heart (i.e«, lam composed^ comforted),
N.B. — Kargtf or heart, occurs in many curious phrases^ e.g., the heart is cut, i.e., courage is gone ; the heart is sweet, i.e., one is glad. A " black heart " is a bad heart.
74.
Heiram kirga koitsin bago.
A princess never makes a slave her friend.
75. Kungana pingin.
To divine by cowrie shells, which are thrown on the ground, and which show futurity by the manner in which they fall.
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58 WIT AKB WISDOM FROH WEST AFRICA.
76.
Lukran biukin.
I eat the Lukran (i.e., Koran),
N.B. — ^The Boniuese swear by placing the hand first upon the Koran and then upon forehead and breast.
77. Kg^ndi pingin.
I take out poverty (i.e., the guinea-worm).
N.B. — The guinea-worm is called '' poverty/' because the disease always reappears at the beginning of the rains, thus preventing the sufferers from attending to their farms, and reducing them to desti- tution.
78.
Vgnrtu kamawnnga da tsogo tilon kotsena, kamawun gnrtoga sila tsogo tilon kotsena.
A hippopotamus exceeds an elephant by one basket of flesh, and an elephant exceeds a hippopotamus bj one basket of bones.
79. Allabe rambnskin. I pay what I owe to Allah. N.B. — I pay the debt of nature — die.
80.
Serifo.
An albino, much feared for supernatural powers in Borneo. These men can have meat roasted on their naked arms, or plunge them into boiling water without injury.
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FBOTEBBS IN THE KANUBI TONGUE. 59 81.
Nyanmyam.
A caanibal : this is a general and not a proper name, and the NyamnjamB have a king.
82.
Eoliram or Knriram.
A wood-demon or ghost, supposed to be of gigantic stature, wifch long flowing hair and pale skin like the Pulas. He lives in large hollow trees, irom which he issues after sunset, at midnight, and before sunrise. If anj one comes in his way, he salutes him with a fearful slap in the face — sometimes kills him. He often halloas as if to call people, but he never carries them away as the water-demon does. The Kuriram remarkably resembles the Eakshasa of the Hindoos.
83. Hgamarain.
A water-demon, living in wells, cisterns, pools, rivers, and lakes, and in shape resembling a white man. These beings often catch people who fetch water after night has set in. If a male demon seizes a man, he slays him at once ; if a woman, he keeps her for a month or a year, and then dismisses her. V.v, — a she-fiend kills) the women and keeps the men alive.
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III.
PROVERBS
THE OJI TONGUE.
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PROVERBS IN THE OJI TONGUE.
The Oji, Ochi, or Otji language is spoken through- out the empire of Ashante, which Englishmen know as Ashantee. To the south of Ashante again, and extend- ing along the sea-coast, are their congeners, the Fante (Eantee), who use the same tongue, but with certain dialectic diiSerences, rendering it less pure and agree- able to the ear than that of the inlanders. Besides these two large divisions, there are three small and non- maritime countries, eastward of Ashante, namely, Akim, Akwapim, and Akwamu, generally known as Ak- wambu, who are also Oji-speakers. They have, at times, been subdued by the overwhelming power of Ashante ; but they are at present independent, and gOTemed by their own chiefs and caboceers, under the protection of the English, who succeeded the Danes in that part of the coast. The idiom of Akim resembles that of its neighbour Ashante. Akwapim* lies to the east of Akim, and Akwamu to the north-east of Akwapim, bordering on the river Volta.
* This provinoe is in about the meridian of Greenwich, and S"" N. lat. It is separated from the sea by Ga or Accra-land. The country is well wooded and mountainous, containing seventeen villages, each with its own chief, who owes a loose allegiance to the headman of Akropong.
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64 WIT AyV WISDOM FROM WEST AFRICA.
All these are gold-producing lands, and when the pre- sent inexplicable state of apathy and degradation shall have passed away, they and their language will become of importance. The Oji is spoken by probably two mil- lions of souls. The proverbs quoted below are borrowed from the work of the Eev. N, Eiis.*
The two preceding collections are made from negroid races, and bear unmistakeable signs of Allah and the Koran. We now come to the purely Hamitic and Negro literature, in which ^occasionally a Moslem or a Christian sentiment can be seen dimly reflected. As the reader has been warned in the preface, a greater amount of illustration now becomes necessary.
* Grammatical Outiine of the Oji Longnige^ with especial Reference to the Akwapim Dialect ; together with a OoUeetion of ProTerbe of the Natives, bj Rey. H. N. Riis. Basel, Bahnmaier*s Bachhaudling (C. Detloff), 1854.
The collection of Mmebnsem, or proverbs, is assisted bj explanatory notes, which are inserted with a little pruning — generally a necessary operation in Teutonic " works" — and the orthography of the reverend author has been preserved. His Qrammar is by no means so transcen- dental as that of the Eev. M. Zimmerman, and the Vocabulary is both useful and simple. It is hard to understand, however, why the reverend gentleman retains the obsolete letter 0 ; and why in the order of letters T should be promoted to precedence over E.
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PBOYEBBS IK THE OJI TONaUS.
1.
Abe baakon na sei ensa.
One palm tree spoils the palm wine.
K.B. — Among the Oji the trees are felled -^generally speaking, a number at a time— and a hole being cut in each, the juice distils into pots or bottles placed to receive it. The produce is removed twice a day, when the contents of the pots are all poured into a single large vessel If one tree, therefore, has given bad wine, the whole will be spoiled. Thus we say, " A little leaven leaveaeth the whole lump."
2,
Wo to adiuva ebi ka w'ano. ^ If you lay poison (i. e., attempt to ptnnn otheri)^ some will touch your mouth.
3.
Abo&a bo envaw, na ommo akekire. A child may crush a snail, but it will not crush a tortoise.
N.B. — Means, do not attempt what is beyond your strength : httle strength may effect objects within its sphere, but will prove vain beyond it.
4.
Abofira nte n'enna ni n'agya asem-a, odi adnan-a en- kyinne nim.
If a child does not hear his mother's and his father's word, he {shall) eat food (which) salt is not in.
w
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66 WIT AKD WISDOM TBOM WEST ATSIOA.
5.
Tekrema na kan onipa, na tekrema na gyai nipa. The tongue kills man and the tongue saves man.
N.B.— So the Hindi proverb : The tongue may mount an ele- phant, or put the head in peril The necessity of bitting and bridMng the tongue is a favourite theme with the semi-civilised. CL Tb» Proverbs of Scripture, chaps, vi., xii., xt., xviii., and James ill 5.
6.
Woye abofra ensirow akotia.
If you are a child do not deride a short man.
N3. — ^Because you do not know whether you may not, when grown up, be in the same predicament. Said of what the Greeks call Epichserekaki aS' opposed to the Epichseragathi.
7.
Onipa mfon kwa; okom enni no-a na, odi ekaw.
A man does not fast without a cause \ if he does not suffer hunger, he is in debt.
8. Asem monne fata hienni. Hard words are fit for the poor.
9. Sika ben wo-a, ehoa. When gold comes near to you, it glistens.
N.Bc-Means that an alluring object placed before the eyes stimulates desire. So we say " opportunity makes the thief."
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PBOYEBBS IN THE OJI TONGUE. 67 10.
Onipa wonno no nna *niara.
You do not always love (the same) man.
N.B. — Literally, ** A man you do not love him all days ; " meaning Uiat friendship and love are things that sometimes change.
11.
Vode kokroko na di emmim-a, anka sinno beba fie. If by bodily strength violence were committed, an elephant would come into the town.
N.B. — Meaning that if might, not law, prevail, the elephant, which is the strongest of beasts, would be master.
12.
Wonko bi aftim da, wose: mi enkn ni knafo. If you never went into another man's plantation, you would say, " I am the only planter.**
K.B. — ^Meaning, that the home-dweller has homely wits, and that men are prone to judge of all things from what happens under their own eyes.
13.
Didime na yi bronni nansin adi
A feast uncovers a European's wooden leg.
N.B. — Didime is a feast of course followed by a " big drink," which — ^'•in vino Veritas "—makes people forget self-respect, and exposes defects which are usually concealed. Bronni or Bro (in the Ga language Blofo) something or somebody European, is probably derived from Abro, Maize or Indian corn, for a reason to be quoted, in the Ga proverbs. Abrokirri, "Europe," is, however, explained by Mr. Riis as, perhaps, a corruption of ** Portugal."
F 2
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68 WIT AND WISDOM FEOM WEST A.FBICA.
Tapo ni abanm.
There is not a halfpenny in his palace.
N.B.— The *' Tapo" is twenty cowries, or two farthings. « Aban" is a house built of stone, a castle or palace opposed to ^ dan/' the negro square or oblong hut of clay-plastered sticks roofed with grass or palm leaves. The proverb alludes to pride and poverty, and also answers to our " great cry and little wool" The Hindis say, there is not a thread in the house, and the blockhead wants a turban.
15.
Dabi otenten benya, akotia xmya.
{This time the short one has got it^ hv£) another time the long one will get it, and the short one will not get it (i. e., the object of their common pursuit),
N.B. — Meaning, that fortune is fickle ; celeres quatit alas.
16.
Wonyi m'aye-a, ensei me din. If you do not praise me, do not spoil my name (or cJu^racter),
17.
Akekire so, ansa ko na ensa ba.
The tortoise says, The hand goes and the hand comes.
N.B. — Leas literally ** if you draw back your hand (L a, givt me no presents), I draw back mine." It means, as you behave to me so shall I behave to you. Mr. Riis remarks, " it is a peculiar feature of the Oji proverbs that they are often referred to animals." Ci 27, 83, 89, 90, 118, 120, 188, Ac. The « peculiarity " may, I believe, be extended to the proverbs of all semi-civilised peoples.
18.
Ohi enni ni yonku.
A poor man has no friend.
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PBOYEBBS IS THE OJI TOVaiTE. 69
19.
Obi nnoa aduan, enko ta enkwanta, enfyufye menni.
Nobody cooks food and places it in tbe road to seek a \
^est.
N.B. — Meaning, do not invert the order of things : begin with the beginning.
20.
Yenim so mogya vo yen anom, na yefl entesn.
We know there is blood in our mouth, but we throw
out spittle.
N.B. — Though it is a fact that our mouth is lined with blood, yet we eject saliva only : we do not give away all, we keep the beet things for our own use. Charity begins at home.
21.
Obi nko tea baliinni vo ne bon ano, na onse nse; wo hn bon.
Nobody assails a Hahinni at the door of his nest, and
says to him, you stink.
N.B. — ^The Hahinni is a large black fetid ant. The proverb means " every man's house is his casUe," — a truer saying in Africa than in England.
22.
Biribi ni wo ensem-a, emmua no, na mmofra ntiti eki.
If there is nothing in your hand do not shut it, and let
the children pick outside.
N.B. — The closed hand would denote that it contains a present, and thus cause disappointment if found to be empty. The proverb means, "Do not tantalise others:" "do not excite hopes or give promises which you do not iQtend to fulfil."
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70 WIT AND WISDOM FROM WEST APBICA.
Efe, ne enye aniberre.
It is fine, but excites no desire.
N.B. — Said of persons and things which, with brilliant qualities, unite BO many drawbacks, that they become objects of aversion rather than of desire.
24.
Wonim ta-a, ta wo dyon.
If you can pull out, pull out your own grey hairs.
N.B. — Attend to your own faults before you reprehend others; remove the beam from your own eye, before remarking the mote in your brother^B.
25.
Wanya wohu-a, to wo pon mu da.
\ If you are rich, always shut your door.
N.B. — In Ashante, Dahome, and Benin, the reputation of wealth must be carefully avoided.
26.
Ea akekire enni envaw enku-a, anka otao nto vo wn- ram da.
If there were only snails and tortoises, no gun would
ever be fired in the jungle.
N.B. — Because snails and tortoises can be caught without a gun : ways and means must be proportioned to the object in view.
27.
Odnaoen se, nea 'ko ne yem no, enni nede, na nea vo n'afonnom no, enye nedea.
The monkey says, that which has gone into his belly
is his ; but what is in his niouth is not his.
N.B. — Any external possession is uncertain, however well secured.
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]PBOySBBS IK THE OJT TOKGUE. 71
• 26.
Biribi enkyen ogya koko.
There is nothing more red {or 90 red as) fire.
Obi nkyerre bi nse: to enkyienne di.
A person will not say to another, buy salt (and) eat. .
N.B. — It 18 folly to command or to exhort another in matters which his own neoeaaities will compel him to undertake.
30.
Wo ensa dam-a, vonni engyaw.
If your hand is in (the dish) they eat not, leave not.
N.B. — Meaning, they eat not so as to leave nothing for you ; you are sure of getting your share. West Africans feed with their fingers from the common pot or dish around which they are seated.
81.
Ohia na ma odeoe ye akoa. •
Poverty makes a free man become a slave.
82. Asum vo " soa mL'*
At the watering place they say, " Lift for (i. e. help) me!"
N.B. — ^The " Asum* is a place where water gathers : it here re- presents the Asiatic well and the English pump. The women fetch the necessary and each assists the other to lift the full pot upon her head, such being the usual way of carrying it home. The proverb probably means '* In the eveiy day affiurs of life the want of mutual assistance is felt."
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72 TriT AKD WISDOM FBOM WEST AEBICA^
Hwansana se: nea 'ka ekirri na, edoso.
Saith the fly, " What is left behind is a great deal."
N.B. — This alludes to the fly trimming itself with its hind legs, which it continues as long as it considers that something is left to be done. The proverb exhorts men not to weaty of any labour, until they have carried out their purposes.
34.
Akoko di wo yonku aivn-a, pam no ; dabi obedi wode. When a fowl eats your neighbour's corn, dnve it away ; another time it will eat yours.
85. Wode kokrobeti ko ayi-a, vode totorre bnaw.
If you go to customs with your thumb {stretched out), they will answer you with blows.
N.B. — "Ayi" is a pubHc festiTal celebrated with processions, dancing, drumming, shooting, and drinking, which cause the streets to be crowded. " Customs" is the Anglo-African corruption of the Portuguese ** Costume," way, habit. To stretch forth the thumb at a person is a sign of mockery and contempt. The proverb corre- sponds with the French ^ Le moine r^pond conune Tabb^ chante."
86.
Ayisa vame ana, ose; woma mi se woma wo ba, anka mame.
The orphan (when asked) whether he had enough, said, <^ If you had given to me as you gave to your (own) child, I should have had enough.**
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PEOTEBBS IK THE OJI TONGUE. 73
87.
Wo yem ye-a, womfa wo yirre nkye.
If you are good-natured, you will not give away your
wife.
K.B.— A good man should be thoroughly attached to his family.
88.
Abofra eni anso panyin-a, ofre empopa se haha.
If the child does not honour the aged, it will call a
palm branch ** haha."
N.B. — " Haha" is a word of no signification. The proverb means that a child so perverse as to withhold respect from his seniors, would be capable of any absurdity.
89.
Opete, wodi bi bin, na obi nni wode.
Vulture! thou eatest anybody's egesta, but nobody
eats thine.
N.B. — ^This is addressed to sycophants and parasites, who seek feasts and presents from others without ever making a return.
40.
Eamma hamma kyirre ketebo.
String {added to) string will bind even a leopard. ^
N.B. — Meaning; that united strength and repeated efforts wiH effect great things. Gutta cavat lapidem.
41.
Obi nto akokonini, na ommon obi aknra. One does not buy a cock, and he does not crow in one's plantation.
N.B. — Meaning, nobody buys a cock, and lets him crow in another man's field.
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74 WIT AKD WISDOM 7B0K WEST AFBICA.
42.
Obaifo rekoe ! Obaifo rekoe ! na wonye baifo-a, wontya
wo eni
(When the cry u raised) " There goes a witch ! There
\ goes a witch ! " if you are no witch you will not turn
round.
N.B. — " Baifo," from " bayi," Boroery, means wizard or witch : the saying correspondB with our insinuation touching the cap fitting.
48.
Onipa reba, wonse nse, bera. When a man is coining, you will not say " Gome ! " N.B. — Am we say, " Don't spur a willing horse.*'
44.
Wo se enye-a, nea wota foro eldrri, ara nen. Though your teeth are bad, they are just what you lick.
N.B. — Though your friends and relations, or neighbours and fellow-citizens, are disagreeable people, do not drop all interoourse with them.
45.
Sasa bonsam ko ayi-a, osoe baifo fi.
When the fiend goes to the Sabbat (or cwtoms)^ he
lodges with the sorcerer.
N.B. — " Sasabonsam," earth-devil, from " asase," eartb, and ^abonsam,*' a fiend,* is a monstrous being, living in the deepest
* lliBsionaries translate Abonsam, the Devil, ''conceived to be an evil spirit living in the upper regions (our popular heaven) and reigning in Abonsam Eru (in Accra, Abonsam-dse) over the spirits (or rather the shades) of wicked men." It is probably some evil ghost who has obtained a general bad name. The Sasa Abonsam corresponds after a fiishion with the Erdgeist, the Wald-tenfel and the Eobold of the Germans.
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FBOTEBBS DT THE OJI TOKGUE. 75
I of the foreet, hoetile to man, especially pric«tly man, but intimate with wizard and witch. The proverb means ** Birds of a feather flock together/* '' Like .for like, and Nan for Nicholas; " or, as the Persians say,
"Like flies with like, Pigeon with pigeon, hawk with hawk."
46.
Ogya ni atodm nna. Fire and gunpowder do not lie together. N.B.— So we say of oil and water.
47.
Osram emfi da korro, entya manm.
The moon does not appear on one day, does not pass
oyer the town.
N.B. — ^Meaning, when the new moon appears, it does not pass over the town the same day, a work is not completed as soon as begun. Rome was not built in a day. '* Petit & petit loiseau fait son nid."
48.
Osn to, na vonyiyi ade vo snm-a, enye von ni bo.
When rain falls, and they must remove the things in
the nun, it is not them and {or together with) the stones.
N.B. — Meaning, that you do not remove the stones with the things. The proverb is applied to those who o*erstep the modesty of nature, who, in doing a viseful and necessary action, add to it what is useless and unnecessary.
49.
" Vonta eakinne ! Vontu enkinne ! *' na yereda enta.
"They shall pull us! they shall pull us!" then we
shall sleep without fire.
N.B.— Meaning, when they cry out, " Throw it away ! Throw it {the moking piece of wood) away ! " we shall lie freezing. West
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76 WIT AND WISDOM TBOM WEST A7BICA.
AfricanB who have scanty clothing sleep by the side of a fire during the colder nights of the year. When troubled by the smoke, they order a slave, or some one handy, to remove the cause of offence. If, however, this be done too often, the fire will disappear, and the cold will become more troublesome than the smoke was. The proverb warns men to choose the lesser of two 'evik, not to incur the risk of a greater, for the purpose of ridding oneself of the smaller, trouble.
60.
Obi ntya akoko ano, emma akye.
Any (person) does not get a-head of the cock, does not
give salutation.
N.6. — Less literally, " nobody says good morning before the cock/' i. e,, no one will go out before cockcrow, and bid his friends good morning. Everything must be done in due season.
51.
Kwaterrekwa se obema wo entama, tie ne din. When a rascal says that he will give you a coat, hear (i, e., inquire for) his name.
N.B. — Meaning, before you trust him, seek information about him. And generally, be careful whom you trust, particularly where there is just cause of suspicion.
52.
Hi-a^ mida-'yanya, minhu nyankupon,* na wo wo- butxL ho.
I who lie on ray back do not see the sky, and you are lying on your belly.
N.6. — Meaning, if one who has the best opportunities of effecting an object cannot succeed, they who have fewer advantages mvist expect to fail
* Nyankupon in Akwapim and Onyame in Aahante, and equiva- lent to Nyonmo in the Ga or Accra language, signify the Supreme
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PBOTKBB8 IN THE OJI TONaUJS. 77
53.
Obi mpra, na obi nsesaw.
When one sweeps another does not carry away {the
sweepings).
N.B. — Literally, " A person does not sweep, and another does not take up/' i. e,, the same person must do both. 80 the European pro- ▼erbs, ** Quod quisque introivit, ipsi est ezcedendum : " As you make your bed so you must lie. " Comme on fait son lit on se couche."
Being. The word is nsnally derived from " Yonkn " and " pon,* t. c, greatest friend. Sach at least is the composition explained by Mr. J. Beecham (Ashantee and the GK>ld Coast, pp. 171 and 172). Of this Mr. Riis remarks, '* there can be no doubt, that these derivations (alluding also to 'Nyame' being derived from 'ye,' to make, to create) are futile, being based on a misapprehension of the proper phonetical form of the words : besides the explanations of Nyankupon by ' greatest friend,' stand in direct opposition with the notions of the Supreme Being entertained by the negroes. What may be said with some degree of certainty is that Nyankupon is a compound of ' ny- anku'and 'pon.' 'Pon' seems, from its occurrence in other words, to signify great or high. The derivation of ' nyanku ' is uncertain, but very probably 'nyame' and 'nyanku' are from the same root, and but two di£ferent forms. Their root is perhaps ' nyan,' to awake, supposing the original meanmg of this verb to be to rise, to raise ; so that 'nyanku' and 'nyame' in their primary signification would be synonymes of ' Sorro,' the high, that which is above. Fon ia added for emphasis, so that the meaning of Nyankupon would be the very high, the Most High. This hypothesis would easily account for the frequent use of both words in the material sense of sky or firma- ment, God being identified with the visible expanse of the heavens, as in Engliah 'heaven' — so the Chinese use 'Tien' — ^is sometimes said instead of God." This derivation wiH appear to many as hard to swallow as Mr. Beecham's.
Mr. Riis (snb voo. Nyankupon) also remarks that this Supreme Being is conceived by the negroes of the Oji tribe as a great spirit living above, the author of all good, eternal and omnipotent^ to whom the creation of the world and the natural phenomena of the atmosphere as thunder, lightning, and rain, are ascribed, and by whom the spirits of good men deceased are conveyed to live under his dominion in
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78 WIT ASTB WISDOM EBOM WEST AFBIOA.
54.
Akosna mmo miun, na Akua mfa.
Akosua does not mischief, and Akua does not take (if)*
N.B. — Less literally, when Akosua does mischief, Akua is not punished for it. Meaning, '' No one should suffer for the sinB of another.**
55.
Okom di wo-a, womfa wo ensa abien nnidL
Though you are hungry, you do not eat with both
hands.
N.B. — Meaning, '' However pressing be the necessity, it must be kept within the bounds of propriety."
56.
Da se 'nne enti na vaye atvnrow.
For the sake of a day like to-day they have made the
nails.
N.B.— Less literally, ^for a day like the present the nails are made." This is a threat of future revenge. Meaning, " I, too, have
Nyankuponfi or Nyankuponkra. On the other hand, however, he is considered too high above earth to care for the affairs of man, thus perfectly agreeing with Pliny, Lib. 2, chap. 5 : — *' It is ridiculous to suppose that the great head of all things, whatever it be, pays any regard to human affairs.** The negro deity even has committed them to Bosom (volg. Bossam), imaginary beings worshipped by the negroes and called "Fetishes** by Europeans. Mr. Riis concludes with saying — ''The idea of him as a supreme spirit is obscure and un- certain, and often confounded with the visible heavens or sky, tbe upper world (sorro) which lies beyond human reach ; and hence the same word is used also for heavens, sky, and even for rain and thunder.**
It is easy to discover the traces of a belief in the Deity, an idea doubtless derived by the West African negroes in olden times from the Portuguese. I have elsewhere recorded my belief that their con- ception of a Qod is physical, not metaphysical.
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PBOVBEBS IN THE OJl TONGUE. 79
the power of iDJuring, and will at some time repay you for my present injury."
57.
Hal I hai I na 'mma akroma 'nye kese. {The cry of) Hai ! Hai ! has not suffered the hawk to grow big.
N.B. — " Hai/' is an interjection used in frightening off hirds of prey. The proverb means, if the hawk had been allowed to eat his fill of fowl and chicken, he would have become stronger and more dangerous: if evil were left unrestrained we should soon be over^ powered by it,
58.
Nea ogwan do na, ode ne fafa sie.
A sheep puts his white {wool) on his favourite places.
N.B. — Literally, " What a sheep loves {there) he puts his white.** The sheep is supposed to be spotted, and the white is considered prettier than the black. The meaning is, you will bestow your best upon those you love.
59.
Obi ye ne biribi-a, mnoia onye, na own ben. When a person does his something (i. e., hU bunness), \ let him do it, for death is coming on.
N.B. — Meaning, let every one do what he pleases, as life is short, it is little matter how he acts, all will be the same a hundred years hence ; it is a characteristic negro sentiment, showing their indo- lence^ nonchalance, and improvidence.
60.
Kahn kontromfi-a, ne yirr *awn, na vasiw atimnn; na wo vansan de, wofa hn dent
I have seen a baboon (cynocephalus), whose wife was
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80 WIT AND WISDOM EBOM WEST ATBIGA.
dead, and he wore long hair ; but thou, antelope, what ifl
that to thee P
N.B. — The hair is allowed to grow long in sign of mourning, and the proverb appears to be directed against improper meddling with the affidrs of others.
• 61.
Akwanmiuem dew enti na vofl entesn to ensneni-a, aka befa ko.
When in consequence of good news spittle is thrown upon the surface of the water, the '^ aka " will snatch it up.
KB. — ^The "aka** is a river fish : the meaning of the proverb is obscure.
62.
Wo ura tan wo-a na, ofre wo akoa deoe. If jour master hates you, he calls jou a free man. N.B. — Addressed to a slave : by the act of hating you, your master dedares you to be free, for nobody hates his own property.
6a Hu m' eni so mam enti na atyo abien nam. Por the sake of "blow upon my eye for me," two antelopes walk.
N.R— Less literally, * that the one may blow upon the other^s eye, two antelopes walk in company." It means, that in case of one of them getting dust into his eye, the other will remove it by blowing upon it. The general idea conveyed by the proverb is, that asso- ciations are formed for the sake of mutual support.
64.
Obi nhn bi koaberan, encm nsL
Kobody jumps (for joy) on seeing a strong slave of another.
N.B. — Meaning, that you do not rejoice at an advantage in which you yourself have no share.
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PBOTEUBS IK THE OJl TOKOUB« 81 65.
Obi* nto nantyn namon.
Nobody will buy tbe footprints of a bullock.
N.B. — The footprinte of a bullock here representing anything that cannot be turned to use.
66.
Vose: manya,— na vonse nse: yanya.
You say,' " I have,"— not, " We have."
N.B. — Meanmg, that one man is master of a family, not eeveral persons at onee.
67.
Obi do w'a na, oserre wo hu ade.
If any one loves you, he will beg of you.
N.B. — ^Begging is a sign of love, because, according to West African ideas, friendship consists in mutually giving and receiving presents.
68.
Ihia bata bo, eye tya na.
A piece of wood lying close to a stone, it is good to
cut (i.e., it will hear a hhto).
N.K — Meaning, that it is good enough, or strong enough, to bear being cut, to resist a stroke. The idea implied is, '* Even the feeble may be rendered powerful by leaning upon those that can . support them.**
69.
Wagya akoa tya dna, ose; eye merow.
"When your father's slave is chopping wood, he says it
is soft.
N.B. — If he said it is hard, it would sound like a complaint offensive t hla master, and likely to produce evil consequences.
Q
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82 WIT AKD WISDOM FBOH WEST Al-BICA.
West AfricaiiB are astute in practising, regardless of truth, the ml* laid down in this proyerb, yiz., "Accommodate your tongue to time and circumstance."
70.
Wosen mi adidi-a^ misen wo nna.
If you surpass me in eatiog, I surpass you in sleeping.
N.B. — Meaning, do not think that you alone possess all the talents : if you surpass others in one respect^ you are deficient in another.
71.
Wopata adaban abien oe gyem-a, baakon eew.
If you put two pieces of iron together in the fire, one
will be burned.
N.B. — This is addressed to a blacksnuth : if he puts two pieces of iron into the fire at the same time, one will be burned while he is engt^ed in hammering the other. The meaning is, in performing a work, its different parts must be taken in hand in due order; haste, instead of furthering, will defeat its own object.
72.
Se nea atoa te na, boba te.
As the sword is, so is the scabbard.
N.B. — The idea to be conveyed probably is, that two persons associating together may be supposed to be aUke in manners and principles. As we say. Tell me what your friends are, and I will tell you what you are. — ^ Dis-moi qui tu hantes, je te dirai qui tu es."
78.
Ayonkngorr* enti na okoto nnya ti.
In consequence of friends-playing the crab has no
N;B. — Friends-playing means feasting, drinking, dancing, gambling, and similar entertainments, at one's own expense. The
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PBOYERBS nr THE OJI TONGUE. 88
crab ifi said to hare no head, because that member does not project from the body, and the animal is supposed in the proverb to have lost it by " ayonkugorro/' or junketing. A warning is thus en- forced against dissipation, by pointing to its evil consequences. To comprehend the bearing of such admonition, it must be re- membered that West Africans, besides being hard drinkers, are desperate gamblers, who will stake not only their property but their families and themselves. This probably was of more frequent occurrence than at present, during the old slave-trading days of the Qold Coast, yet I have heard of it throughoi^t Africa : in Unya mwezi, during my visit there, a negro staked his aged mother against a cow.
74.
Wohn. koto eni-a, wose ; eye dua.
"Wliea you see the eyes of a crab, you will say they
are spliuters of wood.
N.B. — Being placed on pedicles or stalks, they are compared to splinters. The proverb corresponds with our "Appearances are deoeltfuL" — ^ II ne faut pas juger les gens but la mine."
75.
Esonno afon-a, wongwa no berow so.
Though an elephant be thin, yet you will not carve it
on a palm-leaf.
N.B. — The idea to be conveyed is, that the great and noble, though in a fallen state, are different from those of mean and servile origin, and will not submit to unbecoming treatment.
76.
Broferr'a nnya 'mmerre sorro, na nnya nye de. A papaw-fruit that has not yet ripened on high (i.e., on the tree) is not yet sweet.
N.B. — Meaning, the good qualities of a person or thing cannot appear before going through the usual stages of development, which lead gradually to a state of perfection.
o 2
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84 WIT AKD WISDOM FROM WEST AFRICA.
77. • Wobo aberriki-a na, wohu ne ura fi kwan.
If you beat a goat you will find his master's home's way (i.e., the way to its master^ s house),
N.B. — Because, goats when frighteDed try to run home. The meaning seems to be, " The farthest way about is often the nearest way home ; " or, '' Ingenuity will devise many ways to attain its
78.
Wope aka asem akyere Nyankupon-a na, wokakyerre emfirama.
If you want to tell anything to Heaven, tell it to the wind.
N.B. — The meaning of this saying seems to be the same as that of 77.
79.
Nea womferre no, okoto nea woferre no eki.
He whom you do not respect, will seat himself behind him whom you do respect,
N.B.— In order to seek his protection when you are about to assaU him. The feeble lean for support on the strong.
80.
Eniwa fnfa nknm anuma.
A white eye does not kill a bird.
N.B.— A white eye means a glance of hatred or ill-will. The meaning is, looks may be menacing, but they cannot hurt you.
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PBOTEBBB IN THB OJI TONaUE. 85 81.
Aboa kokoseki kasa kyerre bonnkyerre fo-a, ote.
When the animal vulture speaks to the big drum he
(the latter) hears it.
N.B.— The ** kokoseki," or "pete," is the turkey-buzzard, one of the most useful birds in West Africa, feeding on carrion, and, there- fore, most sacred to the Fetish. The "bonukyerre," or ''boma," is a long but narrow drum, garnished with the skulls of hostile chiefs, and daubed with the blood of human sacrifices : its hollow sounds are heard on all state occasions, and, besides being sacred, it is supposed to be initiated in the mysteries of Fetishism. Hence the meaning seems to be, that members of the secret brotherhoods, of which many exist in West Africa, understand one another, and can communicate by means unknown to the multitude.
82.
Tekrema kro oia tekrena apim-a, eto piti.
If one toDgue meets a thousand tongues, it faints.
83.
Obrofotefo na oma bronni ye aye.
The European-understander (i. e., he who can speak with
the Ewropean) may induce him to do good.
N.R — ^Meaning, may persuade him to give presents, the object ever held in view by West Africans in their intercourse with white men. The proverb informs us, that to get all possible profit out of a person or thing, one must know him or it thoroughly.
84.
Eti ntetew-a, wongyai ekyow sea.
If (j/our) head is not torn to pieces, you do not leave
off wearing a hat.
N.B. — As long as you live you follow the fashion. — " Out of the fashion, out of the world."
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\
86 WIT AKD WISDOM FROM WEST AFRICA.
85.
Ki odidi me ose : ni odidi anadyo, oye baifo.
He who has done eating will say, " He who eats at
night is a sorcerer."
N.B. —Meaning, that a person out of all temptation, iB apt to judge harshly the failings of his neighbours.
• 86.
Obi mmua n'ano onnifo.
Nobody shuts (or shall shut) his mouth who is inno- cent.
87. Dua baakon gye enframa, ebu. One tree receiving (all) the wind, breaks.
N.B. — If the whole force of the wind shaking the forest were directed against one tree, it would overthrow it : collective strength will be triumphant in cases where single resistance would be vain. So the Esopian &ble of the old man and the bundle of sticks. There is no people more keenly alive to the advantages of combination than the West African, and it has long served to defend the negro against more highly intellectual races.
88.
Kontromfi se: oberan i^u ne koko.
The kontromti says, " A strong man dies only from his
chest being hurt."
N.B. — The *' kontromfi," or cynocephalus, is the largest and strongest ape found on the Gold Coast ; * in the proverb it repre-
• M. Riis translates ** kontromfi " by "chimpanzee ;" this, howerer, appears erroneous. M. Zimmermann says, '* a large kiud of monkey (Hnnds-afie ?)." The latter is more probable, as the dog- faced baboon is a iar fiercer and more dangerous animal than the troglodytes, and West Africa is full of stories concerning the attacks of these ferocious
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PB0VBBB8 IK THE OJI TONGUE. 87
sentfl & man "calidua juyent&" — ^in the full enjoyment and con- aciousnesB of his strength, who in battle difldains a wound, unleBB his breast, supposed to be the seat of life, is dangerously hurt.
Kontromfl se, me sninan ni m' eni.
The baboon says, *• My charm is my eye."
N.B.— West Africans are ever provided with " suman" — ** medi- canes for eye," charms or amulets to defend them from sorcerers^ enemies, and dangerous ghosts. The proverb remarks that a biava man will trust for his security to his own strength and vigilance.
90.
Adarre bo bo-a, nankasa na taa. When a hook beats a stone, itself (must) suffer. N.B. — ComiMure with the fable of the earthen pot and the iron pot
91.
Hea oko asu na obo ahinna.
He who fetches water breaks the pot.
N.B.-^When the water-pot comes to grief, it is more likely to be broken by the person who went with it for water, not by one who had nothing to do with it at the time.
92.
Yoton wo-a, wonto tno.
If you (jyourself) are sold, you do not buy a gun.
K.B.— Because one bom a freeman is not sold imless he be deeply indebted, and unable either to pay or to prevail upon others to pay for him.
brutes upon women and even villages. As yet, however, we know so little oonceraing the anthropoid apes of Africa, that '* kontromfi," like the Toruban Nake, may be some new and fierce species resembling the gorilla.
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SB WIT Am) WISDOM FBOM WEST A7BICA.
93.
Osukwase airama nko di Krobo aivn, na yonk3rirre Santeni entoa ekaw.
When a fowl from Osukwaae eats the com of Krobo,
they do not seize a man from Ashante and make him
refund the damage.
N.B.— literally, ** An Osukwaae bird does not go to eat the Krobo com, and they do not catch an Ashante man, pays not the debt.'* Osukwase and Krobo are names of towns. Like No. 54, this means that no one should suffer for the sins of another.
94.
Woko asn amma, vommiia ahinna.
When you go to {fetch) water and do not return,
they do not enquire about the pot.
N.B.— -They ask after you: a trifling loss is not thought of when it is accompanied by a heavy calamity.
Ensu fa Kramo-a, vommisa n'adnrade.
When water takes a Moslem (i.e., token he is droumed), they do not enquire about his dress.
N.B. — " Kramo " and *' Kramofo " are Oji words for a Moslem. The proverb has the same meaning as No. 94.
96.
Wo& abarrima kwanm-a, wo sekan yera.
If you make friends on the road, your knife will be lost.
N.B. — A warning against sudden friendships with stranger8> who may prove deceivers and thieves : a neglect of this amongst the Asiatics doubtless fostered, if it did not create, the system known in England as '* Thuggee."
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:pboterbs nr the oji tongue. 89
97.
Hea n'eni aberre, vommo n'eni su.
He whose eyes are red, they do not beat upon his eyes.
N.B. — Red eyes signify rage, and the meaning ib, that to vex one ah-eady vexed is " oleum addere camino "—to add fuel to fire. The Oji tongue has originally but three words for simple colours : "Tuntrum," black; **fufu," white; and "koko," red, ruddy, yellowish, or brownish-red. Bru for blue has been borrowed from the English. See also No. 208.
98.
Hea obun Tabirifo na, ofa n'entokota.
(The executioner) who kills Tabirifo, gets his shoes.
N.B. — '* Tabirifo" is the proper name of a man of note in Ashante, who was publicly executed. The proverb means, he who does the work should receive the reward.
99.
Hea OYO aka no, osurro sunson.
He whom a serpent has bitten dreads a slow-worm.
N.B. — Sunson is a harmless reptile, believed by West Africans to be blind. The meaning of the proverb is substantially the same as our saying, " The burnt child dreads the fire ; " or, ** The thief doth fear each bush an officer;" but more strongly expressed, signifying that a person who has been injured will not only dread the identical cause or author of his affliction, but even the mere appearance of it. The Hindi proverb is, " He who is bitten by a snake will start at the sight of a rope ; also, " The leaf crackled, and your slave fled."
100.
Hea yahu bi pen^ se voki.
They who have seen a thing once, say they loathe it.
N.B. — Meaning, that you may have too much of a good thing — **ne quid nimis."
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90 WIT Aim WISDOM FBOM WEST Af BICA.
101.
Asaf 0 eni-sa aknra.
Troopa select farm-houses (viz.,/or attack),
N.E — " Akun " is a hamlet in a plantatioii, where the owner keeps hia family and his slayes. It is opposed to " km * (oroom) or ^ man," the town, which is the common centre of a number of planta- tion hamlets^ scattered over a lai^e extent of country. The English croom used for a Gold Ck>ast village is an ignorant corruption of " kru-mu " or " krum/' " in the Tillage." The meaning of the proverb is, the point of attack will be where there is the least resistance and the most 'Moot"
102.
Wo hu edeii-a» wonye ba enn adyuma.
Though strong you will not do the work of two.
N.B. — ^Meaning, that the strength of Hercules or Goliah has its limits.
108.
Akoko eni so brofiia.
A fowl selects a single grain (viz., from a heap of rub- hUh).
N.R — Meaning, that what is good and profitable must be selected from the trash : the smallest thing useful must not be despised.
104.
Atyo abien bono vil
Two small antelopes beat a big one.
N.B^— "Tyo" is a small animal : "vu" or "bobiri" a laiger species. The adage means, '* Union is strong^."
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PEOVBBBS nr THE OJI TOITGUB. 91
105.
Opanyin due ''monte, monte.** A grandee (or elder) practises, " I have not heard ! I have not heard ! "
N.B. — Meaning forbearance. The " empanyin " {plur.) are the elders of a town, forming the council of the caboceer or chief, each having his particular charge, as the ** safohinne " or military chief, the " fotoeanfo ** or treasurer, the ** kyami " or spy and speaker — king's mouth " — ^the "bofo/' messenger, and others ; a system much resembling that of the village republics in Maharatta-land. The meaning of the proverb is, " It does not become the dignified and venerable man to notice every light word and deed."
106.
Hea vode enkokonte se vobedi semmina, wongye n'akingye.
If the eaters of enkokonte say they eat soap, you do not doubt it.
N.B. — " Enkokonte *' is a food resembling native soap : some- timee a man eating it, says waggishly, that he is eating soap. If the person addressed took the assertion in good earnest, he would appear a fooL Hence the meaning seems to be, "A joke must be under- stood as such, not as a serious matter." *
107. Wo ni wo agya akoa tya abe-a, ofre wo ave. When you cut down a palm-tree with the slave of your father, he will call you friend.
N.B. — If you are intimate with your Inferiors, they will lose respect for you. M r. Riis observes that the saying is akin to, though not so strongly expressed as, the English proverb, " Tou cannot touch pitch without being defiled." It is almost equivalent to our saying, " Familiarity breeds contempt."
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92 WIT AlffD WISDOM FROM WEST AFRICA.
108.
Mogya mpa ten tirri mu da.
Blood is never wanting in the horsefly's head.
N.B. — Because the horsefly's business is to suck blood. The proverb is equivalent to, *' A robber's den will never be found empty of stolen goods."
109.
Akara te se nantyu-a, aginamo 'akoa nen. Though a mouse were (as hig) as a bullock, yet it would be the slave of the cat.
N.B. — A bom slave, however he may rise in the world, will ever retain a servile mind.
110.
Atodru asa, enye vonni Akowua entoanu When the powder is gone, it is not that in Akowua's powder-case.
N.B. — Meaning, " When they say all the powder is consumed, they do not include the private store of Akowua," one of the Ashante kings : though others may be in want, he is probably supplied. — *' Nulla regula sine exceptione.''
111.
Osunson se, obenyin ansa na vafi eni; onyini, na ode ne ti peinpem.
The blind- worm said he would grow before he got his eyes ; he is grown, but (jstilT) he wriggles his head about (i.e., to find his way).
N.B. — He is still blind. The meaning is, that youth is the time for study, and if this be neglected, old age will rue it.
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PB0TBBB8 IK THE OJI TONGUE. 93
112.
Ottimfo vro ka-a, ovro fa wo meti. When a strong man pushes your ring, he pushes it to the shoulder.
N.B. — ^''Ka" is a fiDger-ring, or, as in this place, a wrist-ring. The meaning of the saying is, that a man's character impresses itself pon all his actions.
118.
Eni baakon enfye kra, enfye asibe. One eye does not look (at the same time) on a monkey and on a baboon.
N.B. —The '*krd*' and the ''asibe** are different species of the Simiadae. The proverb means, *} Tou cannot do two things at the same time."
114.
Batafo se, enye n^anO/ enye n*ano, na n'ano ara nan.
The hog says, "It is not my mouth! it is not my mouth ! (that has ruined the plantation) ; " but still it is his mouth.
N.B. — The word of a rascal must not be depended upon ; one who will commit a crime will also deny it.
115.
Wonim di-a, di bi, na mii 'niara.
If you eat, eat a portion, but do not eat all.
N.B. — ^''Sit modus in rebus : * in the application of any power, observe moderation.
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94 WIT AlTD WIBDOK TBOM WEST AFBIOA.
lie. Eniwa nnim avirreho. The eye knows nothing of grief.
N.B. — Meaning, it will dose in spite of your sorrow : bodily wants must be satisfied, whatever be the matter with the min(h
117.
Due onanse adi awu, enteknma entra ase, entonkom.
The entekuma will not sit down nor sleep under the very tree, from eating of which the ananse died.
N.B. — '* Entekuma" and ** ananse** are two different kinds of arachnida : the latter, as amongst the Ga people, is a mythic per- sonage, generally called '* Agya Ananse," or Father Spider. Great skill and ingenuity are attributed to him, probably from observing the wonders of the web ; and the people are rich in* ' anansisem ** or Spider stories. The meaning of the proverb is, *' Tou will do well to avoid a thing, per89n, or step, which has been fatal to friend or relative."
118.
Obnsmaketew se: entein eye na ognin eye. The chameleon says, '* Speed is good, and slowness is good."
N.B. — ^Meaning, each is good in its proper time and place.
119.
Ohienni nya ade-a, oman bo.
When a man becomes rich, the town goes to ruin.
N.B.— The parvenu becomes insolent under prosperity. — " Honores mutant mores." — *' Asperius nihil est humili cum surgit in altum." The Hindi proverb is, ** When he had filled his belly he began to vex the poor.**
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PROVERBS JS THE OJI TOKGTJB. 95
120.
Akikire ge: obarrima mferr' agwan.
The tortoise says, A man must not be ashamed to run
away (i.e., when flight u necessary),
JT.B. — So the well-known Hudibrastic lines —
*' He who fights and runs away. Shall live to fight another day."
In the African proverb the words are attributed to the tortoise — the slowest of all animals, and the least likely to profit by flight — in order to make them more emphatical.
121.
Pani nim pam-a, anka ne to nna tokru.
If a needle could sew, it would not have a hole on its
back.
N.B. — This refers to the censorious, who, if really reformers, would begin by ridding themselves of their own defects.
122.
Wotya wo tekrema so toto vi-a na, wonnya nam.
If you cut off from your tongue and roast and eat it,
you have no meat.
N.Bw — ^Meaning, you have gained nothing by this proceeding ; you have acqtiired nothing that you had not before. This saying is pointed at persons who carry on law-suits against members of their own family.
128.
Wode wo ba to Wnawn-a, own.
If you call your child " Death," it will die.
N.B.— -Becaiise, so to call a child would be as it were a challenge to Death by marking it as his property. Hence, the proverb means, " He who wantonly risks a disaster will be visited with it ere long."
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96 WIT^Asi WISDOM FBOH WEST AFBICi.
124,
Odonko nya ade-a, obodam.
When the Donko * becomes rich he runs mad.
N.B. — Similar to Ko. 119, and representing the beggar on horseback riding to the devil.
125.
Esonno tia aflri so-a, enhwan. When an elephant treads upon a spring-trap, it (the trap) does not spring up.
K.B. — ^But it does when a bird treads upon it. The proverb means, ^* The same act performed, or word spoken, by different per- sons, may produce different effects."
* Donko is the name given to the countries and tribes north of Ashante, about the Upper Yolta — ^the so-called Kong Mountains ^and the basin of the Kwara, or Western Niger. Thus it would comprise the mostly Moslem people of Hausa and Bomu, the Fulas and Mandengas, besides the Kafirs of Akyem, Akwamu, and Ayigbe. The land is represented as being well cultivated with wheat and com, and abounding in elephants, tortoises, horses, asses, and camels ; more- over, the Sahara and the European natives dwelling beyond it are known to the people. The Donko slaves are captured by the Ashantes and are sold on the coast, where they are held to be an inferior race, being mostly caught when adult and unable to learn new tongues fluently. They speak, of course, many di£ferent dialects, bo that '*Donko '* cannot be used as thename of any particular language. Some describe them as mild and industrious. M. Riis limits Odonko to ''a negro tribe in the more interior parts of Western Africa, which fur- nishes the Oji tribe with most of their slaves ; the word is therefore equivalent to servile, with the addition, however, that a Donko is considered also as naturally dull and stupid. By a sudden change of fortune he would be so puffed up with conceit as to have his head turned by the emotion.**
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PSOYEBBS IK THE OJI TOKGVS. 97 126.
Okoto ba nvo anuma.
The crab*8 daughter does not bear a bird.
N.B.— The oflfspring follows the parent. Cf. Matth. viL 16 — 18, ** Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? " The Accra proverb says, " The crab does not beget a bird."
127.
Obi mfa afetrefetre enko Huam.
Nobody carries foreskins to Hua.
N.B. — Hua is a country lying east of the Volta River, and called Ayigbe or Aigbe, by the people themselves, who speak the Ewe dialect. The Huafo as well as the Andanme and the Enkranfo* or Ga tribes, practise keteafo, *^ cutting short," or circumcision, which may be derived from the Moslems, to judge from the age of the patients. It is performed by persons of a certain class, (not a priest) when the boys are twelve or fourteen years of age. The act does not seem to bear a religious character. Mr. Zimmerman denies the existence of circumcision, utriusqm texus, such as prevails throughout Islam — Egypt, for instance. On the other hand, the accurate Bosman (" Description of the Coast of Guinea," Letter 18,) expressly asserts that ''some girls are here liable as well as the boys." The rite is held in great disdain by the Ashante and Oji people, who call it Tt/etia, The above saying, " To carry, foreskins to Hua^" is equivalent to our " Carrying coals to Newcastle.'*
128.
Hea otya wo tyetia, enni wo adyom pa.
He who circumcises you will not [exactly) make good
carpenter's work.
N.B. — Meaning, from skill in one branch of work, you cannot infer the same in another.
* Accra calls itself " Ga," and is known to the Oji people as Bnkran. The word also signifies, in Oji, a kind of black ant popularly knovn as the *' driver'* : thus it is an error to translate Accra — probably a corruption of Enkran — the land of White ants.
H
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98 WIT AND WISDOM PEOM WEST AFRICA.
129.
Enkyiexme nse nehu nse; miye de. The salt will not say of itself, " I have a pleasant taste."
N.B. — Meaning, that self-praise is no reoommendation. 180.
Aben enye de-a na; etna nip^ano. Though a horn has a bad sound, yet it is applied to a man's mouth.
K.E — Though one of your family be disagreeable, yet do not break with him.
181.
Magnm na kmn dom. Beinforcement beats the foe.
N.R— " L'union fait la force." 182.
Ehwynnne nya na eniwa nya.
When the nose gets (a ihing)^ the eyes get (it tod).
N.B. — When one of a family becomes rich, the others hope to share in his wealth.
133.
Ekwai 'agye wo, womfre no akwaiwa.
A forest that has sheltered you, you will not call a shrubbery. I
N.B.— You will not detract from the merits of a benefactor. i
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PBOVBRBS IW THE OJI TONGITE. 99
184.
Ohienni bu be-a, ence.
When a poor man makes a proverb it does not spread.
N.B. — On the Qold Coasts and in pagan Africa generally, poverty, aa in England, Jb not a misf ortnne, but a crime.
135.
Obi nsoma bi afiri fye, na annma nkasa no. When a person is sent to look at a snare, the bird does not upbraid him.
N.B. — ^Because the person does not come of hiB own accord : a aJave ia not culpable lor what he does at his master's command.
isa. Aberriki se: nea abogya bum vo no, ebo na adidi vo. The goat says, *' Where much blood is, feasting goes on."
N.R — ^A feast is referred to for which eatables are collected : these attract to the spot goats^ and the proverb is put into the hircine mouth because the animals are ever wandering about the town seeking fodder. The proverb corresponds with the Scriptural say- ing, " Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." — Matth. xziy. 28.
137.
Hnipa iniara de anka gwarre-a, von bu ye, cwam; na abobo se oko da so, na ne bu bon.
Everybody who washes himself with lemon juice, be- comes sweet-scented : therefore the Ahoho said he would go upon (the lemon tree) and live there, but still he stinks.
K.B. — ^These negroes wash themselves from head to foot at least once a day, and alter washing rub their bodies with lime-juice to
H 2
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100 WIT AITD WISDOM TBOM WEST APBIGA.
remove the bouquet cTAfrique, The Ahoho is a red ant of pecaUarly ill Bavour, generally found in lime and orange trees. The meaning IB, ** No remedy will affect innate and inveterate vices." Ct *' Cin the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots!" — Jer. ziii. 28.
188.
Voni yanom-a, vomfre yanom.
If you have no comradeSi you do not call for (tfour)
comrades.
N.6. — Referring to enterprises which cannot be carried oat save by the combined exertions of a number. Thus the meaning would be, ''You must not count upon means that are not at your disposal, — cut your coat according to your doth."
189.
Aboa no n' anom ye no de-a, onvi ne konmda.
Though the beast is dainty-mouthed, it does not eat
its colla>bell.
N.6. — ^ThiB alludes to dogs : though fond of dainties, they do not eat the ornaments fastened round their necks. The meaning seems to be, " Even greediness does not rush blindly upon every- thing nice and attractive."
140.
Obi ntutu anuma, enko kyerre panyin.
Nobody plucks a bird, which he is going to show to an
old man (i.e., in order to ask its name).
K.B. — By plucking it he would defeat his own object, as the old man would no longer be able to identify the bird.
141.
Opoiiko agyimi-a, nea ote no so, ongyimie.
Because a horse is a fool, he who rides it is no fool.
•N.B.— Meaning, that the defects or vices of a dependent are not to be attributed to his master.
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PB0TEBB8 IS THB OJI T0NGT7B. 101
142.
Vonam ba enn stuh afiri-a, vonam ba enn na ko fye. If jou lay a snare in company, jou go in company to look at it.
N.B.— 'If any one ahares with you in a work, he should share with you in its reward.
143.
Biribi nko ka empopa, enye krada. If nothing touches the palm-leaves they do not rustle. N.B. — There is no smoke without fire.
144.
Ski 86 obekon-a, o ni n* akomfodL
When Eki says he will not fight {he means) himself
and his party.
N.B. — Eki is the name of a man, famous prohably as a hardy warrior.
145.
Ohienni asomen ni batafose.
The poor man's ivory is a hog's-tooth.
N.B. —A hog's tooth is as valuable to a poor man as an ele- phant's tooth to a rich man.
146.
Ahine tew empanyin enim-a, enyera. If a string of pearls breaks in the presence of grown- up people, nothing is lost.
N.B. — The string of pearls is worn by a child : nothing is lost, because those present will gather up the beads ; but the child, if alone, would leave and lose them. The proverb means, '* That if prudent people are at hand, they will take means to avert the evil consequences of a disaster."
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102 WIT JlKd wisdom teom wbst ajbioa.
147. Aboa bi do srade-a, osna prako.
When an animal fattens, it learns from the pig.
K.E — Meaning, that when one is the author and inventor of an art, thoee who practise it do so in imitation of him, not by their own inrention.
148.
Okwan varre-a, vode von nanna tya, enye abonna.
When a way is long you shorten it with your feet, not with a hatchet.
N.B. — There is a pun on this proverb; "tya " meaning to cut off as well as to paas over or through. The meaning is, " Tour means must be suited to your ends."
149.
Ano patiruw-a, esen namon.
When the mouth stumbles it is worse than the foot.
N.B. — A wrong word — "nescit vox missa reverti" — may be more harmful than a blunder in action.
150.
Hmofra nko tu-a, yanhn tn ; empanyin enko tu-a, Totiatia so.
When boys were to reap, they did not understand it ; when old people were to reap, they trampled about (the land).
N.B. — The proverb is applied to the difficulty of settling a quarrel : some want the necessary prudence and experience, whilst others, from whom better things might be expected, side with one party and increase the evil instead of allaying it.
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PBOTZBBS Df THE OJI TOKaUE. 103
161.
Vose: ko man ko to,— na vonse nse ; ko man ko sen. They say, " Go into a town to settle ; " and they do not say, " Go into a town to boast.*'
N.R — ^This IB addressed to those who leave their native land, and settle in another : they ought to join the people with whom they live, and not pride themselves upon retaining their own manners and customs, or attempt to set up new rules.
152.
Wokon enkran na nko-a, wontyorre abe ngum.
When yon endeavour to drive the " drivers," and they will not give way, you do not peel palm-nuts and throw among them.
K.B.— Enkran, the " driver ant," has been alluded to in No. 127. It is a small black ant» which marches in line, bites severely, attacks houses destroys all the smaller animals, and has, it is said, over- powered and killed hunters when, torpid with ^tigue, they have &]len asleep in the bush. West Africans oppose their progress by fire, and palm-nuts attract them. Hence, the meaning of the pro- verb is, " When you are anxious to attain an object, you will not do anything that will have the opposite effect : you will not attempt to extinguish a flame by pouring oil upon it."
153.
Vea okem gye, ni me.
What hunger desires is repletion.
N.R — The meaning is, that every want requires its particular satisfaction.
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104 WIT AHD WISDOM TBOM WX8T AFBICA.
164.
Okwasia na ne g^wan tew empen abien. {He is) a fool whose sheep runs away twice.
N.B. — ^Because he was not warned by one miflhap to secnre Ids property. The meaning is^ ** He is a fool indeed who cannot learn even from experience.*'
155.
Osekanfiia na g^e nehn abofra ensem.
The blade of a knife resists in the hand of a boj.
N.B. — It resists or defends itself, %,€,, it will wound him that sports with it. The meaning is either " Let the inexperienced keep aloof from dangerous things, and not meddle with edged tools,** or " Things useful in themselves may prove perilous to those who ignore their use."
156.
Wotan wo ni-a, woin£Ei no mma dom Though you dislike your relation, you will not deliver him to the army {of the enemy).
N.B. — Amongst West Africans the dislike to a relative rarely amounts to real hate, prompting hostility and a desire of destruction. This, perhaps, is one of the prerogatives of semi-civilised over a more highly cultivated society.
157.
Dna kontonkye na ma yehu dyomfo. A crooked stick makes us know (i.e., hetrayi) the carpenter.
K.B.— It shows him to be a bad craftsman : by the quality of the work you judge the skill of the man.
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PBOTEBBS IS THE OJI TONGUE. 105
158.
Obi se obefro dunsin-a, ma omforro na; oko so enim asan aba.
When a person sajs that he will climb up the tree- stump (whose houghs have been cut of), let him climb : he will go to-the face (i.e., the top), and return.
N.B. — Another allasion to the lausez dUer and nonchalance of the West African.
]59.
Bfea Ota wo ommere-a, wo-a wog^wan wonse; mabre. If he who pursues you is not tired, you who are flying will not say, " I am tired."
K.6. — ^Danger will stimulate a man to the utmost exertion.
160.
Akokonini se : to tamfo enkn-a, anka mabon anadyo, na yakummi.
The cock says, " Suppose enemies only (i. e., if all were
my enemies), I should have crowed in the night, and should
have been killed.
N.B. — The crowing of a cock in the middle of the night is con* fiidered by West Africans a bad omen, and the animal is forthwith killed. The meaning is, "A general hostile disposition towards a person who has no friends or protectors, will soon find a pretext for effecting his ruin."
161.
Ese ncia na, vofre no gyaw.
When the teeth do not meet (i.e., touch), it is called a
gap-
N.R — ^"Gyaw" is the gap which many people show between the two upper incisors. The meaning of the proverb is obscure.
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106 WIT AlTD WISDOM PBOM WEST AFBICA.
162.
Okroboni ba ngwan kokotem kwn. The son of a Krobo man does not run through the com without cause.
N.B. — Krobo (Croboe) is a town built at the foot* of a rocky mountain, with a steep and difficult ascent : it serves for a fortress in time of war, and has preserved the people from a foreign yoke. Hence, to see the son of a Krobo man flying through the corn-fields in the plain, would be an extraordinary event, announcing some great and unexpected distress.
163.
Okro Yoharre no afa enn. ,' A canoe is paddled on both sides.
N.B. — ^Measures taken to effect a purpose, in order to be effica- cious must be complete.
164.
Aginamoa wn-a, enknra yem. When the cat dies, the mice rejoice.
N.B. — The subjects rejoice at the tyrant's death ; and, as we say, '* When the cat is away, the mice play."
165.
Osncefa vommna.
A half-roof they do not put on (i.e., you do not put a half-roof upon a house).
N.B. — k work must not be left half done.
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PBOYEBBS IS THE OJI T0WOT7E. 107
166.
Ti kro nko agiima.
One head does not go to a standiog (i. e., constitute a
consultation),
N.B. — "Aginzia" properly means the act of going apart, or, more exactly, of standing apart from the general assembly. By im- plication, it denotes a committee, a consultation of sereral persons f omung a particular party, who have retired from a greater assembly to converse apart This would be wholly unnecessary where one person only is concerned. So the Italian, ** Tre donne ed mi, oca non fanno un mercato."
167.
Wo eni nkom-a na, wose : minnya daberre.
When joa are not sleepy, you saj, " I have no sleeping-
plaoe."
N.B.— When you are sleepy, you will be content with any place. The meaning is, " Necessity supersedes fastidiousness."
168.
Aduan bi-a vonni no, vonnoa. Food, which jou will not eat, jou do not boil. N.B. — ^Tou will not work without an object.
169.
Ohoho nsoa fonnn ti.
A stranger does not cany the head of a corpse. N.B.— The chief place will not be given to a stranger.
170.
Omamferenni nnyin kronkron. A foreign settler does not grow pure (i.e., never becomes a native).
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108 WIT XWD WISDOM TBOM WKBT AFBICA.
171.
Ohia 'ka wo, na woti abete-a, edan fim. If, when a£9icted with poverty, you eat Abete, it torus to herbs.
N.B. — * Abete" is a delicate food prepared from the flour of Indian com. The meaning is, that poverty embitters every enjoy- ment.
172.
Obi ngyai esoimo ekidi, enko di aserredna eki. Nobodj leaves off pursuing an elephant in order to pursue the aserredua (a small bird).
N.B. — Tou do not relinquish a great object for a trifling one.
178.
Wo ti ben wo, na wonya wo twyerre-a, vode bom hoara.
Though, when going to receive your blows (i.e., the punishment you have incurred for some offence) ^ your head aches, yet they strike you in that very place.
N.B.— The meaning seems to be, " Justice is executed without regard to circumstances."
174.
Fa torn! 7a torn! na eye adesoa. " Lay on ! lay on ! " makes a load. N.B.— The repeated addition of small things wiU make at last a heavy load ; many a little makes a mickle.
175.
Anini abien enna bon.
Two males (viz., leasts of prey) do not live in one den.
N.B. — A house or a family has but one master.
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PBOYEBBS Hr THE OJI TONGUS. 109
176.
Obi nso dai enko nea vobeknm no.
Haying dreamed, nobody will go where they will kill
him.
N.B. — When a man dreama that he will be killed at a certain place, he will not ^o there : warnings must not be despised.
177.
Sikaadynma biara nye aniwu.
Gold work (i.e., tmy warJcfor gold) is no shame.
K.B.— Bather a shameful saying.
178. Aknntoma knntim n' afe, na onkimtiin empanyin. A bully fights with his peers, not with grandees.
179.
Anop* anom bon, na asempa na vom.
In the morning the mouth smells, but there are good
words in it.
N.B. — Morning is held the best time for deliberating on matters of consequence.
180.
Anadyoboa nno aonwa.
Night venison (i. e., game caught at night) is not fiat.
N.B. — Because at such time you cannot judge between the good and the bad. The proverb means, " Things got at random are rarely valuable." It is our buying a pig in a poke.
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110 WIT AND WISDOM FROM WEST AFBICA.
181.
Sika ye fe, na opegyafo ye na.
Gold is pretty, but the heir is rare.
N.Bb — ^Where there are riches, an heir is often wanting : earthly happiness is never so complete but that it has some drawback.
182.
Wodi soa ensa, fye wo ensa.
When you eat a monkey's hand, look at your (ottm) hand.
N.B. — ^When you enjoy yourself at the expense of others, remem- ber that you are liable to the same misfortune.
188.
Okwasia na ose: vode me yonku na Tonne mi.
A fool says, " My friend is meant, not I."
N.B.— Because he refers a warning, meant for himself, to another man, and neglects to profit by it.
184.
Ohimmone ni bebi, na obofo bonne na vo bebi. There is nowhere a wicked prince, but there are wicked ambassadors.
N.B. — When, in a transaction between two princes, anything goes wrong, it will be laid to the charge of the ambassadors, however much the fault is in the princes themselves. Quidquid delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi.
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PBOTEBBS IS THE OJI TONGinfi. Ill
186.
Vnipa pa bi ko sa, vanhn ano, na gyamakntrokn II Brave men who went to the war did not see the end
(i.e., could not hri/ng it to a successful issue), and a coward P
( — what can he expected of him ?),
186.
Oman tya wo sama, vompopa.
When the town ornaments your hair, they (your reh' fives) will not disorder (or efface) it.
N.B. — "Ornament'* means, properly, catting out figures on a person's head by the hair being remoYed imequaUy. " When the town,** &C., i.e., when it is done by a publio decree to confer honour on you, your friends will take pride in it.
187.
Asom ni enkwanta.
The ear has not a double way (i. e., two ways).
N.B. — ^You can hear only one thing at a time. The saying is applied when a man is addressed by more than one person at once.
188.
Okwadn 8e: wammere na wodidi-a, enye di The antelope says, " When you eat without being tired, it has no relish.''
N.B.— If a meal is to be really enjoyed, it must be preceded by exertion and fatigue — cibi condimentum fames est. The words are attributed to the antelope, because it is always running about.
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112 WIT AKD WISDOM FBOIC WEST ATBICA.
189.
Annma de ako ni aba na nyuime berrebiL
Bj going and coming, a bird weaves its nest.
N.R — A great work is not completed at onoe, bat by repeated exertion. Borne was not built in a day.
190.
Vonnya awnrn-a, vontew no so ham ma.
As long as you have not got the tortoise, you do not cut the string for him.
N.B. — Do not dispose of a thing till you have it in your power.
191.
Woko fa bi atope ko ye adynma, woeoooro so ko to no ho.
When you take another man's hoe to work with, you
must wash it, and put it back in its place.
K.B. — ^A thing borrowed must be carefully restored, and in good condition.
192.
Wokom wodeapa, woto wo yonkude.
When you destroy yours, you join your friends.
N.B. — Meaning, probably, that one who has squandered his own property, will attach himself to his friends, and subsist on their means.
198.
Obi nhu tumm, enti em.
Kobody looks at something black, and steps into It.
N.B. — "When you see an impending calamity, which you may avoid, you will not rush into it.
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PEOYSBBS IS THE OJI TONGITB. 113
194.
Wo eni rebo-a wonse nse : mild te.
"When your eye is going to ruin, yon will not say, " I
liate ophthalmia.*'
N.R — You will not reprove in another person a defect with which you yoursell are strongly affected. Our "fellow-feeling," &c.
195.
Onya nya nehn-a, onom nyanknensn. When a slave becomes a free man, he will drink rain- water.
N.B. — From lazineas; because other water must be fetch from a distance. I commend this truly African proverb — showing that the emancipado is incapable of moderation in the use of his liberty-T-to the consideration of all real philanthropists. It is easy to see that if a man will not labour even for his own wants, they do him a service who compel him to work.
196.
Obi amma m' amo-a, mirema mehn amo. When a person neglects to congratulate me, I con- gratulate myself.
K.B. — Trifling neglects of respect must not be taken to heart, but passed over in good humour.
197.
Otam abirri-a, woncew yi
Though your coat is dirty, you do not bum it.
N.R — When a thing has a defect, you will not destroy, but mend it.
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Ill WIT AND WISDOM FROM WEST AFBIOA.
198.
Opitri memenne-a, omemenne ma oura.
When the Pitri absorbs (the soup), he does it for his
master.
N.R — ^The Pitri is a river fish, of which soup is xoade. In ap- pearanoe, (he quantity of the soup is reduced by being absorbed in the fish ; but in reality it is only a transfer, the part that disappears being contained in the soup. The meaning is, '' What you spend in improving your property, is not lost, though temporarily your means are diminished by it."
199.
Ohinne nye de-a, fye nea osafohinne rekyere. When the prince does not please (you), see how the general appears.
N.6. — If you cannot agree with one person, go to another.
200.
Obi ntn mere ensie siw so.
Nobodj gathering mushrooms replaces them on the ant-hill.
N.R — Mushrooms most frequently grow on ant-hiBs, the red- clay structures of the termites, conical heaps 8 to 12 feet high : there- fore the first person coming to the place would approfoiate them, not thinking that they belonged to anybody.
201.
Obi akoa di Ahimma, voahimma no kwa. Thoagh a slave's name be " Flog,'* yet you do not flog him without cause.
N.B. — Meaning, perhaps, that, however vicious a man be, he may not be punished except for some special act.
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P&OYEBBB IK THE OJI TOVOTJfi. 115
202.
Ankonam di atro/
Who travels aloae tells lies.
N.B. — ^To establiflh the truth of a statement, two witnesses at least being required. The Persian proverb is, " Jeh&n dideh bisy^ goyad durogh *' (" Whoso seeth the world, telleth many a lie "). So our " traveUers' tales."
208.
Obi bema wo adnan adi-a na, ode ampesi di wo adanse.
When anybody prepares food for you, he testifies to
you by Ampesi (i.e., he pves you some Ampesi to try it
N.R — By " Aduan'* is meant the common food of the Gold Coast) called Fufu. Tarns or plantains are cut to pieces^ and boiled, in which prepared state they are termed ** AmpesL" They are then pounded in a wooden mortar (vod/ni) till they become a tough, doughy mass {fufu). A round lump of this is put into the palm-nut soup {enkwan\ popularly called " palm-oil-chop," and eaten with it^ The meaning of the proverb is, that one who would benefit you, usually gives a foretaste of his kindness ; or, more generally, that « coming events cast their shadows before."
204.
Mosia kokwaw entem-a, vode wo kon anwam. K thou, pebble, hastenest to become smooth, they will fight the anwam with thee.
N.R — ^'^ Anwam" is the name of a large bird that feeds on pahn-nuts ; and pebbles serve for buckshot when smooth and round. Many men have sufficient strength and talents to be useful, but for some defect or vice which prevents them from turning their powers to advantage.
I 2
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116 WIT AND WISDOM FBOM WEST ATBIOA..
205.
Obea tenten so* abe-a, onwam di.
When a tall woitaan carries palm-nutSy the birds will
eat them.
N.B. — ^It is man's work to cultiyate the fields, woman's to cany home the produce, which is balanced upon the head. The proverb accounts for why the latter sex is shorter than the former : it is necessary for the station and occupation allotted to it.
206.
Adesa okoko bin.
In the evening (even) a red man is black.
N.R — Ab in Europeans there is a difference between a blonde and a brunette, so the West Africans distinguish amongst themselves black {tuntum) and red (koko) negroes, the skin of the former being of jetty hue, that of the latter a ruddy brown. The meaning of the proverb is, that drcumstances level inequalities.
207.
Woferre-a, wofon.
When you pine (under diigrace and canien^i) you fade. N.B.— Mental uneaoness will break down a man's strength.
208.
Voseoma ba nimadefo, na vonsoma namontenten.
They send an intelligent man (as messenger) ; they do not send a long-step (i.e., one who is able to uxdhfasf).
N.R— As the West Africans ignore writing, a messenger is always the negotiator of the object for which he is sent ; hence, in selecting him^ mental qualifications are regarded rather than bodily strength.
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PBOYEBBB IK THE OJI TOKGITB, 117
Apopokiki fl ensuase se odenkyem yarre-a, vong^e n* akingye.
If an Apopokiki, irom the bottom of the river, says that
the crocodile is sick, it will not be doubted.
N.B. — The Apopokiki is a river fish, whose statement 'will not be discredited because he comes from the very place where the crocodile lives. The meaning is, that the testimony of an eye-witness will be credited.
210.
Wonnim asaw-a na, wose: akyinne nye de.
If you cannot dance, you wUl say, " The drum is not
agreeable."
N.B. — ^You pretend to despise what you are not able to enj6y : " The grapes are sour."
211.
Aferr* enti na odomanin ti bo akyinne hn.
On account of shame (i. e., hein^ ashamed to flee), the
war-chief's skull sticks on the drum.
N.B. — ^The skulls of hostile chiefs and war captains, who are takeQ prisoners or are killed in battle^ are fixed in trophies to the big drum. The proverb points out the dangers of ambition.
212.
Akoa nkyerre nnannua.
A slave does not show the timber.
N.B. — The " timber '' here means the forest-trees fit to be used as timber. A slave will not point out where they are, because, when they are found, he will have the trouble of cutting them down, and
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118 WIT AND WISDOM TBOM WXBT APBXOA..
of carrying them home. The meaning of the proverb is, that a person -will not prosecute an imdertaking from which he expects- more trouble than profit.
218.
Akoa mpaw ura.
A slave does not choose his master.
214.
Obaakon enye barrima. A man alone is no hero.
N.$. — ^One person alone will not effect great things : to accom- plish an object, the united efforts of many are required.
215.
Abe berre-a, woso fat miso fk
When the palm-nuts are ripe, you carry half, I carry half.
N.B. — Each of us must take an equal share of the trouble as well as the produce.
216.
Adi ama ni adi ama na agorro. Mutual entertainment is {fair) play.
N.B. — More literally, " To eat and to give, to eat and to give, (m) a play."
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PR0YBBB8 IS THS OJI TOITOITX. 119
217.
Onyanflafo na tya akwamio.
An expert man cuts the roots in the road.
N.B. — " Akwamio " are the roots of trees ninning across the road, and cut away to render it more level. Some superstition attaches to this act« which must be performed according to certain rites, and by a man acquainted with them, otherwise evil would result The meaning of the proverb is, " A business of importance must be performed by a man of skill and experience."
218.
Eniwn na tan onipa, na aso de entan onipa.
The eye envies — not the ear.
N.B. — The eye gives the occasion for envy and hate; even a good and affable man is often disliked, his kind words being disre- garded, and jealous looks being cast upon his talents or his pos-
219.
Tepe-na yebehu enti na yekekyirre boa.
To find (a thinff) when we want it, we make a parcel. N.R— Showing the necessity of order and arrangement.
220.
Kontromfi se : vooe m* afonnom-a na, meyi asem pa ma ka makyerow.
The baboon says, ''If jou put something into my
month (i.e., pve me something to eat), then I will produce
a good word, and tell you."
N.B. — Probably meaning that good advice deserves a recom- pense ; also, that no man does anything graH$ for his neighbour.
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120 WIT AITD WISDOM TBOM WEST APBICA.
221.
Dna bevo wo eni no yobn 80» na yonsen ano. When a piece of wood threatens to pierce your eye, they will blunt it, and not point it.
KB. — Tou will endeayour to counteract^ not to incieasoi an impending danger.
222.
Onantefo na odi ade, eye de.
What a foot-traveller eats, tastes well.
N.B. — ^Because he is hungry^ and hunger is the best sauce.
Ekru ntntn afa enn.
A wound does not pain at two halves (i. e., on both tides of the body),
N.B. — A calamity is felt only in the quarter visited by it.
224.
Wo sika ye wo yaw-a, na wokon-a, wonyi dom. If your gold pains you, and you fight (i.e., if in war you grudge your gold), you will not conquer the enemy.
N.R — Gold must be spent in gaining friends and confederates. If a great object is to be accomplished, you must put to work all your means and energies.
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PBOYEBBS IN THE OJI TONeUE. 121
225.
Owa adarre nnow fa akon.
Death's sickle cuts not in one half onlj (hut univer- gaily).
N.R— The " Adarre " ia a kind of bill-hook used by West Africans for cutting down the bush. We must Anglicize it by "sickle" or "scythe."
226.
Etna wo yonkn hn-a, etna dna.
If another suffers pain, (to you) a piece of wood suffers.
N.R — Tou are not affected by it : it is as if a piece of wood had the pain. This is a characteristic saying, showing the practical selfish* ness and feelinglessness of the wild West African, who, when tamed by slavery, becomes one of the most tender of men. Dr. Johnson's favourite dogma was, '' Everybody is indifferent to another's pains and pleasures : " but his practice was diametrically opposed to his preaching.
227.
Anka berre ko, enye de.
A lemon that grows in ripening, is not agreeable (i.e., does not taste well).
N.B. — A thing must be mature before all its good qualities appear.
Obi nsen fasu okotokn sen. No one excels a wall in bearing bugs. N.B. — In coarse work the most stupid may be the best
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122 WIT AITD WISDOM FBOM WIST AFSIGA.
229.
Voknra w* a, wo virr* afi enkekaw. When they hold you (i.e., when you are eaughi)^ you forget to bite.
N.B.— At the critical moment the boaater hangs his head.
230.
Nea vo dom ensem na oyi ma. What is in his hand, the enemy (can) give away. N.B. — He cannot diapoBe of what is not in his power.
281.
Obi mfa enkodasem ensisi kontromfi.
Nobody will deceive a baboon by tricks.
N.B. — ^Becauae the beaat is a master of tricks: you cannot defeat a man on his vantage-ground.
Ese tenten enni ese akotia edidi baakon.
Long teeth and short teeth eat the same food.
N.B.— Though there are different states and conditions amongst men, their ultimate lot is the same.
288.
Aberrewa, w* ano ye den-a, g^e wo ban.
Old woman! if your mouth is {so) hard (i.e., if your
tongue is so sharp) ^ make your fence (yourself) »
N.B.— " Ban " is the fence separating the house-yard from the street : it consists of palm-branches, and often requires repair. Old women, who cannot do that themselves, have it done by the kind- ness of others. The meaning of the proverb is, " Those who claim the assistance of others, should at least be civil to them."
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FBOTIBBB m THB OJI TOSQITB. 128
2d4.
Woto pra, wato nam.
If you have found an armadillo, you have found meat.
N.B. — ^The meat being in the armadillo : bo, if you sit by a well, you will not aearoh for water.
235.
Ete Yopirre no mmaakon nimaakon.
A head they defend it one by one.
N.& — Or, less literally, "Each man defends his own head:" ereiy person must take care of his own concerns.
286.
Abofra anhu' gwadi-a na, asia nyera. If a boy does not understand bartering, he does not (jat least) lose the gold-weights.
N.B. — When bartering, West Africans use cowries and gold- dust, and, for the latter, scales are carried by traders. '' Asia" is one of the gold-weights. A boy {or slave) who understands the work may be a source of gain to his master, but it may also happen that he loses some of the valuables which he carries with him. If he cannot be employed in trading, there is no chance of either gain or loss. The meaning of the proverb seems to be, that everything has its light and its dark side.
287.
. Wo na waye akoko den, na dyonso abo nof
You, what haye you done to the fowl, that it is affected
with strangury ? "
N.B. — Mr. Riis remarks, *" The application of this odd proverb is difficult to guess." It is doubtless a wise saying, but somewhat too dark.
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124 WIT Aim WIBBOIC EBOM WEST AFBIOA.
288.
Okekyefo ade enknra na di The mice eat the miser's goods.
Aniima niflrifo vode emposai na yi no.
A sharp-sighted bird is caught by Emposai.
N.B. — ^"Emposai" is the withered bark of the plantain-tree, which is spread over to hide the snare. The meaning is, ** By strata- gem even a cunning man may be caught."
240.
Hna abete yodi n* abusuam.
Huaabete they eat at home.
N.B. — "Abete" is a delicate food of Indian com: the best is made by the people of Hua (No. 127), who keep it for home con- sumption. Thus, the saying means, " You keep the choicest things for your own use and enjoyment."
241.
Adaanfyem enti na Obronni tn ko AbrokirrL
On account of .food-looking-into (i.e., intrusive eur
rio8itff)y white men went off to Europe.
N.B. — The West Africans naturally suppose that man was created in their country, and that at first whites and blacks all dwelt together. The former, however, were so much molested by the negroes, who were ever looking into their food and prying into their actions, that they emigrated from Africa to Europe. The proverb is a warning against over-curiosity, which may annoy othen beyond endurance. Some of the converted negroes thus explain the dififei^ enoe of complexion : — Cain was a black man, but when rebuked by the Creator for murder, he turned pale with fear : hence the white colour. This is indeed " tit for tat.'*
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PBOTEBBB IK THE OJI TOITGUE. 125
242.
Obofo mmofira hn nye fe.
A miscreant's fellows are not pretty.
N.B. — ^Meaning, that people do not like to look upon them : they are unwelcome^ and are dreaded wherever they appear.
Wokusa ode bebrebe-ai eprim. If you roast the yam too much, it will be burnt. N.B. — Omne niminm nocet : ne quid nimis.
244.
Kokoseki mpe fl aba, anka onsisi snmana so.
If the vulture 4id not wish to come into the town, he
would seat himself upon the Sumana-heap.
N.B. — " Sumana" is the huge heap of sweepings found at the end or outskirts of every negro town, and turkey-buzzards often perch upon it. The meaning seems to be, " If you constantly ap- proach a thing, it is a sign that you have some design upon it."
245.
Obi mfa ado koko, ensisi baifo. Nobody will deceive a witch by anything red. N.B. — Because her craft will prevent her being deceived.
246.
Akoa nya nehn-a, ofre nehu Sonneni.
When a slave is emancipated, he will call himself a
Sonneni (i.e., a nobleman),
N.B. — Amongst the numerous families with which the Oji- tribe is divided, the Sonna is the highest. When l^e freedman
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126 WIT i.lfD WISDOM TBOSC WEST A7BI0A.
calls himaelf Sonneni (Le., vMoffht 5ofina), the meaning is, that he is BO much elated by hiB new condition, as to loee all power over himaelf, and to claim the most exalted rank. Our " beggar on hone- back."
247.
Obi deoe ko stun-a na, vofre no afanna. When a (Jree) woman takes service, she ia called a slaye.
KB. — ^Meaning .that a person is estimated by what he is, not by what he was.
248.
Obi tan wo-a na, obo w' aboa.
When a person hates you, he wHl beat jonr animals.
N.Bb— Hate extends to the relations and all belonging to the person hated. Conversely we say, '' Love me, love my dog." Qui m'aime, aime mon ohien.
249.
Ohantani na ki nipa.
A haughty person hates man.
250.
Ofiatyafo, ebeka wo enkn.
Ton, traitor ! will be left to yourself,
N.B.— Knowing that you cannot be trusted, nobody will have anything to do with you.
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PBOYEBBS IS THE OJl TONGUE. 127
251.
Wo emfefo som asra na wansom bi-a, ete se w* aivurow awn.
When youp comrades take snuff, and you do not, it
looks as if your naUs were dead (i.e., spoiled),
N.B. — Meaning, you must follow the fiuihion : by opposing it, you excite suspicions injurious to your character.
252.
Odokonno bodam-a, onenam senm.
When the bread runs round, it dances it in the pot.
N.B. — " Dokonno ** is bread of Indian com, not baked, for that is forbidden by Fetish law, but boiled, according to the usage pre- valent in Akwapim. The proverb probably means, " In a state of excitement the staidest person will behave wildly."
253.
Okwankyen mako se : wobebu mi-a, bn, na meyaw mi.
The roadside pepper-bush (i.e,,pepper-hu9h hy the road-
tide) says, " If you will break me, break ; but do not
abuse me."
N.B. — ^If you are resolved to ruin a man, do it ^t once, without tormenting him by reproaches : do not add insult to injury.
254.
Atem ba na, abebn ba.
When the occasion comes, the proverb comes,
N.B.— Occasion, i.e., the incidents of life which call forth the proverb, and to which it refers.
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128 WIT AND WISDOM TSOlf WB8T ATBIOA.
255.
Ehia nipa, ma vomfa no nko.
When a man is in distress, let them take him.
N.B. — ^The distress referred to is capture by enemies, and the proverb means, " The distress of others is no concern of yours; do not trouble yourself about it." Truly philosophical !
256.
Vodi wo yonkn hn asem-a, daaki vodi vode bi.
K sentence is (now) passed on your neighbour, another
time it will be passed on you.
N.B. —Do not triumph at the distress of others ; your time may also come.
257.
Antuna to afirim no,, esonno ne kasa enkn. When a bird is in a snare, its cry is peculiar.
N.B.--A man^s behaviour in distress will be different from what it is at other times. " Every season has its reason."
258.
Ade-a nye no na voye n' iye.
You mend (only) a thing that is not good. N.R — A thing in good order requires no repair.
259.
Wo ba sisi wo kora ba, enye; nanso wo kora ba sisi wo ba, enye.
If your child deceives the child of your sister-wife, it is
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PBOYSBBS IN THE OJI TOlfGUB. 129
not right ; and also if the child of your sister-wife deceives jour child, it is not right.
N.B. — So the Hindi proverb, " A fellow-wife may be good, but her child is had" When a man has several wived, they mutually call one another " me kora." The child calls all his father's wives (except his own mother) " little mother." *
260.
Wodi bi ade-a na, woferre no.
If 70a get presents from anj one, jou respect him.
261.
Abofra be mnsn ankron-a, ofiet ma annm.
If a boy does nine mischiefs, he shall suffer for it five.
N.K — And the father of the boy, who should keep his son under proper discipline, shall suffer the rest
262.
Wotan wo sapo-a, w* anom bon. If you hate (i,e., if you shun if, so as not to use it) your tooth-brush, your mouth is of ill odour.
N.B.— "Sapo" is a bunch of plantain-tree fibre, the "lif"of Egypt, which West Africans use as sponge and tooth-brush.
* In West Africa the mother is loved fsur more than the father ; the negroes have many proverbs correspoDdiog with the Hindi. "The milk of the sixth day is still sensible," and "A mother's love is best of all.''
K
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130 WIT Am) WISDOM FEOM WEST AFBICA.
263.
Wo si wn-a, wonwn, na oferre-a, wo enso waferre.
When your relation dies, you do not die ; but if he is
disgraced, you also are disgraced.
N.B. — ^Disgrace is worse than death : the latter befalls a single person only, whereas the f onner extends to his whole family.
264.
T^teasoe vonsoe ho bio.
On an obsolete resting-place th^ rest no more.
N.B. — ''Asoe" is a place by the roadside, generally under a tree, where porters put down their loads, and rest awhile: ''Tete- .asoe ** is one that has been abandoned. The meaning is, " What is obsolete you will no longer use, but follow the * mode ' and do as others do."
265.
Wo tamfo asem ba, wodi ma no; na oda w* ase-a na, wongye so.
When your CTiemy is entangled in a quarrel (literally, when your enemy's lawsuit comes), assist him to settle it ; but when he thanks you, do not reply.
N.B.—The meaning is, "Assist your enemy in his trouble, if you like, but maintain a proud and cold demeanour." An expres- sion of thanks is courteously replied to by '* ya abraw," to equal or inferior; *'ya ura," to Europeans; *'ya naado," to a wealthy and respected man of his own people; "ya ahinna," to a personage of |
^jbhe chiefs fomily, and so oo. I
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IV.
PROVERBS
IN
THE GA OR ACCRA LANGUAgE.
K 2
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PROVERBS IN THE GA OR ACCRA LANGUAGK
The Ga or Accra Language is confined to the eastern portion of the Gold Coast, between the Volta Eiver on the east and the Akwapim mountain-mass to the north and the north-west. The number of the Ga- speaking people might amount to 100,000 ; it is, therefore, one of the tongues which will die out with the advance of civili- sation. At present it is divided into two dialects, the Ga Proper and the Adanme; the former being used by 40,000 to 50,000, the latter by 50,000 to 60,000 souls.
Of these two, the latter — ^being the more primitive and the less mixed with foreign elements — is held to be the mother tongue. The area extends from the vicinity of Christiansborg to Ada, or Adda, near the mouth of the Volta River, and in the north it is spoken by sundry of the towns of the Krobo Highlands.
The Ga Proper is used by the people of Jamestown (British Accra), Dutch Accra, Christiansborg, and sundry adjoining villages. On the east it is bounded by the Adanme ; on the west by the Oji, Ochi, Otye, or Ashante tongue, with which it is intimately connected.
The language is rich in proverbs and legends : the mis* sionaries have taught the people to commit to writing the
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134 WIT XSJ) WISDOM EBOM WEST ATBICA.
rude beginnings of annals. The stories are numerous and remarkable. There is even a particular name for a class. In Ananu, or spider, is the subject of many superstitions, injuring children that sleep in the same room with it.* It is represented as speaking through the nose, as the local demons are said to do ; and its hobbling gait is correctly imitated bj the relator with voice and gesture. Finally, it plays a principal part in fables, where the actors are mostly animals ; and thus these tales are locally known as Anan- sesen. Eor a specimen I must refer the reader to the work of the Bev. J. Zimmermann, from whose pages these proverbs are extracted.t
• Oq this part of the Gold Coast there is a large species of spider of bright yellow and black colours, spinning a silk-eoloared thread, which may one day be utilised. Bosman (Letter 17) thus alludes to the animal : — '* Going to my chamber at night, in order to go to bed, I iband a hideous great spider agamst the walls ; on account of the strangeness of the spectacle I called my sub-factor and both my assist- ants to see it. We found his body long and his head sharp, broader in the fore than hind part, but not round, as most sorts of spiders are. His legs were as large as a man*s finger, ten in number, being haiiy, and the thickness of a little finger. The negroes call this spider Ananse, and belieTC that the first men were made by that creature ; and, notwithstanding some of them by oonveraation with the Buropeans are better informed, there are yet a great number that remain of that opinion, out of which folly they are not to be reasoned. This is the greatest piece of ignorance and stupidity that I have observed the negroes guilty of."
The West Africans probably look upon the animal as the ancient Egyptians did the scarabnus.
t A Grammatical Sketch of the Akra, or Gh^ Language, with some Specimens of it from the Mouth of the Natives, and a Vocabulary of the same, with an Appendix on the Adanme Dialect. By the Ber. J. Zimmermann. In two yols. Stuttgart, 1858. Printed for the Basel Missionary Society by J. F. Steinkop.
I have adopted the orthography of the reverend gentleman. Most of
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PBOTEBBS 117 THB AOCBA. TONGUB. 135
1.
Alomte efon miau bo.
The cat does not cease to cry " miau."
2. Ka foo loflo.
A crab does not beget a bird.
8. Bilafo etsoo filafo gbe. A blind man does not show the way to a blind man.
4.
Kole nya nson.
The Kole (Eiver) flows into the sea.
N.B. — This is quoted as we saj, "Walls (or winds) hare ears/' warning people not to speak out their secrets.
5.
Nme kome flteo nmei fe. One (had) nut spoils all.
the sayings explain themseWes, or hare been explained by the Oji pro- verbs : in some cases a short inteipretation has been added. Nothing can be more distracting than the misprints of the work— too much, however, should not be expected from the printing-house of M. Steinkop, of Stuttgart — and nothing can be more Teutonic than its learned and copious disorder.
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136 WIT AND WISDOM PBOM WEST ATEICA.
6.
Tsofieitse enua tsofa ehaa helatse.
A physician does not drink medicine for the sick.
7. Tutsofa ke la yee. Gunpowder and fire do not agree.
Sikpon ko enyee gbonyo.
No land hates a dead body.
9.
Blomo dsee nma ni ayeo.
Quarrel is not a food which is eaten.
10.
Wiemo kpakpa dseo mlifu.
A good word removes anger.
K.6. — The natives of the Gold Coast have borrowed nuuiy of their sayings and not a few of their ideas from Europeans, with whom they have had intercourse for centuries. Compare with Proyerbsxv. 1.
11.
Ee dse na le, gbomei fe die.
If it is dark, all men are black. N.B. — So the French say, " Tons les chats sont gris** — at night.
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PBOYEBBS Ilfr THE AOCBA TONGUE. 137
12.
Ke okpongo edsim le, moni ta eno le hu edsimko.
If the horse is mad, he who sits upon it is not also mad.
18. Nn ni ake-bagbe la le, ataoole kronkron. Clear water is not wanted for quenching fire.
14. Ke Okplom ye nil le, Ohwam hn yeo eko. If the Okplom eat something the Ohwam also eats something.
N.R — The Okplom and the Ohwam are both animals. The meaning of the saying is, ** Suum cuique," " live and let live r'* no one should take all to himself.
16.
Ake hinmeii enyo kwee to mil.
Not with both eyes people look into a bottle.
16. Ke lilei kome ke lileii akpe kpe le etoo biti. If one tongue meets with a thousand tongues it faints.
17. Ke onaa lo le, oyeo komi. If thou find no fish, thou eatest bread.
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138 WIT AKD WISDOM TBOH WEST AIBJOJl.
18.
Hnmi egbee fio gbemo.
A quiet man makes not the noise of an elephant.
19. Dare kome guonii yee kpainkpawo wo. One dollar's (worth of) wares does not allow a man to eat a fowl worth sixpence.
N.6. — Cut your coat according to your cloth. 20.
Adudon ni kpa gbonyo hewo le, ekele ate.
A fly which hovers round a dead body will go with it.
21. Kg ni ake-tfia dfeian kolo le, ake tfaa sia no.
The stick with which people strike a beast in the grass (i.e., a least of thefeld), they do not strike a house-thing (i.e., domestic animal) with.
22. Nu hie ye fee si ehii mli wo.
The flEtce of water is beautiful, but it is not good to sleep on it.
23. Ke ona le, no obio mliwo. If thou get, thou askest to put more to it.
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FBOTEBBS IN THE ACCRA T090UE. 339
24.
Ke ofo olilei osa okpe le, onan kolo ko osa okpe.
If thou cut off thy tongue and roast and gnaw (it), thou wilt not get an animal to roast and gnaw. N3.-~See Oji Proverbs, No. X22.
, 25.
Voni ake-feo Taki, le ano-fee Ba. What a Taki is made with, with that they make no Ba. NJB. — Taki and Ba are figures on playing cards.
26.
Kokonte taoo huln. Dried cassava wants sun. N.B. — Otherwise it spoils.
27.
Akpokplonto taoo ela elee le, no dsi noni esno ekue ewoo enono mli le.
The terrapin wants not to know its blood, wherefore it contracts its neck (and) puts (it) into its shell.
28. Moni taoomi nakai le, emi ese eke. Whoever wants me as I am, is content.
29.
Hei fla yakwoo tso: akpokplonto tekwo le, amane eba.
Everybody goes and climbs a tree : the terrapin went and climbed ; trouble has come.
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140 WIT AlTD WI8D0IC TBOM WEST APBICA.
80.
Ho enyee mo yaka.
Nobody hates anybody without cause.
31. Bo le, oke, ona nanyo kpakpa, si olee noni ekeo ye
086.
As for thee, thou sayest that thou hast a good friend ; but thou knowest not what he saith behind thy back.
Obomo etaa lo yaka
A man is not lean without cause.
83.
Ke Enadsi nyie le, Ntiblii ye mli
If the Enadsi wander, the Ntiblii are among them.
N.B.— The Enadai are yeUow "palm birds," and the Ntiblii are their companions, the red orioles.
34.
Kedsi tso fatu tei amli le, efo midsra.
If wood mix with stones, its cutting is difficult.
85. Moko fee Hatso sisi, si Nokotso sisi afeo. No one plays under the Hatso, but under the Noko people play.
N.B. — The Hatso, or torch-tree, is full of thorns ; the Noko bears jiweet berries.
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PBOVERBS IIT THE ACCRA TOKGUE. 141
86.
Kedshomo, miye gbo le eke-dse eman.
If hunger eats a stranger, he brought it from his town.
37. Ohiafo ebun man. A poor man does not watch over the town.
Nudso ekwoo gon.
The brook does not ascend the mountain.
S9. Obomo tsio koyo. A man moves the wind.
iO. Mokome efee man. One makes not a people (or town).
il. Ohiafo ble egbee. The poor man's pipe does not sound.
42. Adeda knkn eknu see enyo. A curtailed bill-hook does not break twice.
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142 WIT MSD WISDOM TROM WEST ATBICA..
43.
To gbonyo see kakla.
A dead goat does not fear the knife.
44. Bai enyo ehii bn kome mli. Two crocodiles do not live in one hole.
Beni Oda ka akpakai mli, bele Tsnnye mibo " Awo ! *'
"When the Oda lies in the basket (for carrying men\ then the Tsunye (or house-mother) cries *' Awo."
N.B. — The Oda is a large lizard living on walls; the Tsunye (literally, house-mother) is a smaller species inhabiting rooms. None but Europeans, mulattos, kings, and nobles are permitted to be car- ried in the local hammock, or basket, upon men's beads. Awo ! (i. e,, '* exalted ! ") is the cheer used by bystanders to the rider.
46.
Ke sasabonsam te ya no le, aye we etoo.
If the devil conies to customs (the local worship), he lodges in the witch's house.
N.B. — "Sasabonsam" has been explained before.
47.
Mantsebii edsoo foi kwee yitso.
A prince does not run to look at the (cut off) head.
N.B. — Because every head cut off in execution must be shown to the king.
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FB0YEBB8 IN THE AOCBA. TOITOUB. 143
48.
Alomte ke "mlikpamo no:'* hewo ni ehee nyon. The cat says "staretching (i.e., repose) is sweet," where- fore it does not buj a slave.
K.B. — ^Because slayes make the master's hours bitter.
49.
Hoko ke kploto haa klan site.
No one gives a pig to a hyena to keep.
60. Afi ke: moni gbemi edoomi, ake moni fa mitsere. The partridge says, " He who kills me does not grieve me, as he who plucks my feathers.'*
51. Hoko ke enadsi enyo snsun fa. Nobody measures the river with both his feet.
52. Kedsi sisa mita ode le, onine osno.
If a ghost shake thy hand, thine arm shrinks.
53.
Batafobi bi enye ake : '' Awo, meni yo ohie kpoikpoi le 1 " Ekele ake : '' Wo se le ona momo ! "
The young wild hog asked his mother, " Mamma, what are the warts in thy face ? " She replied, " By-and-by thou wilt have seen it already."
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144 WIT AND WISDOM TBOM WEST AFRICA.
54.
Ke Didei dse fa mli ni eke ake ; ba he miye le, bele ehe miye lelen.
If the Didei leaves the river and says that the crocodile is sick, then it is truly sick.
N.B. — The Didei is a sweet-water fish. 65.
Alaninali fee kpoi amli.
The Alanmali does not play in rocky places.
N.B. — ^The Alanmali is a small lobster {praum f) which prefers the sea-sand.
66.
Ofoi yitson etaa