402 !SIH(jN(jA PKOVEKBS. 



I had intended to group the proverhs according to similarity 

 of subject, or attitude towards Hfe, but found this well-nigh 

 impossible. A rough classification under such heads as : Moral 

 proverbs, general wisdom, warnings against danger or folly, 

 etc., would be possible, but 1 doubt if it would be very valuable, 

 at any rate with the material at my disposal. It will be noticed, 

 however, that a decidedly cynical tone is heard in many of them, 

 and that the rich man is regarded as fair game. 



From the linguistic standpoint, a large collection should be 

 very useful. The language of the proverbs is, as was to be 

 expected, highly idiomatic, and frequently archaic. In the present 

 state of the language, when old words arc dying out rapidly, 

 and when hard sounds are being softened, contact with forms 

 that have a relatively high antiquity may help us to clear up 

 doubtful points of more than one kind. 



In the proverbs which follow, these phenomena are to be 

 noticed among others : the use of shortened forms, especially of 

 verbs (yetla for yetlela); suppression of the copula; irregular 

 constructions; omission of conjunctions, common enough in 

 ordinary speech, but very common in the proverbs; irregular 

 pronominal concords; irregular noun formations {nfira); and 

 suppression of the nominal prefix (songani). 



This is, perhaps, sufficient introduction. Let us now consider 

 the proverbs themselves. 



A Selection of SiKonga Proverbs. 



1. Ndi ta tira loko tihukii ti mili ■nienijn! 



" I will work when chickens have grown teeth." 

 The phrase, loko tihuku ti mili menyo, is proverbially 

 used in other connections, in the obvious sense of "never," 

 in strong refusals. For instance, a boy working on the 

 mines, refusing the solicitations of his friends to accompany 

 them on their return to this country, will say : Ndi ta muka 

 (I will go home) loko tihuku ti mili menyo. After this, it 

 is no use to expostulate. 



2. Amuhloti ira tinyari ti buya ha yene . 



" The hunter of buffaloes . . . they return with him!" 

 The danger of hunting buffalo is well known. The proverb 

 recalls the unhappy experience of the famous " young 

 lady of Kiga, who went for a ride on a tiger." A warning 

 against rashness could hardly be more forcibly expressed. 



3. Awa mafura a ugc ngi ba na likwnin. 



" The man who has oiled himself never looks dull." 

 This is a representative of a class of proverbs, more or less 

 cynical, which refer to the ability, and perhaps the habit, 

 of the rich man, of Jooking after his own comfort and 

 interests. 



