SIUOXOA I'liOVKRDS. 



400 



48. Akii {b(i) fdeka u {ha) hona ni ngoija. 



You are laughing (so much tliat) you are spoiling- 

 your coiffure (carefully and laboriously made 

 with red ochre). " 

 Said of people who are laughing immoderately, or at 

 nothing. 



49. U kiimi nkuiva irn kii ijcnfsel:<i ten klta u yiniiJc. 



" You have found a fig-tree that is easy to deal with ; 

 you can pick its fruit standing." 



This is not possibln. All minkuwa in beanng are too tall 

 for that. Used generally in dismissing an importun^ite 

 beggar, or a client who presumes on one's kindness. 



50. Esa bunandi a 'ki nqi tahi nhotnbc. 



Sweet things never fill the spoon." 

 Y'ou can never have enough of a good thing. 



51. Antji'ibd u-ukii'.u n^ira nge fifiiniaJa inphinyi. 



A large )ithiba tree (iron-wood tree) does not lack a 

 handle. " 

 If you need a handle for your hoe, you can be sure of being 

 able to find what you want on a large iron-wood tree. Cp. 

 No. 3. Another hit at the rich man, who goes short of 

 nothing 



52. iVJa nijcnya nthunilmla (>/s(". 



1 dislikt' raw manioc." 



Said when checking someone who goes ranibling on and on, 

 with little or no reference to the point under discussion. 



53. Tingana ti ni bnJihilcIi. 



Shame lias watchmen." 



This is said when people see a man doing something bad 

 without shame, and are ashamed of him. 



54. Kti dibaia nhlaiji. 



The speaker forgets." 



A garrulous man may say all sorts of bad things, but they 

 are remembered, perhaps to his hurt, by those who hear 

 them. 



55. Ampfuthu i gubi nfcmda. 



" The tortoise has struck a piece of wood." 

 (1) Ku guba means to come to a stop, be unable to go 

 further. This is a secondai-y meaning, derived from (2) 

 To strike against something, be brought to a stand. So the 

 meaning of the proverb may be illustrated thus: " A fii 

 fjkcni tijiihaka Icti. Anipfuihu i gubi tita)i<ia." " Let us 

 leave this matter: we can get no further with it, or we caj 

 not see anv wav out of it." 



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