58 SPECIMENS OF COMPOSITION. 



11. Akuko gigara ui idadio fu ni li ariq ogaqdzo. 

 Cock of hulkiness it-is decides for us in midst of depth-of-niffht. 



A large cock decides for us in the midst of the night. Persons are supposed to be disputing 

 about the time of night, when the crowing of the cock shows that it is very late. The proverb 

 may be quoted whenever a dispute is suddenly decided by unexpected evidence. 



12. Akol)i ni ti eleraq. 



First-horn is of shepherd. 



When a woman takes a ewe or she-goat, both of which are termed erai), cattle, to feed for the 

 owner, she claims the first-born lamb or kid for her own. Hence the proverb, The first-horn is 

 the shepherd's. 



13. Ibaluwe ghe ik^, se bi akun). 



Bath-room ahides-in house, is like water-side garden. 



Although the hath-room is in the house, it is as wet as a garden hy the water-side. 



14. Ologbor) ogboq li d ro idi;anu; okokaq li d mo iwa enia: & 



y\f\i\\ wisdom wisdom it-is theg forge bridle-hits; one-hy-one it-is we know character o( persons : we 

 ba mo iwa ^nia, d ba bug o, kd fe ; d d5q ni bi abadzo. 

 attain to-know character oiperson, they attain to-give thee,not desire; it is-painful to one as calamity. 

 On various plans bridle-bits are made ; one hy one we learn the characters of men : the cha- 

 racter of a man being knoion (to be bad), if it were given thee as a present, thoxi, wotddst not desire 

 it ; it is painful to one as a calamity. 



15. Ti idio ti ay5 ni ise' idiq, wuye wuye ni ise igoqgo : d 



Both dancing and rejoicing it-is acts the skipper, wriggling wriggling it-is acts the worm : they 



r)dio, d qyo; omo banabana i)ve oko igi. 



dance, they rejoice ; child, of banabana is-going-to farm of taood. 



With dancing and joy moves the skipper, wriggling about moves the worm: they dance, they 

 rejoice ; but the child of banabana is going to the wood-farm. — According to Mr. Crowther, this 

 proverb means, " others may amuse themselves, but the poor man has no holiday." 



16. A ki iwd alaso ala ni iso elekpo. 



We not search him-of-cloth white-cloth in quarters of him-of palm-oil. 



We do not look for a man clad in rohite cloth in the quarters of the palm-oil maker. — We 

 should not expect any result from incongruous or inadequate means. 



IT. Okete ni, odio gbogbo li 6 mo; oq k5 mo odio miraq. 



Rat says, day every it-is he knows ; he not knows day another. 



The rat says he knows every day ; hut he does not know another day ; i. e. he lays up nothing 

 for the future, in which he is imitated by the improvident. 



12. For the mode of predicating possession in Yoruba, see Gram. § 203, 1, a. 



13. Gbe, to live or be in a place, is always used without a preposition ;— akuro, a garden hy a stream, which 

 is cultivated in the dry season only. 



14. Ologboi), that which has toisdom ; ogh6r), wisdom ; ologboi) oghoi), various wisdom or skill; so 

 oniru iru, or oniruru, mcanakinds, this reduplication always implying variety ; — a rb, they forge, is equivalent 

 to is or are forged (Gram. § 148, 1) ;— a ba,like 'iba,' implies a condition (Gram. § 143) ;— k6 fe, the sub- 

 ject, 'iwo,' omitted, a common practice in Yoruba. 



15. Ti . . . ti (see Prov. 5) ; wuye wuye, wriggling about ; so taka taka, staggering to and fro, repetition 

 of the act being implied by the repetition of the word ; wriggling is tliought to indicate pleasure ; — bana- 

 bana, said to be an insect which carries a bit of wood in its mouth, which is thus an emblem of the poor, 

 many of whom, both men and women, gain a livelihood by bringing firewood from the farms on their 

 heads ; — omo banabana is equivalent to banabana simply ; comp. the biblioal expression, son of man, i. q. 

 man. 



