58 SPECIMENS OF COirPOSITION. 



11. Akuko gkgara ui idadiio fu ni li ariq ogaijdiq. 



Cock of bulkiness it4s decides for us in midst of depth-of-night. 



A large cock decides for us in the midst of the night. Persons are supposed to te 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. Akobi ni ti eleraq. 

 First-born 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-bom lamb or kid for her own. Hence the proverb. The first-hom is 

 the shepherd's. 



13. Ibaluwe gbe ile, ^e bi akurS. 



Bath-room ahides4n house, is like water-side garden. 



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



14. Ologbdq ogb6q li d r6 id^anu; okokaq li d mh iwa enia: d 



With to JS(^o»i wisdom it-is they forge bridle-bits ; one-by-one it-is we know character oi persons : we 



ba vab iwa enia, d ba bug o, k6 f e ; d dbq ni bi^abadio. 



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

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

 racter of a man being known (to be bad), if it were given thee as a present, thou wouldst not desire 

 it ; it is painful to one as a calamity. 



15. Ti id^o ti &jh ni i^e idiq, wuye wuye ni i^e igoqgo : d 



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



qdfo, d qy^; omo banabana T)vh oko igi. 



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



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 ala^o dla 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 white cloth in the quarters of the palm-oil maker. — We 

 should riot expect any result from incongruous or inadequate means. 



17. Okete m, odi;6 gbogbo li 6 mb; 6q ko mo odi6 miraq. 



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



The rat says he knows every day ; but 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 ; — akurS, a garden by a stream, which 

 is cultivated in the dry season only. 



14. Ologboi), that Which has wisdom ; ogbor), wisdom; ologb6i) ogb6;), various wisdom or skill ; so 

 oniru iru, or oniruru, means /tmc^s, this reduplication always implying variety ; — a r6, 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 thought 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 biblical expression, son of man, i. q. 

 man. 



