JELEBU CUSTOMARY SONGS AND SAYINGS. 29 



The branch breaks, as the horn-bill passes. 

 Wliere danger alighted, danger must fly away. 

 Pass through flames and you are scorched, 

 Eetreat from them and you wilt. 

 Rub against the stem of a bamboo and you itch, 

 Shake it and you are sprayed with moisture. 



Crime leaves its trail like a water-beetle. 



Like a snail, it leaves its slime; 



Like a horse-mango, it leaves its reek. 



A stream that knows not its source nor its mouth, — 



Like that is a man who cannot account for his doings. 



A spot where a dog barks is the spot where the iguana 



climbs, 

 A spot where the bamboos are uprooted, is a spot where 



plants flourish, 

 A fallen tree is the place for mushrooms to grow. 

 The glint of an adze falls on a man's feet, 

 The glint of a knife on his hands. 



The quart measure that is full. 

 The gallon measure that is true, 

 The weight that is just, 

 The scales that are even, 

 These cannot be upset. 



What comes before your eyes — be not blind to it: 



What comes to your mouth. — get fat on it. 



If you strike a snake, kill; 



But let not your stick be broken 



Xor the ground dented by your blow: 



Pliant but strong is a rattan. 



Let it bend but not break. 



Pound in a mortar. 



Cook rice in a pot. 



It is a case for the ruler's court, 



When at night in the dark of the moon 



Buffaloes fight in the byre. 



It is a case for the chief's court. 



When a black fowl flying by night 



Settles in a leafy tree. 



It is a case for the tribal headman's court. 



When a white fowl flying by day 



Settles on a leafless twig. 



authority (3) = if the weight of evidence is sufficient (4) = 

 if the judges are just. — A.C. 



s These lines imply that complaints must be laid before the 

 proper court and also that the punishment must fit the crime. 



Soc, No. 78. 



