Part 3: On cageyness, caution, moderation, patience, and prudence

A

We scoop water from the water pot and see a masquerader; what will the person who goes to draw water at the river find?

You are given yams at Ọyọ and you rejoice; have you secured wood to cook them?

One dips one leg into the stream and the water tugs at it; what if one had dipped both legs into it?

One does not fight at night with a braggart.

One does not insult a king with a goitre in the presence of his people.

One does not fight to save another person's head only to have a kite carry one's own away.

One does not eat scalding stew in a hurry.

One does not sit at home, not go to war, and yet be shot with an arrow.

One does not gather olú-ọrán mushrooms in haste; two hundred of them are not enough to make a stew.

One never sees the bottom of the ocean; no one ever sees the bottom of the lagoon; a well-bred woman will never expose her buttocks to anyone.

One does not look into the eyes of a person and still tell a lie against that person.

One does not speak of a beheading in the presence of a child; otherwise his gaze will be fixated on the neck of the person concerned.

One struggles to save the chick from certain death, and it complains that one is preventing it from foraging at the dump.

You are told that a job is your responsibility and you say you are on your way to the farm; you may be on your way to the farm, but the job will be there on your return.

Marking one's face with kẹ́kẹ́ is a quest for beauty; marking one's face with àbàjà is a quest for beauty. [4]

The funeral is over, but the calabash beater does not take his leave; does he want to inherit a wife?

The razor begs the scalp; the wayfarer's soles beg the path; waist beads beg the home-woven cloth; when the begging is done, one lets matters drop.

The needle makes an almost inaudible sound when it drops into the water; Ọdọfin said he heard a loud splash.

Nursing mother, make the herbal decoction in good time; the day is waning.

Patching extends the life of clothes; whoever does not save materials for patching deprives himself or herself of clothing.

The dove recites incantations, thinking that the pigeon cannot hear; the pigeon hears; it is only pretending to sleep.

The chicken eats corn, drinks water, even swallows small pebbles, and yet complains that it lacks teeth; does the goat that has teeth swallow steel?

Could the small gourd save itself, before we put charms into it?

Choosing-a-base-and-maintaining-it is the medicine for wealth.

The wind that enters into the house and carries off the clothes in the bedroom is a warning to those who wear theirs around their necks.

It is an impertinent bead that is named “The-slave-does-not-own-its like.” [8]

Partially severed snake, that stings like a wasp.

Pounding-until-it-is-ruined is the habit of the owner of the mortar.

The big, fat sheep does not soon forget the provider of corn bran.

The sheep stares blankly, but its cunning stratagems number a thousand four hundred.

A sheep does not wake in the morning and droop its mouth.

A wicked elder sows suffering for his children.

A farmer does not make new clothes monthly, only annually.

A farmer who tarries in the house will not object to hoeing the farm in the afternoon.

Picking-up-one's-load-without-checking-one's-rear caused the piece of broken bottle to forget its mother on the ground.

He-who-places-his-hopes-on-inheritance delivers himself to destitution.

The ear that will insist on hearing everything will go deaf.

A thing in which one reposes one's trust does not make one hunger.

It is an alarm that is raised without moderation that finds no helpers.

Disobedience, father of disregard.

Inability to speak out precedes misfortunes.

The junior wife could find nothing to say, and said that the mice in the house will eat brass; the senior wife if the household happens to be named Mọjidẹ(Ọmọ-ọ́-jẹ-idẹ) (meaning “Child eats brass.”)

One treats an illness; one does not treat death.

Because of the delay in apprehending the thief, the thief apprehends the owner of the farm.

A domesticated dog does not know how to hunt.

A dog does not boast “No danger” in a leopard's bush.

A dog destined to be lost does not hear the hunter's whistle.

A dog that sees a motor vehicle and stands in its was makes itself a sacrifice to Ogun.

One digs a pit in the path of the elephant, but the elephant can read signs; the elephant does not go that way.

A witch proclaims her presence and an invalid does not make away; he must have money for sacrifices at home.

One-that-bites-and-blows-on-the-wound, the house-mouse.

The hedgehog does not live in the grassland, only in the forest.

The ground hornbill did a favor and developed a goitre.

People who live impatiently: their going to heaven is not far off.

The axe that cuts wood stumbles, and the carver anoints his head with medicinal powder.

A scorpion is not a thing to close one's palms on.

The scorpion travels accompanied by venom.

A scorpion stung Kindo in the testicle, and a person from Labata's household frowns in dismay; what business is it of his?

The mouse is a bringer of disaster to the innocent; snakes do not eat corn.

A sheath that engages in a dispute with a knife will suffer an internal wound.

Whatever dream the dog dreams remains inside the dog.

She who borrows a wrapper-skirt to wear is not home free; the owner of the cloth will take it back come tomorrow.

A lizard that views a python with disregard will find itself in the belly of the snake.

The sparrow enjoys life carefully.

The owner of the body does not say that he is in no pain, while we insist on commiserating with him for his sleeplessness and his restlessness.

The person who will engage in itinerant dancing should look to his legs in good time.

The hired carrier does not ask to die from his efforts; what would the owner of the merchandise ask?

Only a good-humored person can make a good husband for an ill-humored woman; a person whose mouth is not sharp cannot make a good husband for a hyperactive woman.

The visitor “who” arrived at the home of Pọngila (Lickwood), Pọngila asked him, “Who are you?” The visitor replied, “I am Bugijẹ” (Bitewood). Pọngila said, “Well, you had better go find yourself some wood elsewhere.

To Tortoise belongs the outward trip; to his father-in-law belongs the return.

The weed did not know that the farmer had a machete.

Saare always goes too far in his description of a leopard.

Only a potsherd has what it takes to confront live coal.

Apatapara kills himself in the wilderness; who will carry him is now the question.

A pocket one did not make with one's own hand is a difficult one to dip one's hand into.

Ibadan people do not run from war; what they say is, “We will fall back a little.”

Something-seen-but-unmentionable, something-seen-but-unspeakable is the death of a guardian of the mysteries.

Fire, something-one-sees-and-flees, snake, something one sees and jumps; an elder who sees a snake and does not flee flirts with death.

Going-from-one-sadthought-to-another results in endless weeping; the person weeping does his weeping and departs.

A cripple does not block the road with his legs.

A cripple who has no legs to stand on has wisdom inside him.

He-who-flees-on-seeing-the-king is no coward.

The old person was once a dandy; the rag was once in fashion.

One treats a disease; one does not treat death.

The fast runner will run past his home; the leisurely stroller is the one who will win the title.

The kite plays with the pigeon and the pigeon rejoices; the pigeon is courting death.

Roughhousing keeps the young of the cane rat from learning wisdom.

What one puts aside is what one returns to find; whoever dumps water ahead of him/her will step on wet earth.

Only the newly weaned cat suffers; eventually it will learn to kill mice.

Difficult-to-wear like the garment of immoderation.

Pepper is small; its fight is much bigger.

Person-who-stones-and-breaks-partridge's-eggs; the eyes find what the eyes seek.

Alligator pepper has someone to tend it and it mocks the òbùró tree; had the òbùró tree someone to tend it it would look better than alligator pepper.

A-creature-that-learns-wisdom-in-reverse-order, dog-with-severed-ears; after its ears have been severed it hides the razor.

One's palm does not deceive one.

The-seeker-of-all-things-from-God does not yield to impatience.

Persistent-staring ruins a friendship; one looks only glancingly at those looking at one.

If a single Colubus monkey sees you, be sure that two hundred of them have seen you.

The-impatient-reporter, wife of the hunter, she says that her husband killed the first and killed the sixth.

The cultivated vegetable is contented, so it sends for its wild variety; the Nupe (Fulani) person is so comfortable that he builds a tall house.

Life is nothing to enjoy heedlessly.

1. During the eégún season people who follow pathways (like those leading to rivers) are liable to run into masqueraders on the way from ìgbàlẹ̀, their secret groves.  [Back to text]

2. The rejoicing is premature, because the Ọ̀yọ́ supposedly tantalize strangers with deceptive generosity.)  [Back to text]

3. The expression rí ìdí, literally “see the bottom “of”,” also means “discover the guarded secrets “of”.”  [Back to text]

4. Kẹ́kẹ́ and àbàjà are both patterns of facial scarification.  [Back to text]

6. Ọ"dọ̀fin is a chieftaincy title. It serves here as a proper name.  [Back to text]

7. Àdó is a tiny gourd in which people keep charms, often serving as talismans.  [Back to text]

8. The insinuation being that whoever does not have its like is no better than a slave.  [Back to text]

9. In everyday syntax the statement would be: Àgbọ́ká letí ọlọ́ràn-án fi ńdi.  [Back to text]

10. The formulation, baba àfojúdi, means both “father of disregard,” and “father-type disregard,” in other words, an extra-ordinary degree of disregard.  [Back to text]

11. While the animal hurts one, it also soothes one, so as to be able to continue hurting one.  [Back to text]

12. Both the axe and the carpenter are offenders against wood; the carpenter takes the axe's stumbling as a bad omen.  [Back to text]

13. The proverb is based on a folktale in which Tortoise stole yams from the farm of its father-in-law. The latter caught Tortoise and tied it up by the path, where people going to their farms saw it and justified the father-in-law. When on their return in the evening they saw Tortoise still tied up, however, people began to scold the father-in-law for the excessive punishment, especially considering its relationship to Tortoise.  [Back to text]

14. The story behind the proverb is of a boy, Sàar;ẹ who ran home panting because he had seen a leopard in the forest. Grateful that the animal did not kill his son, the father killed a cock as a sacrifice. The boy went on to describe how huge the animal was, and the father, even more thankful, killed a he-goat for sacrifice. Then the son spoke of how the animal went from okro plant to okro plant to eat the fruits. The father knew, of course, that only antelopes ate okro, and he scolded the son for not killing the game and bringing it home.  [Back to text]