Talk:Lugbara proverbs

A

 * Aco/ Ebu si aza oye ku.
 * Translation: Using a hoe is not madness for nothing.
 * Meaning: Whatever you do, expect a profit.
 * English equivalent: You reap what you sow!
 * Ama woro anzi Mungu ni.
 * Translation: We are all GOD’s children.
 * Meaning: Don’t discriminate based on race, tribe or beliefs!
 * Quoted from a famous Lugbara song
 * Aria gaa ti anya ose.
 * Translation: A small bird defecated a large mass of digested millet.
 * Meaning: Don't underestimate people or things because of their size.
 * English equivalent: Don't judge a book by its cover.
 * Ata abu-a ri, le mima nga azi raka mima nya ndo.
 * Translation: Even in the valley plantation, you must first work before you eat.
 * Meaning: No work, no food!
 * Awoko so ti andre.
 * Translation: Anger pierced the cow's tongue.
 * Meaning: Do not let anger harm you!
 * Ayia ma ndu yo.
 * Translation: There is no other mother.
 * Meaning: Everyone is entitled to only one mother.
 * Ayia nduri ozuku fi ni.
 * Translation: A stepmother is (like) a porcupine's intestines.
 * Meaning: Stepmothers are usually bitter.

B

 * 'Ba je o'buka mva alea risi ku.
 * Translation: People don't buy a baby strap for an unborn foetus.
 * Meaning: You cannot predict the future.
 * English equivalent: Don't count your chickens before they hatch!
 * 'Ba yori ni ba je oku ku.
 * Translation: For an absent bridegroom, you cannot marry a wife.
 * Meaning: Follow the procedure!

E

 * Embeleke ka i-agi ma eti ne, eri gu sibe inve.
 * Translation: When an ape sees its friend's (red) bottom, it laughs with white teeth (showing).
 * Moral: Do not laugh at other people's shortcomings! Afterall, you have your own.
 * Quoted from the Lugbara song entitled 'Embeleke' by Leila Chandiru
 * Eri mi te era liri etia.
 * Translation: It is waiting for you under the high granary.
 * Meaning: Future problems (issues) are waiting for you if you don't listen to advice.
 * E'yere nya ni.
 * Translation: Patience is the one that ate.
 * Meaning: Patience pays.

I

 * Isaku luni i-eti ceni ku.
 * Translation: The Isaku container for sieving local salt doesn't drill holes in its bottom by itself.
 * Meaning: Nothing changes unless you do something.
 * Izo anji angu vo re.
 * Translation: Girls slash very far.
 * Meaning: Girls can get married far away and prepare a new place for their relatives to visit.

K

 * Kaka ni ka 'ba sikokori ni.
 * Translation: Maize matures for people without teeth.
 * Meaning: Good things happen to people who least need them.

M

 * Mi owu lesu i-adapibori si ku.
 * Translation: Do not cry because of spilt milk.
 * Meaning: Whatever has already happened cannot be changed.
 * English equivalent: Let bygones be bygones!

N

 * Nyatu li odji.
 * Literal Translation: Too much eating cut the baboon. Odji, the baboon was sitted on a tree branch and ants were flying in circles. He picked ants one by one but greed in his mind made him jump to catch the whole circle and he fell.
 * Moral: Do things sparingly and not greedily!

O

 * Obibiasi, etto ma jo ve ra.
 * Translation: Because of copying, the rabbit's house got burnt.
 * Meaning: Be yourself!
 * Ocoo ini ri atuluku dria.
 * Idiomatic translation: A black dog is sitting on the kitchen-stove.
 * Meaning: No food will be cooked nor eaten tonight.
 * Odidia nya puro ibi.
 * Translation: Newness ate raw grasshoppers.
 * Meaning: Be vigilant while a newcomer in any place, you can be made to do anything!
 * Odru fu Anera/ Anira ni te.
 * Translation: The buffalo killed Anera (who thougt he had seen it all)/ Anira (who thought he knew it all).
 * Meaning: Listen to advice!


 * Okuku dra drinjasi (oboa).
 * Translation: The tortoise died because of shyness (in its boat).
 * Meaning: Shyness will make you miss opportunities.

P

 * Pati ifi ideni re ku.
 * Translation: The seed of a tree doesn't fall far.
 * Meaning: A parent's behaviour is reflected in his kid.
 * English equivalent: An apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

S

 * Sindani tokoa bongo sozuri ka di tagiri nde.
 * Translation: A mere cloth-sewing needle can defeat a rich man to own.
 * Meaning: Poor people are actually wealthier than rich people in certain aspects.
 * Quoted from the Lugbara song entitled 'Alio Madrisi'