Esan (ISHAN) Proverbs
Description
- Ose ii gba ni us?nbhokhan. ( A young man’s beauty is never without defects.)
- Eji Aah ny?l?n ?hle Aah kh?. (People resemble where they live.)
- Udo ni Aah daghe ?’ vade ii degbi ?rhia bhi ?lo. (A missile that one sees coming does not blind one.)
- Eji ?boh da gui ot? ?hle ?le da hori?. (A native doctor disappears only where he is used to.)
- Aah ii ri ebi Aah nan? bui awa re. (You don’t tempt a dog with something to lick,since dog is an avid licker.)
- Aah gheghe y? ni olimhin kha mh?n bhi ?lo, ?hle Aah da ri ukp?n bh?. (Clothing a corpse is simply to beautify it.)
- Aah ii fi ini bhi ot? kha khin oha-?tan. (Do not go hunting for squirrel while you have an elephant as a catch.)
- Aah ii di isira ?n? khin eni khin ?kp?n. Or, Aah ii khin ?kp?n man ?n? khin eni. (You don’t change to a tiger in the presence of one who can change to an elephant.)
- Am?n ni ?rhia la mu?n ii gbera ?le a. (The water one would drink can never flow past one.)
- Aah ii yi ?bh?nbh?n khui ?kh?h. (Do not ask a mad man to chase fowls away,since he would do it madly.)
- Ene wwue bhi uwa kha yy? ele mmin okpodu, ?bi ene wwu? bhi ole ki da ta y?. (What would they say who slept outside if those who slept inside complained of harassment?)
- U’u ii ji Aah gui na. (Death is impervious to appeal.)
- ?wa’?n Aah r? gbi ef?n n? ribhi ?k? akhe. (Killing a rat that is holed up inside an earthen pot requires wisdom.)
- Uf?mh?n si obhokhan kha na, Aah ki y? owual?n kkani ?hle ni ?le. (When the arrow from a child’s bow travels far, an adult is suspected to be responsible.)
- ?n? gbi ?n?de?de ?hle ?n?de?de vi? bhi itolimhin. (In a funeral each mourner mourns the fate that befalls him, not the deceased’s.)
- ?m?n n? yyu ?le mh?n ose n?. (It is the deceased child that is always the prettiest.)
- Ohu bha l?n ebial?n si ?hle. (Fury does not know its owner’s strength otherwise a weakling’s rage would be tempered with restraint.)
- Agb?n khi ese. (It is human beings that do disguise as supernatural forces.)
- ?n? ii ribhi eni, ?le Aah ri enyan si ?le t?n bhi egbi era’?n. (It is the absent one whose yam would always be kept beside the fire.)
- Eto kha r? re, Aah y? l?n eji uk?hae nae. (No matter how hairy the head becomes, the forehead remains distinct.)
- Aah kha y? ni Aah sikoko, Aah bha yy? ni Aah simama. (A call to gather together is not an invitation to muddle together.)
- Aah kha khin ?kp?n fo, ebi Aah khi?n ki fo. (After changing to a tiger, you simply have no other thing to change to.)
- Aah ku? ri ikhil?n khin ?gua’e ?ba, ?ba ku? ny?n uge. (The king need not tiptoe in order to peep at a dance coming to be staged at his palace.)
- ?ni Aah bbhobholo ii bhobhi ?rhia. (The one who is carried on one’s back cannot back someone else.)
- O? ?kp?kpa Aah z? bhi ok?-?din. (In a palm oil dish, you take one step at a time.)
- Ir?lobhegbe zz? ni ?kh? bha da lli afiamh?nh. (But for forbearance, the chicken would have taken into eating birds.)
- Ose ba ni emiamh?n. (Beauty is more painful than infirmity.)
- ?nabhughe ?’ min olimhin ni Aah ri izagan mun. (It is the truant that comes in contact with a corpse wrapped in basket.)
- Aah ii ri ?bhe ni oruan ?rhia r?mh?n. (To ensure a lasting relationship, do not offer a goat to your in-law for safe-keeping.)
- Aah kha kha gbi ugan bhi evele, Aah ki ri ukp?n bh? re. (If it is being debated, a man should undress to counter claims that he is suffering from penile bloat.)
- Ebi Aah bha mmin Eboh, Aah bha rru?n ebeh-?gh?d?. (Prior to the arrival of Europeans, no one wore banana leaves, but clothes.)
- ?ny?n ni otuan ?kpa mi?n ?hle khi ubhi?. (It is the serpent seen by a single person that is called a lizard.)
- Uh?mh?n na ji ik? ?’ ii gbi ik?. (An envoy isn’t punished for the message he conveys.)
- ?khin ?kp?n ii khin eni. (He does not change to a tiger one who changes to an elephant. Or, Everyone has an area where he is talented.)
- Aah kha rui ?lo, Aah ki kha ri ?wua’?n khian. (Blindness demands caution. Or, When one is blind, one learns to walk with care.)
- Afiabh?n ni Aah ri ig?nh si ?hle lui emhin, ?j?je Aah min ?hle ele. (The bird whose feathers are treasured must walk circumspectly.)
- Ebe bha ji ?rhia r? l?n egbe, ?hle ?rhia da t?. (Disgrace is sure to come from that over which one cannot exercise self-control.)
- Ebe yi okhuo z? bhi ileghe re, akun ?’ ye. (That which compels a woman to reduce her waist beads lies in her waist.)
- ?’ ii yi ?ta ni ekh?nh ta yi ?ki, ?’ ii yi ?hle ele ta vae. (Traders’ subject of discussion to the market differs from their homeward discussion.)
- ?’ ii yi ?d? ni Aah muin ure ?’ ii yi ?d?ni Aah ri ?hle z? ese. (It is not the same day a snail is found that it is offered as sacrifice to an idol.)
- Eji Aah tan s?, ?hle Aah da ji uh?mh?n. (A person’s head must grow where his height stops.) nearly LIT
- Ure kha lo bhi ?b?, ?’ ki khin ?b?. (When a snail inhabits a shrine, it becomes an idol.)
- ?sak?n Aah l?l?, Aah ii l?li ?meto. (It is the dentist that can be tricked, not the hairdresser.)
- Odin ii tal?, ?ta ri ?le bhi unu. (Although speechless, the mute has something to say.)
- Ojie ii gbo y? ni Aah ri ojie t? bhi itikun. (A king never asks a king to be buried in a refuse site.)
- Okhu?l?n n?ko kpe. (A grass-cutter’s plumpness is achieved in hiding.)
- ?mh?n ri ?dan ba bhi egbe, ?hle rri ikpea do bhi omin. (LIT)
- ?bo ii b? bhi ebi ?le l?’?n. (A native doctor doesn’t consult his oracle concerning that which he knows.)
- ‘Nine’ bha jji Ebo llu. (Despite his ingenuity, the white man could not create the number nine.) nearly LIT
- Elamh?n n’? ii mh?n ak?n, ?hle ki odalo bhi ishi oyi. (It is the toothless beast that is always the first arrival at the orchard.)
- Us?n bi us?n ko yi egbe ‘halo’. (It is age mates that greet each other with ‘hello’.)
- ?debe ?hle Aah r? ye ?kha’e re. (A hero is often remembered on a bad day.)
- ?’ ii yi ?n? ka kha kh?mh?n ka yu. (The first person to fall sick is not always the one to die first.)
- ?bo kha wuo ni ?bo, ?’ ki ri ?bo khu?n ?kpa. (LIT)
- Ogun bi ogun kha min egbe, ughamhan ele r? tui egbe. (When blacksmiths meet, both salute each other with iron.)
- Aah kha kha vi?, Aah y? daghe. (Even in tears, it is not impossible to see.)
- ?ghe ni Aah bha r? ll?n ?lo ikpakpa, ?hle ikpakpa ki r? ggbi ?rhia. (Men only died of toxin beans when they lacked knowledge of the food.)
- Okhuo ii yi okhuo bi?re khi ?m?n fui ?lle bh?. (A woman doesn’t ask a fellow woman to put to bed that she herself is childless.)
- ?ru? ii yi ?ru? ?yabhihue. (English version: ‘A kettle does not call a kettle black.’)
- Ebi Aah mi?n of?n ii muin uki, ?bi ?hle ii da bha ?si adamh?n. (If not for fear, why doesn’t the moon shine in the daytime?)
- ?lo ?ri?bhe bhia’e, ?le ii r? daghe. (Although he has good eyesight, a stranger doesn’t see with his eyes.)
- ?n? r?re, ?le Aah da ?le ob?. (It is the generous person that would always be approached for assistance.)
- ?ri?bhe gi?r?n lumhin eman, ?le bha l?n eji Aah ri ubhok? g?. (Although a stranger pounds pounded yam well, he lacks knowledge of where to keep the pestle.)
- Aah ii ri emhin ni ?khian re mh?’?n. (You don’t give something to a traveller to keep.)
- ?d? ni okhuo r? nyin eman ebe, ?d?ni ?lle r? le n?. (It is on the day a woman cooks a bad meal that she eats best.)
- Elamh?n ?bhebhe ii ni is?n em?din ebeiyi uri?i. (Except porcupine, no other animal has palm waste in its excreta.)
- U’u bha gbi iban, ?hle di khin ?din. (The flower of a palm tree will eventually become palm nuts if death spares it.)
- Oghian ?rhia z? ni u’u da ba bhi egbe. (It is one’s enemy that makes death hurtful.)
- Obhokhan kha ni is?n ebe, Aah ki ri ebe ugbolimhosaka gbo ?le uwedin a. (If a child defecates repulsive excreta, the leaf of a spiky plant will be used to wipe his buttocks.)
- Aah kha kha gbi ugba, ?t?t?h rie. (At the repeated shaking of the calabash, insects find their way out.)
- Aah bha min ebi Aah khin ?kh?mh?n y?, Aah ki zaghi ?le era’?n a. (If because of his illness you can’t hurt a sick person, you can at least extinguish the fire that keeps him warm.)
- Aah bha min ebi Aah khin ojie y?, Aah ki si ?le bhi ?bho re. (If because of his power you can’t challenge a king, you should quit his kingdom. Or, cf. ‘If you live in Rome, do not strive with the Pope.’)
- ?ghe ni Aah r? llui ?mh?n, Aah rria ?hle a. (The time spent on lawsuit is time wasted.)
- Aah kha ri egbe yi isi ojie, ?sh? folo. (When people take themselves to the king’s palace for lawsuit, they cease to be friends.)
- ?Ji uzo ki ri aho ? ni ?hle da r? bi iweva. (From where has antelope got the strength to give birth to twins?)
- Ukpokpo ni Aah r? ggbi ?wobi, Aah bha refia, Aah ki r? gbi ?bhata. (The whip that was used on a stupid person, if it is not disposed of, will be used on an innocent.)
- Aah ii min ebe khi ?kh? ebeiyi akhokhol?. (Nothing resembles a chicken as does a bush fowl.)
- Ese kha la zi emhin, ?k?n-?kh? ki va udo a. (When supernatural forces are at work, it is not impossible for a hen’s egg to crack a stone.)
- Ebe ka llui ?kh? di y? lui ?bhe. (A goat will by no means escape the fate of a chicken as long as feasts last.)
- ?kp?kpa Aah gbe ni okh?’?n da l?. (A war is sustained till the end by gradual killing rather than by outright annihilation. Or, cf. English version: ‘Rome was not built in a day’ or ‘One thing at a time.’)
- Aah ii dunu bhi igbanaka. (LIT)
- ?Ji eh? ni Aah la r? h?n, ?hle Aah n? emhin na. (The very fact that certain things are offensive to the ear is the reason they are considered taboos.)
- Ojie kha la le, ?’ ki zi ?gb?n re. (A king’s ascension to the throne is initially followed with fundamental changes.)
- ?Bi Aah la le ?l?na, ?bi Aah la le akha, ?hle ukhumhun r? fo. (The question of today’s meal and tomorrow’s provision is how a famine abates.)
- Aah ii ri afe nani umh?n. (You don’t start licking salt simply because you are wealthy.)
- Aah ii n? ?n? mh?n igho bi ?le la d?. (You don’t ask the moneyed man what he will buy with his money.)
- ?s?n ka ggbi enefe. (The rich once suffered hardship.)
- ?b? kha kha to, ?hle mh?n oh?n si ?hle. (No matter how austere an idol is, it has its priest who pacifies it.)
- ?kaleteh ii kp?. (Heroes are hard to find.)
- Ughe ughulu da ho ukhu? ?hle ni Aah kha y? ghe khi ?k? ?hle mun ni ?hle. (That hawk makes love to its wife in the open sky is to debunk rumours that it impregnated her out of wedlock.)
- Aah ii ri ugbele si Akogho loli ugbele. (LIT)
- Uh?n-?l? z? ni Aah ii da n? bhi ?ki. (Don’t defecate in a marketplace because it will be there for you to see on the next market day. Or, cf. English version: ‘The evil that men do lives after them.’)
- ?wa’?n Aah r? gbi udia n? timan bhi ikp?k?n. (Killing a tsetse fly that perches on one’s scrotum demands wisdom.)
- Uh?mh?n ni Aah bha ji obhokhan ele, ?hle kha gbi ache bi uwawa bh?, ?hle ki ha osa. (A child must pay for the destruction of items that results from carrying out a task that was never assigned to him.)
- Uzehia kha z? bhi eji ob? ii s?, Aah ki yi ?hle lala a. (If one has boil in a part of the skin beyond reach, the boil is advised to rot.)
- Aah ii g?n ?m?n bhi isira ?le. (Don’t sing praise of a child in his presence.)
- Emhinh erebhe ne ribhi omh?n ti egbele itata. (Every ingredient in soup likes to be seen as meat.)
- ?’ ii yi ?lo ni Aah r? lie man, ?’ ii yi ?hle Aah r? kha elamh?n. (The attitude with which food is eaten differs from that with which meat is shared amongst the eaters.)
- Ese kha la zi emhin, omh?n ni inod? ki oto ob? a. (It becomes possible today for yesterday’s soup to burn one’s hand once supernatural forces are at work.)
- ?’ ii yi ?lo ivin ivin r? ni ud?n. (A palm kernel would never produce palm ointment unless under the searing heat of the pot.)
- Aah ii ni ?n? wu?le gbi ugan si ebhohi?. (You don’t argue about a dream with its dreamer.)
- ?bh?bh?n yy? ghe khi ena ?le rri era’?n fi?, ghe ?n? to khian ni ?le bha l?n ?lo bh?. (A mad man only knows of the spot where he dropped fire but cannot account for the offshoot ravaging the forest.)
- Aah kha r?khan ?kp?n khian, Aah ki li elamh?n; Aah kha r?khan ?bhe khian, Aah ki li ebeh. (A companion of tiger will feed on meat but a companion of goat will eat leaves.)
- Ebale kha sike ebgi unu gbe, ?’ ii ji Aah le. (Food that is too close to the mouth is difficult to eat.)
- ?ba ii de Esan, ?z?loa ii ri ?do. (No Benin monarch visits Esan land, just as ?ba ?z?loa who was slain in Esan will never return to Benin.)
- ?gbihiagha bhi uh?mh?n nain ?ka yy? ghe ?hle l?n otu si ?hle. (The dreadlocked maize insists it knows its age mates.)
- Ev?kp?n kha vi ?kp?n fo, Ibhioba ki bi ebeh. (The people of Ibhioba clear the leaves after the butchers of tiger are done.) nearly LIT
- Eni edi?n kha le, enai ?limhin ki kh?n. (When the elders eat, the spirits are full.)
- ?n? ii mh?n ?m?n ii mh?n oruan. (The one who has no child cannot have an in-law.)
- ?n? ri ebeh bin uwa kha dia kh? efi. (He who builds a house with leaves should expect the storm.)
- Aah gbudu yi ?ba ‘h?’?’! (Even the king can be reprimanded.)
- Ebi Aah gbe bha yu, Aah ii mun bhi ?kpa. (Until the animal you are killing is dead you don’t put it in a sack.)
- Ebi Aah ko ta, ?hle khi ?mh?n ni in?deso. (What was discussed earlier is what can be cited as a previous discussion.)
- Aah ii tti egbe emhin, ?hle enele da tto uwa a. (That the house was gutted by palm waste was due to disregard for something.)
- ?d? ii tughu ?’ bha s?n. (A river must become crystal-clear after being upset.)
- Ijan ?kpa ?m?le fe? n’? da hu. (If a man’s urine must foam, he must urinate on one spot. Or, cf. English version: ‘A rolling stone gathers no moss.’)
- Aah bha min ebe re n’? ii fo. (There’s nothing without an end. Or, Whatever is in vogue ultimately expires.)
- Ukp?n ni ahoho sab?, ?hle ?’ re bhi ifi. (The wind only picks the dress that it can take off the rope.)
- Ebe ii yi emhin ?hle ho alo. (It is the insignificant thing that struggles over the forefront.)
- ?n? mh?n ivie bhi uru bha l?n si ?’ ghanmhin. (He who has a gold necklace round his neck does not know its worth.)
- Etin kha di oya, Aah ki ri ab? eveva fi ?hle. (When a blow becomes a challenge, the two hands will be used to apply the blow.)
- Os? ko eran ni ?n? ii mh?n uze. (It is God who provides firewood for the one who has no axe.)
- Ebe ba bhi egbe ii ni ara’?n re. (A painful experience does not necessarily bring out blood.)
- Ohu? ii tie bi ?le mi?n bhi ikh?eran. (A hunter never discloses the happenings in his hunting expedition.)
- Omh?n n’? mh?n bhi unu ii si eman. (Delicious soup is often inadequate for a meal.)
- ?bho ni Aah ii da min ahi?l?kp?nh ?hle ?kh?h da lui mama. (It is in the land where there are no hawks that chickens have leverage.)
- Aah ii t?ni egbe bi eji egbe r? t?n?. (Do not scratch your skin just the way it itches you.)
- Un? bha s? khin un? ?hle okhuo da ri ob? muin iny?’?nh mh?’?n. (A woman holds tight to her breasts only when a race has not assumed seriousness.)
- Aah ii walan si u’u bh?. (Man is senseless before death.)
- Ese ii muin ?d?. (No amount of trouble can prevent daybreak.)
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