Parebul den (Proverbs)

In reading over the teachings of Jesus, I have been struck by how often he used metaphor and parables in his teaching.  Often his teaching was of the kind where the people could understand every word that he said, because it was in their familiar language, but had absolutely no idea of what he actually meant.  Of all cultures I know, the West Africa region seems to be most blessed with proverbs.  They even call them  parebuls here and they are not unique to Sierra Leone, as Guinea Bissau had many of the same ones, just a different language.  I just love the way they condense a truth into a few words, and so I am going to give a few of them here, with the English interpretation. Keep in mind then that my explanation, might not even get down to deepest meaning of the proverb, of course. One word of explanation for those of you who actually know Krio....I don't have the two extra characters on my keyboard, so all backwards c sounds I have spelled with an o, and the small capital E I just changed to E.  So you know how the words are pronounced, so just do it.  Aw fo du?  ( What can you do?)

1. PeshEnt dog it fat bon.   (the patient dog eats a fat bone).  If you wait for something, you often will be rewarded more than if you try to grasp it right away.

2.  Kaw we no gEt tel, na God de dreb in flay.  (For the cow that has no tail, it is God who drives away the fly.)  A helpless individual has no option but to depend on God, as he can't help himself.

3.  Bad bush no de fo trowe bad pikin.  (A thorn bush is not a place to throw a bad child)  Even though a child is mischievous or bad, it is impossible to sever the relationship.  They are still your child (Do you hear echos of the prodigal son here?)

4.  Tek tem kil anch, yu go si in gut. (Broke my rule there, should be backwards c in gut--it means, take time to kill an ant because you will see its guts)  I am not exactly sure what this means, but I believe it means that sometimes the consequences of our actions are more than we bargained for.  

5.  Troki wan box, bot in an shot.  (The turtle wants to box, but his arms are too short)  Some people attempt things they have no business attempting, because they are impossible for them to begin with.

6.  Pikin we no mEn na os, na trit de mEn am. (A child that is not trained at home will be trained in the street.)  Someone will train your child, but hopefully that happens at home.

7.  Pikin we wan wEr in papa in trosis, na rop go it in wes.  (If a child wants to wear his father's trousers, the rope will eat his waist)  Assuming responsibility too big for you will be a burden, not a blessing..

8.  Fol we no yeri "shi", go yeri ston.  (The chicken that doesn't listen to 'shi', will hear a stone)  If you don't heed a little warning, you will be hit with something a lot more forceful and more painful.

9.  Doti wata sef kin ot faya.  (Dirty water will still put out fire).  I think this means that you don't always need the best of everything to accomplish the task--anyone else know different?  This is comforting for missionaries who often deal with work in less than ideal circumstances.

10.  An go, an kam.  (Literally, arm goes, arm comes)  This means that one good turn deserves another....

11.  Watasay ston no de fred ren.  (The stone in the river doesn't have to be afraid of rain)  Again, I think this means that if you already have your share of trouble, then a little more doesn't add that much? Someone may correct me on this.

12.  Ol kray du fo berin.  (All cries do for a funeral)  Maybe, any sympathetic act in a time of death will be appreciated.

13.  Wetin de pan yams we nEf naw no. (Broke my rule there, but didn't want two no's together...There is nothing about yams that the knife doesn't know)  A man of experience has been through it all, just like a knife has cut through all parts of many yams in its lifetime...

Well, I could go on an on with parebuls, or proverbs from West Africa--there are so many.  And I haven't even got into all the idioms that need interpretation, such as you shot krab (you shot crab) meaning that you failed in your attempt...even if you hit it, there would be nothing left!