proverbs

125. Bëgg-bëgg yee wuute, moo tax njaay may jar ca ja ba. (2,3)
Tastes are different and for that reason all that one sells in the market will find a
buyer.
“One man's meat is another man's poison.”
“There's no accounting for taste.”
Moustapha is surprised that Moses has married Nafi whom everyone finds unpleasant,
without grace and not very bright. He mentions it to Abdul who responds with this
proverb.
126. Gaynde bëggul mbuum, yàpp lay dunde. (2,3,5,6)
The lion does not like a sauce of leaves; he lives on meat.
It is also used to refer to someone with a high social rank who lowers himself to frequent
those below his rank.
Aissa learns from her friends that her husband intends taking Binta as a third wife. They
are all of the opinion that Binta is not attractive or well brought up; in a word unworthy of
him. Aissa who is the first wife and knows her husband’s tastes says it is not true, quoting
this proverb.
127. Xel du namm fu mu xamul. (11,12)
The mind does not miss the place it does not know.
“Ignorance is bliss.”
“What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over.”
A person does not crave that which he does not know.
Destiny
128. Béjjénu nag jégeñe na lool, waaye bu ñu laalee du sagos boroom. (6,15)
The horns of a cow are very close but if they touch it is not because of the will of
the cow.
If it only depended on us, certain things would never happen; but sometimes we find
ourselves in the situation where a major force imposes on us a disaster which we never
sought.
129. Nit ku nekk, juddoom a ko mag. (20)
For every human being there is a superior birth.
Every person is born with something higher than himself, ie. a destiny in life. David
Maranz explains that this proverb means that there is more to a birth or to a person than
the physical facts. That is, that crucially important, inherited, spiritual factors greatly affect
and even determine all that an infant will become in life.
130. Ku Yàlla sànni fitt, doo ko mëna fegu. (6)
Ku Yàlla sànni fett doo ko mana fàkk. (4)
Ku Yàlla sànni fitt doo ko mana fàkku. (13)
Fittu Yàlla mëneesu ko moytu. (13)
The person at whom God shoots an arrow cannot deflect it.
One cannot deflect an arrow which comes from God. There is nothing one can do to
oppose one's destiny.
Destroy
131. Yàq a gëna yomb defar. (2)
It is easier to destroy than to build.
20