📝 Archive

Tiv Proverbs

Ancient wisdom passed down through generations

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“Mumu baver cii ve avie ga.”

Tom Brown does not bubble before it is cooked.

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“Kurugh fa Igbyanger i ityô na amen awen ye.”

The tortoise knows the width of its anus; that is why it swallows stones.

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“Ka iyo i nyom Kurugh anyi sha igyundu ia vaa anyi ye.”

The snake that bites a tortoise on its shell will be the one to cry for its teet

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“Ka iywa i i bende Adendem ahenga sha igyundu la ia vaa …”

The dog that puts its nose on a hedgehog's back will be the one to cry for its n

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“Iywa i tee kuhwe ka i tswam igen kpishi.”

A dog carrying a bone dislikes the company of another dog.

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“Mba undu mba til sha rwam man i ye ga, hide jime.”

You do not climb onto the food before you eat it. Step aside.

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“Mtume idyu a ityô ga tsō m mena iwen yö ka taver ape ka…”

I swallowed stones without consulting my anus; now I am in trouble.

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“Mtema toho vea or houbar inyam i bunde m keren ye.”

I went hunting with a man suffering from tuberculosis; that is why I returned wi

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“Mba burun tar sha ihyô i esen ga.”

They do not butcher the world with the sharpest knife.

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“Atsem u esen kpishi vihin kôngo utyo.”

A razor that is too sharp is likely to wound the scalp.

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“Mkange ikpya Shimbe zwa m kende shin mnger ve, tese se …”

I tied the mouth of an aardvark-skin bag and dropped it into the stream. The one

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“Wan ka nan a nder pepe, a nor ijua a tile hen iyue, ngô…”

When a little boy wakes up with an erection and stands close to a pot of soup, a