📝 Archive

Tiv Proverbs

Ancient wisdom passed down through generations

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“U ngu a ayem angahar je u ker Agômik ya ivaan ye.”

Only the man who trusts the speed of his legs shoots an arrow at a patas monkey.

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“Ivyekpekpe lan amar ga, ka er nomkwegh atil yô.”

A cockroach is not a poor dancer; it simply cannot dances in the presence of a c

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“Or u soon zaryougho kera cie mte u iyough ga.”

A man who loves honey does not fear the sting of a bee.

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“Idyenger ne i gôvor ka ken ityev je, ka er i kur a mi g…”

This curled bean curled while it was still in the field, not after it was brough

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“Bagu u a ye ikyuleke ikô, ngu a ityôndousu shin gbor.”

A monkey that eats raw maize carries fire in its stomach.

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“M ngu sanen we iyou u tema shin nya u ngu tômon mo ake.”

I am roofing your house, yet you are below trying to pick my testicles.

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“Ka we a naan orapirashe imenger u ngu tuhwan nan.”

Giving a blind man a lamp is an insult to him.

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“Mba we ijer bar man i men ga. Tiv mba er injakwagh ne u…”

They do not put salt on saliva before swallowing it.

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“Ukôr ikyambe man u nyagh ijande?”

You have caught the crab, and now you despise the stream?

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“U unde u daa ijande u van hungwa sha nyi?”

You have climbed up and pushed the ladder away. How, then, will you come down?

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“Ngôkyegh lanen sev ga, kpa ka a kpusugh nomkyegh er ayô…”

The hen knows when day breaks, but it nudges the cock to announce the dawn.

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“Ka we ulugh tar u kenden kputu ken jime.”

When pulling a rope, keep dropping pillows behind you in case it snaps.