Tiv proverbs from the archive with their English translations — part 3 of 6, 232 proverbs in all, in alphabetical order of the Tiv text. Where the archive records them, each proverb is followed by its deeper meaning and the situations in which it is used.
The dog that puts its nose on a hedgehog's back will be the one to cry for its nose.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne u tesen ieren i oragee. Ka u pasen er or u nan lu a agee nan suen agee ga, ka nan lu viing ka or u nan va bam nan la nan a vaa iyol ye. Shi ka u tesen er ka mfe shio ka or za bam or u lun a tahav ye.
You cannot bend a dry stick.
- Meaning
- A stubborn person is hard to advise.
Even when I dance in the water, people still complain that I am raising dust.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er kwagh ne u tesen er ior ka ve a soo u tswamen we yô ieren you cii i lu a mshi sha mi Heen kpa ka u tesen iyolbo i lun a mi. Shi ka u tesen ishoon i ior soon we ga, uerdoo ou mbala cii ka ve gema ve hingir iyongo.
It is because of the strength of the wind that the discarded calabash finds its way back to the compound.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er kwagh ne u vaan afanyō sha ieren i va dugh ken igbyar man i doo ga yo. Ka u pasen er hemba a hemba man inja ieren ne i va dugh ye. Shi shie gen mba kuhwan amar man doo orhyundu un kpa tsue gba ken tembe nahan, tese er ahumbe taver kpishi ve bebajôndo a ve ye.
It’s your turn to act.
Idiom
Only the man with a wound knows that a housefly has teeth.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne u kaan er ka or u nan lu a mzeyol la nan fe mnyion u zayol la ye. Ka u kaan er, u tema u kenger kwagh ken ica yô u fa wer ka beerkwagh, saa kwagh la un a bende a we.
Only the one who goes to the river in the night that knows how the bat drinks water.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne u pasen er saa u lu ken atô u hanma kwagh man u fa vie vie u kwagh la ye. Saa u kporom ikyua-ikyua a hanma ieren man u fa tsembelee ye. Inima ngi hembe zenden tugh nahan saa u lu shin uagh tugh keng u fa er i me mngerem ye.
If you are in need of someone's help, learn to relate well with him before.
- Meaning
- It is advisable to relate well with everyone.
You think big even to get a little.
Idiom
It is not how long you spend defecating that determines how big your stool will be. Some people are simply born to pass big stools.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne sha u kaan er, ka zer-ôron kwagh gbem ve or ongo ga. Ka injakwagh shon imôm ka ve kaa er "Iyö i nyom i saan ityogh her, manve or kee ga" ye.
Whoever carries a burning stick of African mesquite does not waste time on the journey home.
- Meaning
- Ka nahan man or ngu a za dugh hen anngbyan er nan a za keer yô nan yemen fele fele je er ua va pir. Tiv mba er injakwagh ne u tesen er, ka we a lu a mzeyol yo u lanen ayom ou ga. Hanma kwagh u a tseru yô u lanen cigh nagh ga
When performing acrobatics, you no longer worry about your buttocks.
When trading in pepper, you do not scratch your anus.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er kwagh ne u tesen iyolparegh man mlu u sulaa sha hanma kwagh u uwe ave yô. Tese er u ngu yan kwagh a mbahyomov ou nahan u lu sulaa sha er or nan a de va bulan we ga yô.
Once you shave your head, even your dog can bark at you.
When you start madness, you will first burn your house.
- Meaning
- Charity begins at home.
When you are weaving a spike lute, you lick the honeycomb.
- Meaning
- Injakwagh ne kpa Tiv mba kaan er, doo u yangen or u nan lu eren kwagh la u zuan a mtsera ga. A pe ka we a eren tom la u zuan a kwaghyan ye. Kooso kpa ka we koron yô u eren ijer sha we, sha er kwange kôron kwagh la ua leghem yô.
Diligence and perseverance lead to success/ease.
- Meaning
- Diligence and perseverance lead to success/ease.
Behave well when seeking something good.
Idiom
Once you have a moustache, you no longer blow on the fire.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne sha u vendan iyongo i hiin. Ka ve tese er se kpa se mar ônov nahan se de kera hiin iyongo ga. Shin se penda kor yongo yô ia lu sha ityogh ki mbayev asev. Paregh kwagh u vihin sha er u va lu a mzeyol ga yô.
Giving a blind man a lamp is an insult to him.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne u yangen apera a kaan. Shin imbwase i kaan orywan.
While clearing a cave, you eat bats.
- Meaning
- Inima ka inyon i i lun ken bar yô. Mba eren tom ken bar ka vea zua a inima yô maa i hingir iyue je.
When treating a dead vagina, you always keep the penis close by.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne u kaan er, ka a öron kwagh wou i nengen sha we. Ka a ôron kwagh sha we i hônon ihyôwe sha awe.
You whistle while peeling yam for a blind man.
Idiom
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne sha u tesen ikyav i mimi man perapera. A lu er u ngu tsemben iyou man tungwan hondo yô tese er we u ngu yan ga. Man er i lu iyou ki orapirashe yô, maa nan a na jighjigh je er we u ngu a kwagh ken zwa ga. Shi u ngu bumen nan ga. Ka we a eren kwagh a or u nan fe ga yô, u eren waang sha er nan a hen er we u ngu nzughul a nan ga yô.
- When it is said
- A person is peeling yam for someone who is blind, and while doing so, the person keeps whistling.
Since the blind person cannot see, they cannot know whether the yam is being peeled honestly or whether pieces are being secretly cut off and eaten. The whistling creates the impression that the person is busy working faithfully, but it does not prove they are acting honestly.
When you deny having salt, you open your storehouse.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne u tesen jyol palegh man perapera hen ityo. Ka u tesen wer u ngu eren kwagh ken myer ga, ieren you ngi waang u yer kwagh mape ga.
When you are dressing a blind man, you are his mirror.
Idiom
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne u tesen u sõron anngbyan jime. Zum u anngbyan alu nengen kwagh u u lu eren sha ci na ga la, ka u er sha mimi.
- When it is said
- The literal meaning is that when you help a blind person put on their clothes, you become the only "mirror" they have. Since the blind person cannot see their appearance, they must rely entirely on the person assisting them to ensure they are dressed properly, neatly, and appropriately.
When you make friends with a monkey, you do not lose your arrow in a tree.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba hembe õron injakwagh ne u tesen myima u boki shin ikyar. Ka u tesen mtsera u dedoo sha ndorwan. Ka we a dondo vea ortwer yô, kwagh nyion hembe u u sôron ga. Shi tese er ka we a dondo vea ornyar, kpandegh ku hembe u u tan ga.
When nursing a lion's cub, you do not eat okra.
- Meaning
- Injakwagh ne tese mdoom ma dondo. Shin u dondon vea or u na lu a kwagh ave yô. Anyam ka inyamkyume i eren ikyōr kpishi, tese er a lu or nana lu yesen Anyam wan yên nan a yaan inyam hanma shie. Tese er a lu u ngu ijende vea ornyar yó inyaregh ki a ban u ga.
When you are sending a blind man out of your house, first throw out his walking stick.
Idiom
- Meaning
- Zum u u kaa a orapirashe wer nan a due hen ya wou sha man u tee gbogh ku nan u kende ken won je, maa ka nan fa er kuma sha mimi ve. Tiv mba er injakwagh ne sha u tesen er, i ôron i luun a ieren sha min.
- When it is said
- This proverb is used to teach that instructions, promises, or advice should be accompanied by practical support or action. It is often used when someone gives orders, advice, or encouragement without providing the help, resources, or opportunity needed to make those words meaningful.
When pulling a rope, keep dropping pillows behind you in case it snaps.
- Meaning
- Tiv mba er injakwagh ne u tesen ivyor veren i dedoo. Ka u tesen mtsera u dedoo u veren hen ityo zum u i ne u hemen yô. Ka u tesen er a lu Aóndo na u ian u zuan a afishi yô tôö anngbyanev tom er u va kera lu a agee ga kpaa ve a wasen we yo. Ka u tesen iywasen hen ior er we kpaa u va zua a iywasen yô.
When you somersault, you do not protect your buttocks.
- Meaning
- If something is worth doing, commit fully without distraction.
When you are trading in pepper, you do not scratch your buttocks again.
Wisdom
- Meaning
- Be careful in risky situations; your actions should match the reality around you.
- When it is said
- Used to urge carefulness in sensitive situations.
One who sells pepper should not put their hand in their anus.
- Meaning
- One must understand their work to avoid painful mistakes.
One is into something and there is no going back—encouraging words.
Idiom
Women do not hide their vaginas from an impotent man.
- Meaning
- Secrets are not kept from those who pose no threat.
Putting people log ahead with each other.
Idiom
To surrender.
Idiom
Being unsteady is not fitting for a person.
Idiom
You tag uno someone to get out of trouble or bad situations.
Idiom
One tree does not make a forest.
- Meaning
- Success and strength come through unity.
To unnecessarily cling on something.
Idiom
