Category Archives: Proverbs

Nigerian Thief Proverb

Nationality: Nigerian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 10 April 2018
Primary Language: English

Context:

Stanley Kalu was raised in Nigeria. Since then, he and his family have lived in various African countries. He currently studies screenwriting at the University of Southern California. He is a friend of mine, and he has often told me stories about growing up in Nigeria. I asked him for folklore, and without even needing to ask for Nigerian folklore, he offered up several pieces, including two proverbs. When I asked why he gave me two proverbs, he said that his mother often said them to him, and that mothers and their proverbs are so infamous that there are meme websites dedicated to them that he visits when he feels homesick. Stanley provided the proverb in English.

Transcript:

Stanley: This is a great Nigerian proverb. “Every day is for the thief. One day is for the owner of the house.”

Owen: Could you explain what this proverb means to you?

Stanley: It means that while you can do all the crimes that you want, every day, one day you will get caught and you will get found out.

Owen: Did someone used to say this to you repeatedly?

Stanley: Nah, my Mom just said it one time.

Interpretation:

This is a great example of a proverb that makes little sense to an outsider. When he told me the proverb, I could barely guess what it meant. It is his following explanation that is necessary for understanding. It was also interesting that I had to ask him for the explanation–he stated the proverb so obviously at first.

Agua Que No Vas a Beber Déjala Correr

Nationality: Cuban
Age: 54
Occupation: Customer Service Supervisor
Residence: Miami, FL
Performance Date: 4/15/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: english

Cuban culture in general is incredibly vibrant and colorful. With recent tourism to Cuba rising, foreigners often underestimate how vibrant the buildings, cars, and clothes are in Cuba. And this powerful expression also transfers over into language and proverbs. Although the Cuban diaspora is widespread, our vernacular holds us together. When visiting home recently, my aunt and grandmother came over to share proverbs and common Cuban vernacular with me.

One such proverb is: “Agua Que No Vas a Beber Déjala Correr”. Phonetically, it’s easy to pronounce since it utilizes the same Latin alphabet.

This is Cuban proverb was told to me by my aunt, who’s heard it all her life whether in public or at home. As a native speaker, I’ve heard this proverb a lot while growing up but did not know what it really meant until my aunt explained it. When literally translated, it reads “Water you don’t drink, you should let run.” My aunt explained that the original context means that if an issue does not concern you, you let it be; like water flowing down a stream it is not important to you at all. Sometimes it’s worse, the proverb posits, to become muddled in someone else’s problems. If one tries to solve the problems of another, the one with the problem won’t grow as a result and the situation can become much worse as a result of the intervening. So everyone for themselves, y’all.

El Camaron que se Duerma se lo Lleva la Corriente

Nationality: Cuban
Age: 54
Occupation: Customer Service Supervisor
Residence: Miami, FL
Performance Date: 4/15/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Cuban culture in general is incredibly vibrant and colorful. With recent tourism to Cuba rising, foreigners often underestimate how vibrant the buildings, cars, and clothes are in Cuba. And this powerful expression also transfers over into language and proverbs. When visiting home recently, my aunt and grandmother came over to share proverbs and common Cuban vernacular with me.

One such proverb is: “El Camaron que se Duerma se lo Lleva la Corriente”. Phonetically, it’s easy to pronounce since it utilizes the same Latin alphabet.

My aunt knows about this proverb because when they were growing up in Puerto Rico, my grandfather was a constant example of hard work: he became very wealthy in Cuba, lost it to Castro, and gained it back again in both the US and Puerto Rico. When literally translated it says “The sleeping shrimp is taken by the current”, meaning that if not attentive or on top of things, one does not have control. It’s generally a good proverb to know as a reminder for one to continue her studies. It was a constant reminder for my aunt to work hard and be on top of her priorities; a value that was instilled into her and her sisters and eventually down to me and my cousins.

As my aunt mentioned this proverb, my mom, who was also in the room, yelled “Yes, someone needs to tell this chiquito this” (meaning me) because I’m super lazy and need to be more on top of things. Now that my mom was reminded of this proverb, I don’t think I’ll hear the end of it.

Красота требует жертв

Nationality: Ukrainian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/20
Primary Language: English
Language: Russian

My friend V typically speaks about her crazy Ukrainian family and their escapades whenever we’re outside of class. Growing up as a first generation Ukrainian-American is a little wild (as a first generation anything for that matter!).

I asked if she had a proverb that really influenced her, and she told me this: “Красота требует жертв”. Phonetically it’s pronounced “Krasota trebuet zhertv”. V said that the literal translation is “Beauty requires sacrifice” with the actual translation being “Without pain/sacrifice, you will not achieve beauty.”

V said that she had learned it from her Ukrainian mom when growing up, and says that it has two meanings for her. The first being that the proverb reminds her of how different and sexist the environment was where her mother was raised. Her other interpretation is that one must go through hard and unpleasant circumstances to achieve good things and have good things happen to them. It’s also a value of hard work for her, as she gave me the example of drawing thousands of dots for a pointillism painting. It’s tedious and one can easily get carpal tunnel, but the ends, to V, justify the struggling means.

Live Beneath Your Means

Nationality: American
Age: 57
Occupation: Real Estate Agent
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/24/18
Primary Language: English

Informant learned this proverb in a time of monetary deficiency where he overextended himself in terms of keeping track of money in his previous business world. He heard someone say this and it has stuck with him for decades. The informant said it taught him to spend less and to be diligent about keeping track of money; as a result of this proverb, he now only spends money on his debit card. This is a proverb he will continue to speak about for the rest of his life and has passed it onto his own children.