Category Archives: Proverbs

Hawaiian Proverb

Nationality: Hawaiian
Age: 43
Occupation: Mother
Residence: Maui
Performance Date: April 23, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Hawaiian

Note: The form of this submission includes the dialogue between the informant and I before the cutoff (as you’ll see if you scroll down), as well as my own thoughts and other notes on the piece after the cutoff. The italics within the dialogue between the informant and I (before the cutoff) is where and what kind of direction I offered the informant whilst collecting. 

Informant’s Background:

My mother’s mother’s mother and even from before her are from Hawaii but some England roots are interjected into the bloodline as well. My mother’s father’s father’s father hails half from Hawaii and the other half from China and Portugal. But what is funny about most Hawaiians, is that they are not only Hawaiian. They are also Caucasian, Portuguese, Chinese, Filipino, Samoan, Japanese, Korean, e.t.c…….Plantation workers were brought in to work the sugar and pineapple fields and they brought their culture with them.

Piece and Full Translation Scheme of Folk Speech:

Original Script: I maika’i ke kalo i ka ‘oha 

Transliteration:  I maika’i ke kalo i ka ‘oha 

Translation: The goodness of the taro is judged by the young plant it produces.

Piece Background Information:

 I maika’i ke kalo i ka ‘oha ” basically means that “parents are often judged by the behavior of their children”.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Context of Performance:

Via email.

Thoughts on Piece: 
The informant is my half-sister and we have over a 20 year age gap. I met her when our father was dying and I immediately noticed her mother-like qualities as she was very caring and would look after me and my sisters in light of the difficult time. She is a mother of seven and has home-schooled all of her children (including some who are older than me) and also loves to cook for, and support her children at their sports meets. That being said, when I asked her if she had any Hawaiian folklore to share, it came to no surprise that she shared this proverb on parenting. Her believing that the actions of her kids reflect on her own parenting, like a responsible parent should, clearly demonstrates to me why she is such a good parent.

“Every day is for the thief, one day is for the owner.”

Nationality: Nigerian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 20, 2017
Primary Language: English

Subject: Yoruba (Nigerian Proverb

Phonetic Script: “Kwa ụbọchị bụ maka ohi, otu ụbọchị dị ka onye nwe.”

Translation:” Every day is for the thief, one day is for the owner.”

Interpretation: You can lie, cheat, and steal, but one day, you will be caught.

Analysis: This proverb shows the values of the Igbo people. Virtue is better that self-interest.

 

 

 

The Show Must Go On

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: California
Performance Date: March 20, 2017
Primary Language: English

Saying: “The show must go on”

Meaning: Regardless of what happens on or off stage, the show must continue.

Analysis: This saying in showbiz is a testament to the commitment it takes to put on a full performance. It also says a lot about the performer’s commitment to the audience. No matter what may befall the performers, within reason, the people who came to watch must be honored.

Two by Two

Nationality: Mexican, White
Age: late 30s
Performance Date: April 1, 2017
Primary Language: English

“My Grandmother always used to say, the things you do two by two will come back to you one by one”

This proverb was told to me by a friend of a relative of mine at a party. My informant learned this saying from her grandmother. My informant does not know the meaning of this proverb. I think this saying means that the things or decisions we make influenced by our friends and peers may come back to haunt us in the end. This saying reminds me of the Hindu concept of Karma and the saying,” What goes around, Comes back around.”

The Young Man with the Small House

Nationality: Israeli
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Scottsdale, AZ
Performance Date: April 16, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Hebrew

Shir Attias: So there’s this young man and he has a family and he has four kids and they live in this tiny little hut, err like a house, it’s like a small house and the man has all these kids in this very small house and he’s crowded and unhappy that he lives in such a small house so he goes to the old wise man and he tells him like pray to God for me, I need your prayers so that God will give me a bigger house and the wise man says, “Okay but do this first” and he says, “ take two goats and put them in your house” and the wise, err the young man thinks he’s like batshit crazy but he’s like “okay” and he like takes the two goats and puts them in his house so then a week passes, the house didn’t get any bigger. He goes back to the wise man, he’s like “It’s not getting any bigger and now there’s goat shit everywhere” he’s like “okay now take five rabbits put them in the house” so he goes back and he puts the five rabbits in his house and nothing changes and it’s only getting more crowded and there’s all these bunnies running around, the kids are so excited with the bunnies, and na na na, and he goes back to the wise man and this continues and the wise man tells him to put three cows in his house and he puts the cows in his house and then he tells him to put, to bring in more kids and host a party for everyone and he keeps telling him to bring more and more and more into the house and eventually one day the young man goes to the old wise man and he’s like “MY HOUSE IS SO SMALL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOUR PRAYERS AREN’T WORKING?!” and he says, “Okay alright now take everything I told you to put in your house and take it all out. So he goes back and he takes out the goats and the rabbits and the cows and everything and then he looks and he goes “OH MY GOODNESS, MY HOUSE IS SO BIG!” and he goes to the wise man and he’s like “OH IT’S SUCH A BIG HOUSE, what have you done, it’s a miracle you have performed, your prayers have worked!” And the young man is happy with all his children and that’s the end of the story.

Shir learned this story from her grandfather, who used to tell this tale to her when she was little and would complain about having a small bedroom. Shir’s grandfather is from Israel which is where her grandfather likely learned the story in the first place. The purpose of the tale was to make the listener feel grateful for what they had no matter how small their living space was. Shir performed this story in our room while she and  a friend were sharing some Jewish folk tales with me. I thought this peace was interesting. It was very simple and easy to understand. I felt like the animals in the story could have been replaced with anything that took up space in the house, and the message still would have come across.