Category Archives: Proverbs

‘We’ll Cross Every River As We Get There’

Nationality: Ethiopian
Age: 19
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4/15/16
Primary Language: English

The informant is a freshman at the University of Southern California. She provides some background information about where she is from and how she was raised in America after migrating from Ethiopia and introduces an Ethiopian proverb she learned from her family.  

Me: “Start with telling me a little bit about your dad, maybe who he was, and about how he told you the proverb.  Then you can tell me what he told you and why the saying may or may not be significant to your life.”

 

E: “Okay, so I was born in Ethiopia and immigrated here to the states when I was younger…but I was raised in an Ethiopian household, so that’s like my entire upbringing, culturally, heritage wise. My dad is a really cool guy. Probably my favorite person, like in life. Um, He parents better through proverbs, so anytime I have like an issue or a problem in my life, he’ll always hit me with one, and his favorite one to tell me growing up…um, I used to worry a lot and be like a really stressed out person all the time…and he would always tell me…’we’ll cross every river as we get there.’ And It’s basically describing a story of, like a farmer with his sheep and his flock, and how he can stand with them in a field and…maybe stress about any dangers that might come in the future or you know some predator that may come and steal his sheep or eat his sheep or something like that, or one of the sheep could get lost…there’s a million things to worry about but if you let your mind deviate on those thoughts then you kind of forget about what’s currently happening in the present moment. So the proverb is if there’s a river that you have to cross, you worry about that river when you get to that river…for now you just stay in your place.”  

 

This proverb is especially useful because I get very anxious about things that will happen in the future or that I may have little to no control over. To be able to remind myself of this saying that basically says to take it one step at a time, is personally therapeutic for me, so I think I can relate to the participant’s understanding of the proverb as well.

 

Live Your Life While The Sun Shines

Nationality: Ethiopian/ Hawaiian
Age: 19
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/15/16
Primary Language: English

The informant is a freshman at the University of Southern California. Over Spring break, she vacationed in Hawaii where she met a local in Maui, Hawaii.  He was working at a tattoo parlor and is originally from Maui. The local was able to communicate a folkloric proverb to Elshadaii that he found significant to Hawaiian culture. Elshadaii was able to pass it down to me.  

 

E: “It goes, ‘Oi Kau ka lau, e hana ola honua,’ and it means that while the sun remains risen, you should do all that you can.”

 

M: “So what does this mean to you?”

 

E: “It’s basically saying to do all that you can while you are still alive and breathing. While the sun is still up and you have the freedom of opportunity, make the most of it! I think this is a lot like ‘Carpe Diem: Seize the Day!’”

Hawaiian: ‘Oi Kau ka lau, e hana ola honua,’

English: Live your life while the sun shines.

Roman: trăiesc viața în timp ce soarele strălucește

I feel as though there is a powerful meaning behind this proverb. I was raised to go through every day with a goal in mind, and this proverb teaches a similar lesson. Often times we forget how short life can be, and I interpreted this proverb as saying to be productive each and every day and to live life happily. The translations of the proverb serve the purpose of showing that the lesson within the proverb is universal and can be applied to everyone.

‘The Tide Decides…’

Nationality: Ethiopian/ Hawaiian
Age: 19
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/15/16
Primary Language: English

The informant is a freshman at the University of Southern California. Over Spring break, she vacationed in Hawaii where she met a local in Maui, Hawaii.  He was working at a tattoo parlor and is originally from Maui. The local was able to communicate a folkloric proverb to Elshadaii that he found significant to Hawaiian culture. Elshadaii was able to pass it down to me.

 

E: “This one goes, ‘the tide decides but leaves behind seashells on the sand. For every joy that passes, something beautiful remains.’”

 

Me: “ What does this mean to you?”

 

E: “Um, I think it’s basically a metaphor for the coming and going things in our lives. To me, it encompasses all of the joys that we come across and how they are beautiful in their own time but eventually everything must pass. And although that can be a sad thing, it’s better to focus on the good growth it brought us as opposed to focusing on the negatives.”

 

I feel as though this proverb perpetuates an optimistic outlook on life. The informant interpreted the proverb as saying that good things will come and go in life, but we should appreciate the growth we experienced as a result of these events. I think the proverb speaks more about being happy that certain things happened versus being sad that they are gone or over. Nonetheless, the proverb spreads a positive message and encourages readers to be more positive about the coming and going of people, experiences, etc.

 

“Do as I say, not as I do”

Nationality: Caucasian, American
Age: 55
Occupation: Therapist
Residence: New York
Performance Date: Sunday, April 17th, 2016
Primary Language: English

“Do as I say, not as I do”

 

“So my father said it, his name was Joseph Lynn Boyd, who is my father and your grandfather. He would say it all the time. It is so bad, he was so bossy. He would say this to boss me around when he didn’t want to do something … and it was very annoying. It wasn’t very empathetic. It was very authoritarian. It wasn’t a democracy, he was the dictator.”

“He said it so much I can’t even think of a specific example. I didn’t want to go to church on Sundays but my mom also wanted to go. ‘Your goin’ to church with your mother.’ And I would say, ‘well you don’t have to go,’ and he would reply with ‘do as I say not as I do.’ It wasn’t every nice now that I think about it. He was pretty selfish.”

 

What was the significance of this proverb to your family?

“It showed that he was the authoritarian dictator, and he never wanted to listen to anyone else, and he was selfish.”

 

Who did this proverb affect?

“I’m sure if he had other children he would say it to them but he only had one kid. And if he had a really nice car, we always had a lot of cars … and I wanted to drive one of the nice ones; he would say ‘Do as I say not as I do.'”

 

Analysis:

This proverb symbolizes the informant’s family dynamic and her relationship with her father. It demonstrates the paternal authority her father claimed over his family and the demands he made of everyone else. This proverb shows that the informant’s father felt as though he were in a position to decide what his family members did, especially his child.

“Money doesn’t grow on trees”

Nationality: Caucasian, American
Age: 55
Occupation: Therapist
Residence: New York City
Performance Date: Sunday, April 17th
Primary Language: English

“Money doesn’t grow on trees”

 

“My father would primarily say that as I got older and would want money. He was very frugal with his money and sometimes he was oddly cheap. Well, you have to put it into context. He grew up in the depression so he was very tight with his money. The oddly cheap, everything, he was so cheap, I remember when he would say when you go to the bathroom, use only two squares of toilet paper. When I was um … when I would have to do back to school shopping he would give me $50 for all of my school shopping. He would give me $20 to buy one pair of jeans. He had no idea how much clothes cost or how important they were to girls. He wasn’t really in touch with reality or how much things cost. He thought one pair of shoes was enough. I had one pair of topsiders, and I didn’t get another pair until that one was falling apart. My mom was sick … when she would talk, she would try to say, use the two squares, turn off all of the lights, use little paper towels. This is why I go over board in the other direction. Another thing, when I would eat a bowl of cereal, and there would be milk in the bottom of the bowl, he would make me drink the milk.”

 

Have you ever said it?

“Probably to you and Michael [my brother]. I don’t think I’m oddly stingy.”

 

What do you see as the significance of this saying?

“There is a finite amount of money in the household. So organic.”

 

Analysis:

This proverb represents the informant’s family’s careful practices with money. It makes sense that the informant’s father was the one to primarily use this proverb, because he grew up poor during the depression. However, the informant says that to her, this proverb represented his stinginess. She complains that he went overboard with the meaning of this proverb, and that her father did not understand the reality of how much things cost or why she wanted things. Through the informant’s story of this proverb, we can see that it sometimes put her at odds with her parents and that she chose to raise her children in a different way.