proverbs

441. Àddina du cere, waaye dañu koy laalo. (2,6,7,9,10,14,16,18,19)
Àddina du cere waaye lu mat a laalo la.
Àddina du cere waaye dees na ko laalo.
Life is not couscous but all the same one should add a binder to it.
Laalo is a vegetable powder made from the leaves of baobab trees which binds couscous
to make it sticky and therefore easy to swallow. This proverb is a recommendation that one
should know how to make life agreeable through humour, optimism, and leaving aside the
drive to have one's own needs met. It is about learning to maintain friendly relationships in
community.
442. Opp ju metti du taxa dee. (4,13)
Opp ju metti bokkul ak dee. (13)
A severe malady does not always kill.
Limitations
443. Lëg mën naa daw, waaye àttanul teg. (2,3,5,6,14,19,20)
The hare can run but it is not capable of carrying a saddle.
Everyone has his limits.
The people in a village decided to have a well dug. They put together all the money they
had available which amounted to 640,000 cfa. As this was not sufficient, they appealed for
help from a development NGO. A delegate from the the village visited a representative of
the NGO with the sum that had been collected. He explained that all the villagers were
poor, and in spite of their good will, they could not do more, quoting this proverb.
444. Ngaaxi tukkal, kenn du ko perngal mboccor. (2,3,6)
No one places the large bags of an adult male camel on the flanks of a baby
camel.
Sylla received a letter from the court in Thies. He asked his youngest son to go and find
his older brother so he could read the letter to him. Fari who is in primary school says “I
know how to read”. His father replied, “Of course you know how to read, but this letter is
much too difficult for you”, and he quotes this proverb.
445. Lu reen jan-jan, reen a nga ca suufam. (11,12)
Lu reen jan jan, reen a nga ca suuf. (2)
No matter how deep a root runs, there is another below it.
No matter how much a person knows or has, there are those who know more or have more.
446. Tool bu fi ñay ruuj, gëléem su koy ji, seet lay mana wey. (15)
If a camel sows a field in the area that an elephant has cleared, he should limit
himself to what he is capable of completing.
To be successful a person should know himself, his possibilities and his limitations, and
not make judgements based on the capacities of others.
447. Ngasum ñàmbi ku ñu cay yoori goj, daa weesu reen ya. (11,12)
Ngasum puloox ku ca wuti ay goj booba weesu nga reen ya. (20)
If you go to get a rope in order to dig up the manioc plants, that means that you
have really gone past the roots.
He who restrains himself exactly where he should, will always be able to get out of
whatever he gets into and no one will be able to fault him.
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