Category: Mwinika Language and Culture

“Opatjera olipa.” (To begin is difficult.) One of my friends quoted this proverb to me the other day when he sensed that I was disappointed in the turnout at the lessons. “Don’t worry” he said, “More people will begin to show up as you get going. To begin is difficult.”

“Onthamwene namakara onvira mmakuthani” (The lame person is carried on the shoulders his friends.) I (Phil) heard this expression the first time when an uncle was giving advice to a young nephew who was not treating his friend well. The uncle was trying to communicate to the young man that he should treat his friend […]

“Ekopo yamariye yahuupusa ephakala.” (The small stick used to startle small birds flushed out a large animal.) Sometimes small events can have large consequences. A boy might see some birds in the nearby brush and throw a small stick at them. What he doesn’t know is if there might be a large animal in the […]

“Emwidhi madhi oviha. Khamviha empa.” (Family is like hot water. It can’t burn a house down.) This proverb is somewhat similar to us saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” It means that it doesn’t really matter what your family says, they might hurt but they can’t do […]

“Weetta ohiya nnawu. Wahiya eyano enawutthara.” (If you walk, leave your feet. If you leave your mouth, it will follow you home.) When you go visiting, if you say anything to anyone, especially about your plans or about anything good that has happened to you, you can count on it being remembered. For instance, if […]

Ever tried to tell a story and had it flop? I am reminded of a time that I had a story flop. It was a year or two ago when I was in full time language study. I was translating one of Aesop’s fables into eMwinika as a language exercise. It went something like this: […]

The hippo lives in the water during the day and on land at night. One day it came time for the animal governments to collect taxes. During the day the government of the water went to collect taxes from all the fish and the government of the land went to collect taxes from the land […]

“Namatthava matthatto khanrupela.” The weaver of mats doesn’t sleep with a mat. In other words, the one who makes a living off something doesn’t take advantage of his own expertise. Other versions that I have heard include “The carpenter’s house never has a door” or “The healer is never well.” Whenever someone gives advice that […]

As you would expect, the Mwinika have stories and proverbs that teach opposite principles. Just like we would say “good things come to those who wait” in one situation and “the early bird gets the worm” in another, they, too, have competing proverbs. When they want to emphasize initiative the Mwinika say “muratji khamwurihiwa maadhi […]

It happened like this. The genet (a type of wild cat) got up and said: “I am going to the house of the king of the humans to marry his daughter.” So he went to the king’s house. When he arrived he greeted the king. He then greeted the other people and sat down. The […]