African Proverbs and Proverbial Names

222 Pages·1999·32.168 MB·English

by  Jonathan Musere

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African Proverbs and Names
Proverbial
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2016 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/isbn_096459692x_0
African Proverbs and Proverbial Names
Jonathan Musere
Ariko Publications
Los Angeles
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication
(Provided by Quality Books Inc.)
,
Musere, Jonathan.
CD BR
African proverbs and proverbial names /
—
Jonathan Musere. 1st ed. PN6519
G25
cm. .
p. M87
1999
Includes bibliographical references and index.
LCCN: 99-94370
ISBN: 0-9645969-2-X
1. Proverbs, Ganda-Dictionaries. 2. Ganda
language—Etymology--Names. 3. Names, Personal-
Ganda. I. Title.
PN6519.G25M87 1999 398.9'963'957
QBI99-255
Codman Sq. Branch Library
690 Washington Street
MA 071 ?j
Dorchester, . 1999
DEC 2000 Ariko Publications
All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form,
except for the inclusion of briefquotations in a review or article, without
written permission from the publisher or author.
For information and additional copies contact the publisher:
Ariko Publications
12335 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 155
CA
Los Angeles, 90025
United States of America
Printed in the USA by
BP
MORRIS PUBLISHING
3212 Last Highway 30 • Kearney. NE 68847 • 1-800-650-7888
Contents
Introduction
j
Proverbs and Proverbial Names
8
References
19g
General Index
99
\
Names' Index
203
Acknowledgments
Permission for use of the Luganda-English Dictionary by John D. Murphy
and Luganda Proverbs by Ferdinand Walser was acquired from the
publishers Catholic University of America Press and Dietrich Reimer
Verlag respectively. Many thanks to these and the several other sources
that assisted in the assembling ofthis volume.
Jonathan Musere
Culver City, California
February 1999
—Proverbs of the Baganda-
Eyamikana ku mugendo,
y'efuuka kaasa.
The reddish-brown soldier ant that separates from
the trail, is the one that becomes the black soldier
ant which travels singly and bites more fiercely.
Omuddo
gw'oluyiira, n'atalina mbuzi agwegomba.
The
luxuriant green grass that grows following the
slashing and burning, is looked forward to even by
the one who does not own a goat.
Omugano gw'enswa, mukadde
tiguleka waka.
A swarm
of edible flying ants lures every elder to
come
out of the house.
Kasakkya: n’ataayanike abuuza omusana.
That the rain may let up for a spot of the sun: even
the one that will not put anything out to dry asks
about the sunshine.
Omwogezi mutambuze; bw'akoowa, awummula.
A talker is (like) a traveler; w hen he becomes tired,
he
rests.
-Proverbs of the Baganda-
Tuyinza okugamba nti buli budde era na bull wanlu Abaganda baabanga mu
kuyigiriza bannaabwe. Kuba amannya mangi abantu ge beetuumanga era ne
ge baatuumanga ebintu byabwe, ng'engabo, amafumu, emiggo, emmindi
n'ebintu ebirala, gaabanga ga ngero. Bakabaka ennyumba zaabwe nabo
baazituumanga amannya ga ngero. Maliwo n'ebyalo bingi ebyatuumwa
amannya ag'eng'ero, okugeza: Bukalammuli, mu Ssingo; Kijjoomanyi, mu
Buddu; Kisigula, mu Kyaddondo n'ebirala. ...Era nsuubira ng’abato
;
n'abakulu bajja kusanyukanga nga banoonya amakulu g'engero...okufaanana
nga ab'edda bwe baasanyukiranga okunoonya n’okuvumbula amakulu
g’ebikokko. Ate era nsuubira nti abantu abalala bajja kuwandiika ebitabo
ebirimu engero ennyingi okusinga eziri muno. Era mu abo mwe muliba
abalifuba okuwandiika ebitabo ebinene nga bivvuunula amakulu g'engero
zaffe gonna nga tegannabula. [We can say that all the time and everywhere,
the Baganda were involved in teaching one another. That is since many of the
names the people gave to themselves and also gave to what they owned such
as shields, spears, canes, smoking pipes, etc. were based on proverbs. Kings
gave their houses proverbial names. There are also many villages that were
given proverbial names, e g. Bukalammuli in Ssingo, Kiijoomanyi in Buddu,
Kisigula in Kyaddondo, and so forth. ...And I hope that both young and old
will always become delighted as they search for the meanings in the
proverbs...just like how those of the past delighted in searching for and
finding out the meanings of the idioms. And I hope that other people will
write books that contain many more proverbs than the ones that are in here.
And among
it is those that there will be some that will work hard at writing
large volumes that explain the significance of all our proverbs, before the
meanings get lost
]
—Michael Bazzekuketta Nsimbi (Siwa Muto Lugero 1948)
,