20
Hausa Proverbs
57 Ganni ba chi ba ne.
- To see is not to obtain.
- To see a thing does not necessarily mean that you will obtain it. Chi, literally to eat, often means to obtain.
58 Yo da gobe māgani'n wata rana.
- To-day and to-morrow are the cure for wata rana.
- Wata rana signifies an indefinite time,—Sai wata rana,—we will meet again some day. The idea is that every day that passes brings "wata rana" nearer.
59 Tilas ba ta rassa daki'n kwana.
- Compulsion does not lack a house to sleep in.
- Necessity knows no law.
- Tilas is often pronounced chilas: more especially in Kabbi and Ariawa.
60 Tilas kaia'n gwéwa, yaro na ganni, babba na dauka.
- Compulsion is the load of gwéwa; the boy looks on while his master carries it.
- Gwéwa, elephantiasis of the testicles; it is a disease from which a boy could not suffer, and is a load which cannot be transferred to him.
- Na, Vide 8.
61 Kaffa'n woni ba ta wa woni taffia.
- The legs of one man are no good to another for walking.
62 Idan dei a chini (ni=ne) ba a seyer ba, kaza ta fi doki.
- If it is a matter of eating and not of selling, then the hen is better than a horse.
- Everything has its own peculiar uses.
