Proverbs
Fest kôrta ganv, pirjentichem nanv
The literal translation of the proverb would be: “The village celebrates the feast; the ‘president’ gets the name. ” When the people from a village celebrate their feast, someone from the village either volunteers or is elected or appointed to be the “pirjent” or president. A president is like the main “celebrator” (the … Continue reading
Donui vhoddeanr pãy, ekay vhoddear nãy
Donui vhoddeanr pãy, ekay vhoddear nãy literally means: “If you plant your feet across two boats, you will find yourself on neither”. Life’s choices are often limited. It is certainly frustrating not to have the object of your desire. But if there are two equally desirable and individually attainable objects which are mutually incompatible, it … Continue reading
Mãy nasleleak bara mãyô
“Mãy nasleleak bara mãyô” literally means “one who has no mother has twelve mothers”. However, the number twelve actually means “numerous”, and is more or less equivalent to the words “umpteen” and “zillion” in English usage. We see the word bara used in in a similar way in the proverb we have already seen: Mel’lê mhoxik … Continue reading
Muy zaunk zai ani sakhor khaunk zai
Literally: One must become an ant and (= to) eat sugar
Redde-padde zhogoddtat, zhaddar kall!
It’s a situation that occurs regularly in the world of nature but has several parallels in the world of man: the mighty and powerful try their stunts; the helpless innocent bear the brunt. When armies wage war, civilians perish, infants vanish and fugitives live in anguish. The proverb is used to describe a situation of … Continue reading
Nhal’li-dhul’li ostori ani xenn kaddul’li dorthori
An awful portrait, don’t you think? But it isn’t quite as revolting as you might think. In those days, cow-dung floors were the norm, and “cow-dunging” a floor was like painting a wall: the floor would be prepared by scraping off some of the old dried and worn-out cow-dung and then “polished” with a fresh … Continue reading
Mel’lê mhoxik bara xer dud
Literally: Twelve seers of milk to the dead buffalo. The dative (to the … ) has the meaning of has. Thus: a dead she-buffalo has twelve seers of milk. That amount of yield for a single Indian female buffalo is beyond normal expectations and therefore isn’t true. This proverb can have double significance. It may … Continue reading