Òwe - Yoruba 4

Òwe lẹṣin ọ̀rọ̀; bí ọ̀rọ̀ bá sọnù, òwe la fí ń wá a (Proverbs are the horses of
communication; if communication is lost, proverbs are what one uses to find
it....Effective discourse is impossible without resort to proverbs).
ii. Àgbà kì í wà lọ́jà, kórí ọmọ tuntun wọ́ (An elder who is not present at a market permits
a child’s head to rest askew....Elders must not permit untoward happenings in their
presence).
iii. Iṣẹ́ loògùn ìṣẹ́ (Work is the antidote for destitution....One must work in order to better
one’s condition).
iv. A kì í fi ìka ro etí, ká fi ro imú, ká wá tún fi ta ehín (One does not use one’s finger to
clean one’s ear passages, use it to pick one’s nose, and then use it to pick one’s
teeth....One should always behave with decorum).
v. ‘‘Bá mi na ọmọ-o mi’’ kò dénú ọlọ́mọ (‘‘Whip my child for me’’ does not come from
deep inside the mother....No mother is enthusiastic in delivering her child to deserved
punishment).
vi. Bí ojú bá rí, ẹnu á dákẹ́ (When the eyes see, the mouth remains quiet....The mouth does
not reveal everything the).
vii. A kì í bọ́ sínú omi tán ká máa sá fún òtútù (One does not enter into the water and then
run from the cold....Precautions are useful only before the event).
viii. A kì í fi ìtìjú kárùn (One does not because of shyness expose oneself to a disease....Never
be too shy to speak out on your own behalf).
ix. Àríṣe làríkà (Having an opportunity to act is also having an opportunity to tell
stories....Whoever accomplishes something worthwhile has a story to tell).
x. Bí ebí bá ń pa ọ̀lẹ, à jẹ́ kó kú (If a lazy person is suffering from hunger, he or she should
be left to die....Shiftless people deserve no sympathy).
xi. Bí ọmọdé láṣọ bí àgbà, kò lè lákìísà bí àgbà (A youth may have as many clothes as an
elder, but he will not have as many rags as an elder....Though a youth may enjoy the
same rank as an elder, he cannot match the elder in experience).
xii. Àgùntàn tó bá ajá rìn á jẹ̀gbẹ́ (A sheep that fraternizes with dogs will eat
excrement...One inevitably assumes the habits of one’s constant company).

xiii. Ẹgbẹ́ búburú ní ń ba ìwà rere jẹ́. (Bad company ruins good character....The reputation
of one’s company rubs off on one).
xiv. Ogún ọmọdé kì í ṣeré gba ogún ọdún. (Twenty children will not play together for twenty
years....All relationships end sometime).
xv. Bí orí kan-án sunwọ̀n, a ran igba. (If one head is fortunate, it will affect others....One
person’s good fortune spills over to his or her associates).
xvi. Àgbà ajá kì í bawọjẹ́ (A grown dog does not deface its skin....Decorum goes with age).
xvii. Omi lèèyàn; bó bá ṣàn wá a tún ṣàn padà. (Humans are streams; they flow forth and
flow back....People are not fixed in one location; no one knows where he or she will find
himself or herself in the future).
xviii. Èkùrọ́ lalábàákú ẹ̀wà (Palm kernel is inseparable company for beans....Wherever one
sees a certain person, one is sure to see another certain person).
xix. Ọ̀ tún wẹ òsì, òsì wẹ ọ̀tún lọwọ́ fi ń mọ́ (The right washing the left and the left washing
the right is the way to get the hands clean....Success in a venture depends on
cooperation).
xx. Ọwọ́ ọmọdé kò tó pẹpẹ, ọwọ́ àgbà kò wọ kèrègbè (The youth’s hand cannot reach the
rafters, and the elder’s hand cannot enter the gourd....Everybody needs someone
sometime; therefore, one should not refuse to aid others, even those one thinks one will
never need).
xxi. A kì í ṣoore tán ká lóṣòó tì í (One does not do a favor and then camp by it....Having
done some good, do not hang around to compel gratitude)
xxii. Ajá èṣín ò mọdẹ (A dog born a year ago does not know how to hunt....One learns from
experience and maturity)
xxiii. A kì í fi ọlá jẹ iyọ̀ (One does not consume salt according to one’s greatness....Too
much of a good thing can be dangerous.)
xxiv. Àlejò tó bèèrè ọ̀nà kò kíí sọnù (A stranger who asks the way will not get lost....One
should be willing to admit one’s ignorance and seek direction)
xxv. Ayé ń lọ, à ń tọ̀ ọ́ (The world goes forth, and we follow....One lives according to what
life confronts one with)
xxvi. Ilé ọba tó jó, ẹwà ló bù sí i. (The conflagration that destroyed the king’s palace only
makes it more palatial...There are blessings hidden in every disaster).
xxvii. Títa ríro là ńkọlà, bó bá jinná a di tẹni. (Facial scarification causes with a great deal
of pain; when it heals, its beauty becomes one’s pride...Good things come with some
pain.)