Tiv language
Brief History
Brief History
Brief History
Tiv Alphabets
Brief History
Brief History
Tiv Names
Tiv Greetings
Tiv Names
Tiv Proverbs
Some Tiv Proverbs and their Meaning
Of all the Tiv verbal art forms, Tiv proverbs are the most consistently used in everyday situations. Proverbs are used by elders and the young alike in everyday conversation. They can be used by the older folks to to prevent young listeners from understanding what they are talking about. Tiv proverbs are used as a device to shame a person, or to get out of difficult situations without losing face. There are also proverbs for praising someone or showing appreciation. Here are some Tiv proverbs that are commonly used.
Agbo ka awa tso inya I pav!
Literal translation: When the water yam grows and gets bigger the ground will break and give space for it.
Meaning: Don't bother about how big the problem is, when push comes to shove there must be a way out of it.
Or iwan veren aver pe timin nguhar ga.
Literal translation: A crippled person does not chose when to act crippled
Meaning: You can not change who you are.
Kwagh u been a bee hembe.
Literal translation: The replica is always more extreeme than the original.
Meaning:
Ahi nga hian orapireshe atsenge ahar ga
Literal translation: A blind person can not burn two pans of roasted nuts.
Meaning: One bitten twice shy.
Bagu kun a tsuwe a pase ahu.
Literal translation: When a Monkey jumps , he must let go of the tree branch
Meaning:
Kawe alu hi kpe mnger, u tuhwan ambe ga.
Literal translation: When by the river you do not insult am alligator.
Meaning:
Kawe a yaan ishwa u tsughuun jonduu
Literal translation:
Meaning:
Bua u alu a tsa ga, ka Aondo a hulen wen iji ye.
Literal translation: A cow that has no tail depends on God to chase flys off of him.
Meaning: It is God that takes care of the helpless.
Hanma igo ka ilu ii tugh .
Literal translation:
Meaning:
Or u nan yav a ityô i agher yô nana nder a wegh ku human
Literal translation: He who goes to bed with an itchy anus will wake up with a smelly hand.
Meaning:
People who commit evil in secret hoping that nobody will know shall be exposed with time.
Gbenda u zan he ya u hur or ngu gbe cha ga.
Literal translation: The road to a good friend‘s house can never be too long.
Meaning: Where there is a will, there is a way.
Hungwaja soo ka ityo ki kame.
Literal translation: The cricket loves its head to be pressed.
Meaning: You have to press a crickets head before it will stop biting you.
Application:
When a stubborn person only responds to punishment. It is used on both adults n kids
Ka awau shin ityô adoo ga yô, u teman ken ikyoosu.
Literal translation: If you have a problem with your backside, you should be using your hip to sit.
Meaning:When you have a problem you find a way around it.
APPLICATION: The Tiv use this saying to advise those who are unqualified for certain positions in life to stand down or seek other lesser positions. It often times operates as a principle of distributive justice. For example, an illegitimate child should not agitate for the same share of inheritance as what is due to the legitimate one.
Ibumegh ki a chigh ga.
Literal Translation: There is no cure for foolishness.
Meaning: Foolishness can not be cured.
Ortom Kuma inja
Literal translation: the worker deserves his wages
Aluer hyev mula ake yo kwaghyan seer a aseer kpatema.
Literal translation: When the rat is afflicted with swollen testis, it means more food for the cat.
Meaning One person's plight is another person's gain.
Ka Or duun iyough tseegh a fe mnyion u soho man mnyoho u zaa yough ye.
Literal translation: Only the bee keeper can explain the pain of the stings and the sweetness of the honey.
Meaning: Only the person going through the situation know the true pain and sweetness of that situation.
Ican-or kpa kenger nyinya.
Literal translation: Even a poor man should be free to admire/look at a horse.
Meaning: We all have certain rights as humands
Among the Tiv of the Pre-Colonial era, the economy was such that horses were prized and luxurious possessions that only the rich and powerful could afford to have. Horses were, economically and socially, as valuable as the luxury cars of today. This saying originated from the fact that even though the poor could not buy horses, they at least had the privilege of admiring them (whether such horses were in a private stable, on parade in a public gathering, or on display in the market square. But it has a deeper meaning as stated below.
Even the poor have certain unalienable rights and privileges which must be acknowledged, and respected.
Ka we a lu a kyondo ga u de ave sha ikyogh.
Literal translation: When you don't have cloths , you keep your hands away from the cloths line.
Meaning: Don't wish for things that you can not afford.
Tim tyo u or saan she ga.
Ones labour is not in vain.
