The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-06-04
West Indian Proverbs

1AoSS small parcels IN which primitive
ana unlettered people love 10 pack their
lore are ike the little cubes and pellets Of
condensed food with which modern Sci
ence provides the soldier and the ex-
| pIorer- Before books came and the neces-
/ Sly Tor condensation ceased, the results
| OF experience and contemplation we're
| compressed 10 their briefest expression
| IOr purposes Of preserya lion and use
( Haen philosopher was burdened with
an idea il was put into os few words
/ that MS neighbor, who was generally
] Waytaring man, and not infrequently
| 700, might remember and repeat IL SO
/ I'VE want 10 find the scope and limit Of
the wisdom OF an unlettered people, We
| must seek them in their proverbs
| Among the so-caIled Englisn-speaking
| olackso the West Indies one hears
| great number Of familiar saws. many, no
| doubt, borrowed from soma white Poor
Richard; but the larger proportion offer
| internal evidence that they nave grown
out Of the daily life and experiences OF
| those who use them.
The dark jamaican says, do fedo no
| make Guinea niger came Jamaica"
| To translate do fedo" is a manifest
corruption Of do for TO do" which sig
niles intention. For instance, do fe do
no harm" means that mere intention is
harmless. So, intention never brought
the Guinea negro to Jamaica
Brevity is no less the soul Of proverb
than Of Wit. Here is one that needs no
commentary: sleep wi dog, catch fee
Another that contains more good sermon
energy than many pulpit discourses is,
You eoer see empty bag tsan' up?'
The pig, dog, donkey, all familiar OBJ
Jects. furnish proverb texts. What
thoughtful seer he must have been who
arrlver at the following: When ma'an
trOw rockatone crock stone) at pig stye.
n min .. ct
is de one e is hit; or this: Hog run fe
him life. dog run fe him dinner; or
"Hoss hab no business in cow fight"
Greedy choke puppy" does not require
to be translated, though 1t may be well TO
explain that "Goamighty no Tub ugly
refers to the idea that is better expressed
in Hebrews j. 9.
A duppy is a ghost. "Duppy know who
him scare" suggests a warning super
stition, as though it recognized that the
one who is not afraid of spirits is not
subject TO their spells But the belief in
occult powers is reasserted in; Go da
cross pass you see ole 'oowan no trouble
him. Is it incomprehensible? We would
say, If you go to the crosspath and see
an old witch, leave her alone. If man
gle you basket fe carry put plantain leaf
in him" may be understood as a prac-
tical suggestion, or as advising a charm
against what certainly appears to be such
task as none but a necromancer would
suggest. But to the following there is an
unquestionably sombre tone: Man walk,
ded da Chem watch him" A variation
Of the foregoing sthis: Man cher so
hearty, ded da watch him.
II does not need 10 be a Jamaican to
appreciate the truth of, "Habee, habee,
no wantee; wantee, wantee, no habee."
The dialetc may be peculiar, but the lam
guage i suniversal. Nor is this difficult
TO understand: Full belly tell hongry
belly, de WORT good fe true
If you see fppence you know how dol
lar made" suggests modern fOrehand-
edness, and is probably late addition TO
list of wise sayings that is, perhaps,
one of the few properties that the race
broughtwththmntothhi ia
brought with them into their house Of
bondage. But, 'Cuss-cuss no kill. Dead
better dan punish" "Cunny better dan
rong," or, "Beggar beg from beggar
neber get rich have flavor Of antiquity
as though they were among the very frsc
matters that man learned at mother Ma
lures knee.
Many of the proverbs are decidedly hu-
morous in their form. a brown man
being neither white nor black, and apt
to put on more airs than - condition
will warrant. Is the butt fer more thar
one fthese pointed shafts. ''Neber make
Mister Goat trustee fe bread-nut tree" is
d practical idea fguratively expressed,
and "Cockaroach mighty drunk befO' he
walks apas' fowl-yard'; or, John Crow
(buzzard) neber tink him own pick'Hy
black decidedly suggest the banjo and
the bones.
Snake bite you, you see lizard YOU
run" is racy of the soil and so is ''Neber
call santapee (centipede0 names" Gator
lay egg, bue e yaint no fowl lies under
s5.f.z 1fE II
or Ben Franklin.
MAN no know him know" might have
originated anywhere. mo catchee no
habee" sounds like a Monaghan effort
and NO mind q. e., carelessness) mex
one ship go on sho'," is hardly local. An
application of the power of old habits
is expressed in the proverbs, "Ole fire.
stick no hard fe CATCH" or mo trus
pigeon in cOrnfiel."
A curious untranslatabIe word is IN COR
slant use. 1t is pronounced III one syl-
liable, 'Nyam'' "Nyam somAA leave
some, tink on tomorrow: when bull
foot broke him nyam wild monkey;
when dog nyam egg him neber leave
off,, When pot full cover nyam some"
are a few of the sayings in which this
word occurs. To take comes nearer, pe--
haps. than any other translation Take
some" "he takes with 'dog takes egg
ETC.. But this only suggests the medh-
ing.
Another word that has become rare in
English speech. is far from being obso-
lete among Jamaica negroes Tha. is
maugre. With them it mea rs poor. ;htn.
% esser fall down maugre dog laugh.
''Maugre pantain better dan none" |
sharp spur make maugre horse caper."
are some examples OF the use Of the
word.
homely and practical, full of the kind !
of wisdom that takes no thought fer |
any morrow. are many of these simple |
sayings. spider an fly no can make /
bargain and shut mout no catch fly" |
are Of this order. So are NO fe want |
tongue make COW no talk and Talk |
some. lef' some" But sometimes the prov l
erb rises 10 the height of a poet idea or /
plunges recklessly into the realms Of met
aphysics.
Is il not poetry that affirms that sleep /
hab no massa," Trouble neber blow /
SHELF Chat IS, never announces itself |
with trumpeO, When cloud come sun /
no set" etc. And as for metaphysics. pom |
der awhile on these:
"Rochatone in ribber reber feel sun |
hot" What man no know IS good fe /
know" or You shake man han you TO
shake he heart"
The notion that God teupers the wind
70 the shorn lamb IS curiosly ilustra ted
IN . jamaican proverb. as follows: When
cow hab no tail, Goramighty brush fly
te him. This does not seem 70 be even
unconscious appropriation. but clearly an
effort. But Tone wall hab
eye softly rib5er run deep" Tan far
see better" or '-Ne5er see empty pot bile
Jber.' are as evidently plsgiarisms.
White man Is fBuckra.' Between !
8uck-a and himself Quatcie recognizes
! great e--rif and sometimes he notes DIFF I