BY
ISYAKU BALA IBRAHIM
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR (34)
TUKPAPA – REMINDER
1. Wo kpe nyina na, wo kpe esun à.
If you know today you do not know tomorrow.
Man is ignorant of the future.
2. Tukpapa wun è lugwa tukpa tsu à.
A reminder does not cause dumbness.
A reminder does not cause harm rather it enlightens an individual.
3. Erwagi gan séfu, wuntso ma na kin bo à.
The crippled draws attention to stand for prayers while he is still on the floor.
Show a clear commitment towards something before asking others to emulate you.
4. Eza ù la eda ù ya tun ka kun na wun è woma egwako na kacin à wun à be à ma
ù zunye.
A person should leave the stage when the ovation is loudest or else he will shamefully leave it later.
People should do things at their appropriate times.
5. Nangi ga e za be eshigi, wun à be à ca ebi nyi gi.
Any sheep that follows a dog about will soon start eating faeces.
Be careful in choosing a friend or a partner as he/she might positively or negatively influence your life.
6. Eza è de ekò dan egwa ò ede ù shishikan à.
No one in possession of soap will allow it clothes to remain dirty.
With adequate resources at one’s disposal, one will solve alot of problems.
7. Wun jin za è wun kuso na wun kana à.
It is not the person that owns the forest that owns its baboon.
You cannot be in contol of everythings.
8. Egwa la mufu lo ená ò, a ma tsukun tsá ma à wa wun ò.
It is the hand that takes an iron-stove into a fire, but it is a stick that will bring it out.
People should be careful of the negative consequences of their actions.
9. Éyé na shi na ékó na; zana da ù na à masha.
The night has set-in on the road; whoever will ply it must take caution.
Whatever you do not have detailed explanation on should be treated with caution.
- Eza è gi yiwara zo vo wun kun gwa wun à.
A person does not finish eating a cooked grain-flour meal and wriggles his hands into
the plate.
You cannot reverse what has been concluded.
- Wun jin na eza lé be nyi na, wun è san be nyi à.
It is not what a person sleeps with, that he or she wakes up with.
Life is generally dynamic, it is subject to changes.
- Nyana è li li na wun è zo zo.
What is picked consistently is consistently finishing.
People should be conscious of things they constantly use, as they will certainly finish.
- Zandondo ù la emi ù tú égún mi nda ù.
Everyone should go by their inherited family norms.
People should always respect their family ethics.
- Kankuru na janfuru dan nuwon ò na be tsun yikán tsun.
A hippopotamus that just enters into the water meets the fish therein.
The new arrivers should give regards or respect the old hands.
- Nyana saka lo égó na, wun be tsun nyana lé égó na tsun.
Whatever comes into the bush early in the morning meets what slept therein.
There are differences between old and and new things is clear.
- Nyana è ge eza na wun ga yizheci è nanvó, nyana ma è nyí eza na wun ga è dagun
ò.
What will make an individual nice is avoided and what will make him bad is happily welcomed.
People find it difficult to do the right things.
- Wo gá gba ezako, efo de à yi efo wotso be de ezako ye.
If you are obedient to your superior, someday you will become one.
There is wisdom behind obedience and respect of superior.
- Nyagbanlaci è de enyandondo à.
A jealous person does not gain anything.
There is no any benefit for being jealous.
- Dagan yeshi ga bo è ca eci lazhin ò.
The morning race begins from the night.
The earlier the better. It is always better to start a task early enough to meet the targeted result early enough.
- Eza è yi be kanwon è sungwa ò wun tán gbako à.
A person cannot be in possession of potash and have stomach ache.
When a person has a solution to a problem it should solve it or else it should not complain afterwards.
- A ga è kín ò gongi má wa, wo fe tswa ewanko.
If you are praised for being a good hay harvester, be conscious of a python.
The applauded person should be cautious of making mistakes.
- Zawangi wun rayi à.
A man owns not it soul.
A man is not in control of it life. It should therefore give maximum attention to whatever comes it way as soon as possible.
- Dagbá ku èsà, asara yi nya esatso.
An elephant that moved away with a net, the owner bears the lost.
Whoever does not own a thing will show less concern if it is missen.
- Wo gá la yikuru dzodzo, madán à gun ò.
If you play with grain flour you will be hungry.
A person does not joke with where it gets it daily bread.
- Eza wún enya à wun de ewùnzhe?
If a person does not own a thing, will it be angry over it?
Do not get angry over what does not to you.
- Wo yi da yi lo è, wotso ma ò la bicí ò kpé.
Let us move forward, while you should also hastenly lead the way.
People should lead by example.
- A gan majin ényà-donci à gbín, wo gan we gbigan ényà-donci.
The leader of mortar-drummers had sunk, and you are still demanding drums to be played.
This is used when a person is off-track or beating about the bush.
- Zana gba ebó ye na, wun ga ebo è kunmi.
Whoever belittles the right reason, it will cause it problems someday.
Always make use of the right decision or suggestion.
- Éyé dá wun má yékorogi à.
A treated eye will not produce eye-mucus.
A problem already solved will affect no one.
- Yi à lo, yi à lo; wun ga è la zhi lo lokpa ò.
We will go, we will go; is what makes a journey far.
To start a thing is what is always difficult.
- Bici ù tswa éwá, éwá ma ù tswa bici.
The leg should be careful with the snake and vice versa.
Showing restrend is better than hurting one another.
- Tswa éyé! tswa éyé! gá yi cigbe éyé ò.
Be careful with the eye!! Is the best eye treatment.
‘Prevention is better than cure’.
- Dangi emi ga è won bishe emi ò.
It is a domestic cat that catches a chicken.
When you are familiar with a thing, you will know how to target or get it. - A la hankali à tswa lafiya.
Make use of reasoning to make peace.
Think before you act.
- Egi-ena ke nyizagi na ù yi ò, na gá pani wangi ná wun à fe ba zandondo, na ma pàni wangi à na è sa fi zandondo à.
A party-candidate is like a woman; if she does her make-up very well, everyone
will like her; and if she does not, no one will like her.
Always do your homework very well before doing any given task or aspiring for any position in life.
- Zana gbin nuwon be èwòko na wun gá nuwon è gbin ò.
Whoever smims with a gown on will be drawn.
Always do things rightly and avoid ambiguity.
- Kabo éyé-nnakogi nyaga wo be à, wun è ceka ba egi égí.
Even if the aunty’s eye cannot perform witchcraft anymore, but it does frightens a child.
What people have master will not easily fade away.
38. Eza à ce ekpà, kin yaba?
When one shoots an arrow does the ground get out of the way?
Do not expect impossibilities.
- Eni è zan eje wun kan gi gi wun à.
Too much soup on solid-grain porridge will not prevent it from been eaten.
What must be done cannot be avoided.
40. Eyiwárá ga pin dan èdò, nin nyi ù yi tsa tsa è.
If a grain of corn falls in the mud, the inside is still clean.
The truth or false cannot be concealed, it will surely come to be known.
41. Yajinci jin nyana kagbo ù kun na.
The poor should go for what he can afford.
People should live within their means.
42. Madangunci è kpe eje sánmu ye kperi à.
A hungry person does not know poisoned food.
Extreme anxiety leads to obliteration.
43. Yajinci è kpe shikanshi ede ù ye kperi à.
The poor does not differentiate between the dirt of his clothes.
This proverb is directed at people that do not find fault in whatever they do instead blame others.
- Eza bo bo kpa eshigi wun latswan be à? Wo ga è tswan-tswan-nyi, eshigi gan wun dan na.
A person cannot keep a dog and hiss again? For any hissing sound made, the dog appears.
When someone is fed-up with a particular situation.
- Kara na nyagban pa na wun è lò eti à.
The luggage sensibly arranged will not be too heavy for the head to carry.
Be very logical in carryout any assignment to guard against errors or mistakes.
Wow! Beautiful effort sir. You must have endured a lot to be able to compile the 1000 Nupe proverbs of your book. Really happy they are people who are committed to reviving the use of their local language in Nigeria. Thumbs up! I will feature some of these proverbs from time to time on our facebook page: The Green Heritage, a page committed to popularizing the cultural and natural endowments of Nigeria. I will also credit the source.
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Thank you for your kind comment
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing. I am from the US and want to visit Nigeria one day. My father has been to Nigeria, and I am inspired go as well. Your work makes the ancestors proud. I would like to communicate with you, please share your email at earlemitchell360@gmail.com. Kindest Regards...Earle Mitchell
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