29 November 2011

Tsumo - Shumo


Chiripo-chiripo
ndarira imwe hairiri.

What is there is there, one bracelet does not tinkle on its own.

Everything that happens has a cause; nothing just happens by chance.

-- Shona Proverb
From Tsumo - Shumo by Mordikai A. Hamutyinei and Albert B. Plangger


22 November 2011

Tsumo - Shumo



Chidembo hachinzwi kunhuhwa kwacho chomene.

The pole-cat cannot smell its own stink.

A person rarely blames himself. All people point to the mistakes of others leaving their own blunders untold.

-- Shona Proverb
From Tsumo - Shumo by Mordikai A. Hamutyinei and Albert B. Plangger


15 November 2011

Tsumo - Shumo


Kashiri kapangami kanovaka dendere neminhenga yedzimwe shiri.

A clever bird builds its nest with other birds' feathers.

A man who prospers often does so at the expense of others. People suspect that a successful businessman has got rich because he has shrewdly exploited others.

-- Shona Proverb
From Tsumo - Shumo by Mordikai A. Hamutyinei and Albert B. Plangger


08 November 2011

Tsumo - Shumo


Ukaona tsuro yomisa nzeve
yonyera nhanga yokutiza.

When you see a hare raising its ears it is about to run away.

When a usually composed person acts oddly or suspiciously it indicates that he wants to avoid blame or embarrassment. People quote the proverb at the chief's court to warn the judges of the cunning of the accused.

-- Shona Proverb
From Tsumo - Shumo by Mordikai A. Hamutyinei and Albert B. Plangger


01 November 2011

Tsumo - Shumo


Zvaita sei kuti chembere yorasika
bere rorutsa imvi?

Why is it that an old woman is lost and the hyena vomits grey hairs?

People become suspicious of a coincidence which could only be disproved by an alibi. A mother who misses a tin of sugar will suspect the child who has some grains of sugar on his lips.

Like the English saying, "Where there's smoke, there's fire."

-- Shona Proverb
From Tsumo - Shumo by Mordikai A. Hamutyinei and Albert B. Plangger