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Oco o'du-a ri ni, 'ba 'ba enya ku [For the sleeping dog, food is not placed]...
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Odi'dia nya puro ebi [Newness ate raw grasshoppers] = A newcomer can be made to do anything.
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Odru fu Anira ni te/ Odru fu An(dr)era ni te [A buffalo killed Anira (who thought he knew it all)/ An(dr)era (who thought she had seen it all)] = Listen to advice!
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Odru vile ri ma ndua ari wiri [The last buffalo will bleed or suffer; it will be speared to death] = Lesson here is that we should do things with people, not alone.
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Odrukudru alu ini yi mile woro [One frog dirtened all the water]...
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Otuo ni adri azi [A brother-in-law is another brother]...
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Ovaa go vile, Ovaa go dri dra dri [The Waterbuck came back, it returned to its death] = If you find something bad somewhere, don't go back because you might meet your death there.
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Ozo angiri ma vutia, gari ci [After a flood (heavy rains), there is a rainbow]...
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Pati amburi (ambori) 'ba omveni oce ni ku [A big tree is not called a forest]...
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Pati ifi i'deni re ku [The seed of a tree doesn't fall very far] = A parent's behaviour can be reflected in his or her children.
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Si imve ma etia ari eka ci [Behind white teeth there is red blood]...
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Suru 'ba oji yi si ku [Nationality/ Tribe is not washed off with water]...
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Ti sobikokori ni, MUNGU ni onyukunyu dro ni [For the cow without a tail, GOD chases away the houseflies]
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Toko andri dra 'bo [The mother of free gifts is dead] = Nothing is free.
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Yuku dezari ni vini au mva bi ra [An old kite can also catch a young chicken] = A mad person can also do something sensible.
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Yuku ni oku 'du [The kite takes the woman]...
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'Yapikuri nya ku [One who does not dig does not eat]...
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More Lugbara Proverbs:
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Don't sing while eating at the table, you may choke!
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Don't sit in the road or else your mother will die!
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Don't sit on the atuluku [fireplace] or else you will remain short (Sometimes, it may be hot and burn you)!
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Don't wear the itisi [coiled cloth or other material on which a pot is put while being carried on the head] around your foot or hand. In other words, don't play with it so that it doesn't get spoilt or stuck on your hand!
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He who has a hairy bottom should not jump over fire!
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If you escort a visitor for a long distance from your home, then s/he may take long to re-visit you.
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Ombadra wanted to go to war first before eating his meat, but died fighting.
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The Heaviest Thing you can carry is a grudge.
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The pot breaks at the door.
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When you eat meat or drink milk, don't let them remain around your mouth so that they don't smell (Clean yourself)!
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In the Book Lugbara Proverbs, Fr. A. T. Dalfovo collects some nine hundred (900) Proverbs of the Lugbara People of northwestern Uganda. Dalfovo collected 22 Proverbs having a personal Name as their Subject like Ajia, Badigo, Cuku, Guzu, Ngungu, Ombadra, Yangi, etc. Below are a few others I copied in the order I found them in his Book prefaced by John Middleton (Yale University):
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The worth of a cattle-pen ensues from the cattle = The worth of a home is given by its people.
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The verandah floor is clean because of people moving to and fro and sweeping it clean with their feet...
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Man is the ediafe [pole] of the house...
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Fear is the dress of women...
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A girl should creep to be like the erindi grass (which spreads over the ground) = A woman should proliferate and spread by her many offsprings.
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The kite does not take the orphan = No hope for sudden change in the condition of an orphan.
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What is looked for in vain is a brother = Having a real brother guarantees the solution to any problem.
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The shea butter nuts fall under the shea butter tree = A person naturally falls in with his relations.
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Different maternal aunts is something bad = Because of the influence and esteem they enjoy, maternal aunts can be a potential source of division.
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People come to know of things at the place of their maternal uncles...
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The bellow of cattle is the cry of women...
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The cattle-pen near the house means people...
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The poor man sleeps alone in the house...
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A single one looks with the eyes...
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The colour of a visitor is shyness...
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The grass on his grave grows tall = There is no relative to take care of foreigners.
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There is no wall without supporting poles...
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Beer does not ferment by itself...
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The leader of the song does not sing...
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The one who does not dig does not eat...
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No hoe, no food...
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