1. Too much thought caused the sheep not to have horns.  Too much over-confidence [knowing too much] spoils things.  (Over- scrupulousness spoils an affair or a thing.)

2. He-goat told his father that he (child) had had a son first:  Not knowing anything.  Boasting out of ignorance.  (Boasting without background or foundation.)

3. "Mr. Know-it-all" says that he preceded his father in having a son.  (See above.)

4.  One who laughs at _____,  knows that it comes from her own daughter:  We should respect our mothers.   (We must respect others as we respect our parents.)


1. The muskrat prepares her nest when labor begins:  A person being unprepared.  (Making bows and arrows in the battlefield; unpreparedness.)

2. All lizards lie on their stomachs, but we cannot tell which has a stomach-ache:  To be difficult to know which is which.  (An outlook that hides the truth.)  [Children with stomach-aches were often told to lie on their stomachs.]

3. When a child is tired from working, he prefers fighting:   Having  strength or opportunity to do trivial things.  (Doing the trivial things and leaving the important thing undone.)

Taking Advantage; Unscrupulous

1. If someone you hate has a rash, you call it leprosy:  If one cannot obtain something he says that he does not want it.  (cf. All grapes are sour.)

2. Woodpecker says that after his parents die he will break off the trunk of the apü  tree, but after they have died, a boil grows in his mouth:  When a person wants to do something difficult, he may not have the strength to do it.  (Inconvenience.)

3. When a dispute escalates, a tricky person gets the benefit:  Bad people profit when there is no peace.  (cf. To fish in a troubled water.)

4. If one keeps on constantly refusing, one will refuse a person who is already filled up [that would be embarrassing]:  It is bad to continually do things to excess.  (Too much of everything is bad.)

5. If the ear says that it does not hear, cut it off from the head:  No one wants something bad to come to him.  (Nobody likes misfortune.)

6. If a bad woman lacks firewood, she pulls down [breaks off] the uko  [wooden recess over fireplace.  She uses it for firewood].  (cf. If one cannot find a place to rest his hands, he rests them on his knees.)  (A person in a state of abject want cannot spare anything.)

7. After the earth has finished nourishing breadfruit, it starts to grow  øoføøo :  Many people use evil to repay the good that was done for them.  (Repaying good with evil.)

8. If the two-tailed lizard is not killed, one with three tails will come:  One should stop something bad at the time it first starts.  (Nipping evil at the bud is the best policy.)

9. If the leopard breaks a leg, the antelope comes to take repayment of his debt:  When a person becomes old he no longer has much strength.  (People take undue advantage of other people's weak points.)

10. If a person is like a toad [in looks or behavior], let her cry for a husband:  What a person brings on himself let him carry on his own head [take the consequences of] .

11. The sharp-tongued child tells the spirits that there is no oil bean flavoring in the soup:  Over-talkativeness spoils things. [The child has let out a secret.]

12. In the land where there are no human beings, the tortoise answers to "daughter."  A person assumes a position of greatness where there is no one of his own caliber [no one to rival him].  (In the country of the blind, one-eyed man is the king.)

13. The old woman says that if she had revealed the details about how she trampled the chick to death, its mother would also be caught and given to her [out of misplaced pity]:  A person should not talk too much about the things he sees or the troubles he suffers.  (It is better to bear our troubles in silence.)

14. One who has crossed the bridge says that the bridge has broken:  One who has a good thing tells others not to get it, or that the way to get it is closed.  (Selfish people think of themselves alone.)

15. A snake seen by one person becomes a python:  People examine carefully the testimony of one person alone.  (It is difficult to believe a sole witness.)

16. The monkey said that his eyebrows almost spoiled his beauty:  A small thing spoils a big thing.  (Saved by just a little luck.  Somebody's fortune nearly ruined by a trivial thing.)

17. Two kitchen knives are at the house of the poor person, the one which is sharp has no handle, the one which has a handle is not sharp:  Among all the things a person owns there is nothing which is useful.  (Having things or possessions that are useless.)

18. If one traces the path of the lizard [in shooting] as he climbs up [a zigzag path], his supply of gunpowder will be exhausted:  Too much attention to detail spoils things.  (Being meticulous or revengeful leads to destruction or failure.)

Excuse and Complaint

1.  One should not use the fact that crawcraw itches to scratch himself into blindness:  To spoil a big thing on account of a small thing.  (Overdoing a thing; excess.)

2.  The water left over in a broken pot settles there for the dog:  A person's work is always there for him.  (One's responsibility remains for him.)

3.  One whose house is burning does not hunt rats:  One does not leave something important to follow something unimportant.  (People pay attention to important things rather than trivial ones.)
4.  Tortoise says that things are not the way they used to be for him, when he answered to the name of cow-killer:  When things change, take whatever happens as it is.  (People should be ready to accept change in circumstance.)

5.  If a thief is told to catch a chicken, he says he is afraid:  To give an excuse not having validity:  To pretend that something does not please a person when it actually does please him.  (Vain excuse; insincerity.)

6.  The old person sees the one who looks after her in her old age and says that people in her lineage do not become old:  One who has a way of taking care of his needs does not pay attention to anything.  (Unworried because one has been provided for.)

7.  When a wealthy man laughs, poor people completely break up laughing:  People trying to see that their superiors are pleased.  (Gentleman's gentleman.  Excess)

8.  If a woman cooks bad food, she says that that was the thing she wanted to eat:  Excuse not carrying any weight.  (Exculpating oneself.)

9. In the age group of one who takes øozøo title, the members start to be selective in their choice of foods:  One who accomplishes what is suitable for him to accomplish.  (Cf.  If a child washes his hands, he and an older person may eat together.)  (Achievements determine rank and honour.)

10. If the pestle misses the mortar, it pounds the ground:  If one departs from the truth, he meets with misfortune.  (Leaving what one ought to do what he ought not.)

11. Eruru [larva of a certain insect found in palm-wine tree] says that he does not have enough of a waistline to wear $13 worth of cloth:  One who cannot do something should admit that he is unable to do it.  Cf. Hang your cloth where you can reach it.  (Cf. Cut your coat according to your size.)

12. The reason one chews a chewing stick is so that the ear can begin to dance:  The reason one does certain things is that one is expected to do them or for the sake of what people will say.  (We do things worth doing for the sake of doing them.)

13. The old woman ate two pieces of yam, then said [by way of excuse] that she had no teeth--how many did those who have teeth eat?:  cf. The old woman given a child to look after.  Giving an excuse not carrying any weight.  (Vain excuse.)

14. If you give me a message to deliver to the chief, I will deliver it; but if you tell me to prepare a head pad and carry him, I will refuse:   I will accomplish things as I am able.  (I shall work according to my ability.)

15. It is said that there are not enough diseases, one who has a hydrocele is told to get a swollen stomach as well:  A condition becoming worse; if you ignore what is being talked about, something worse comes out.  (From the fry pan to the fire.  To get worse.)

16. The corpse in the ground told the flute player that he heard him, but the clay soil would not let him get up.  Being unable to remove something troublesome.  A person could have done something if he had been able.  (Being prevented from doing what ought to have been done.)

17. When one is burning with fever and is crying, does he think that those who died are fools?:  [He should recognize that death is far worse than his complaint.]  People should endure trouble courageously because there has not been anything that has not been experienced before.  (One must face difficulties boldly.)

18. The anus is available for blowing the flute, but who can blow it?  It is not everything one is able to do that one does do.  (There are things which lie in our power to do but we cannot just do them.)

19. The dog does not eat a bone which is suspended from his neck:  A person should not leave something given to him to guard and let it go to waste.  (cf. Giving a thief a thing to watch.  Being careful and devoted to our assigned duties.)

20. When there is a disturbance in the market, the old woman runs to the stall of someone she knows she can beat:  cf. When one sees someone he can vanquish, he becomes anxious for a fight.  A person is strong in the things he is able to do.  (Being anxious to assert ourselves because we know we shall win.)

21. If the bachelor runs from his duties, the morning's ashes [from last night's fire] still await him:  If one first runs away, his work waits for him.  (Shirking one's responsibility.)

22. The head may be wrapped as a parcel, but the neck may not permit it:  Everything has something that gives it trouble or something that causes it to be difficult.  (Nothing is completely perfect.)

23. He who sits on the sidelines does not know what the wrestler sees:  One who is not personally touched by a thing does not know the pain of it.  (People do not appreciate other people's difficulties or sufferings.)

24. The pear says that he caused the rich man to eat ashes [pears are baked in ashes]:  Something like causing a man to do something he does not want to do or something he ought not to do.  (Certain desires make people do what they would never dream or wish to do.)

25. He who drives himself away from a vehicle says that the vehicle did not reach him:  One who acts against himself says that it is others who did it to him.  (A person who acts against his interest shifts the blame on others.)

Life and Death

1. When a puppy is approached too closely he starts to chew one's clothing:  To be familiar or playful causes lack of respect.  (Familiarity breeds contempt.)

2. To shake hands with a leper causes him to be overcome with excessive affection:  When you give a person respect or something he had never thought of getting, he starts to desire even more of it.  (Abuse of privilege.  Insatiable and lustful desire.)

3. The small bird who eats until his stomach is full tells his god to come and take him:  One who is very fortunate in life does not believe that any harm will befall him.  To have a big mouth [boast].  (A fortunate or lucky person does not care.)

4. If one expects a dead tree to fall, a living one uproots itself:  It is not the thing people think will happen that does happen.  (What people think will not happen may happen, instead of what they expected.)

5. If the chicken's egg cracks the palm kernel, the grinding stone is put to shame:  When something small conquers something big, the big thing feels ashamed.  (There is shame for the weak to conquer the strong.)

6. A child who seeks to quarrel with his father's wife tells her to give him oil so that he can eat palm fruit [palm fruit is oily in itself and is not eaten with oil]:  A person looking for something which will cause quarrels between him and his companions.    (Deliberate courting of quarrel or trouble.)

7. One who is stubborn should lick his elbow:  No matter how a person shows off, there is something he will not be able to do.  (There is a limit to what man can do.)

8. If a child wants to divulge a secret, he says that his mother is struggling with the door:   A person using tricky means to say something he ought not to say.  (Excusing oneself in revealing a secret or in condemning another.)

9. If a person has nothing to say, he says that the young tortoises have grown a lot [i.e., something meaningless]:  Speaking against or slandering something when it is not fitting to do so.

10. A penalty for not dancing well is not applied to the person who has legs:  Anyone who is alive has something he can do.  (A person fortified for a situation has nothing to fear.)

11. While the old woman still lives, the old man will kindle the fire for her:  One who is still alive will accomplish the thing he wants.  (While there is life there is hope.  As long as we live we can accomplish our desires.)

12. The sheep heard that her friend had given birth to a child; she then delivered a premature child:  A person imitating another person in doing what the person did.  (Wrongful imitation which leads to failure.  A person should act according to his ability.)

13. A big man does not mean big words:  Greatness of size or abundance does not mean wisdom or power.  One's excessive size does not mean that he exceeds in mental powers.  (Size does not determine the amount of wisdom or ability.)

Resignation to Fate

1. Why should one hunt a tortoise diligently--is it going to fly away?:  One causing disturbance or trouble for himself where there is none.  [Much ado about nothing.]  (Making fuss about things; unnecessary effort.)

2. Chicken says that he doesn't cry out so that the thing holding him will release him, but rather so that people may hear his voice:  Not being able to contain misfortune with which a one meets; asserting innocence; respecting traditions of the land.  Doing what one ought to do, even when in trouble.  (Observing the rules, conduct and traditions.)

3. Where the fire goes out is where one throws away the torches [stripped branches of a special kind of oily wood (raffia palm) which burns very easily]:  Where a person dies, there his journey ends.  When a man tires in the work he is doing, that is when he stops.  (There is an end to all difficulties or sufferings.)

4. No matter how large the elephant is, he will still go into the bush:  Everything goes according to its own order or arrangement.  (Things follow their kind or species.

5. The apple [fruit that is opened by pressure at the stem end] says that it is not only she who bears a child whose mouth needs to be broken open:  It is not only one person who has bad luck.  (Misfortune or ill luck is not limited to one person or a few.  Others are also unfortunate.)

6. When a woman grows old it is as if there is no bride price for her:  What is no longer used seems as though it has never been useful.  (What has outlived its usefulness always seems as if it has never been useful.)

7. Chicken says that after someone sweeps him he can still excrete, but if someone beats him, bam! he dies.  (Cf. The strength of one's mouth [boasting].)  Deliberately doing  something bad that will bring a one suffering or distress.  A person, regardless of his inability, goes ahead and does something.  (Deliberate misconduct or behavior; being delicate and yet exposing oneself.)

8. The black chicken lays a white egg:  What one person can do, another will be able to do.  One does not set a boundary beyond which he cannot perform.  (What A can do, B can do also.)

9. If the hand holds the spoon, the mouth is overjoyed:  When a person does something that one superior to him cannot do, the superior one is ashamed.  One who is lucky will be happy.  (Being fortunate.)

10. One who has died will get very tired of sleeping:  Everyone will have something which will be enough for him.  (A person will be more than satisfied.  There is enough.)

11. When he gets stuck [in his healing work] the herbalist uses the fees he has collected [up to then]:  (cf. Where the millipede dies, there is his burial.)  A person cannot always be lucky.  Wherever one is met with suffering, he endures it there.  (We meet difficulties, dangers or problems as they arise.)

Favorable Situation

1. When the moon comes out, the old woman longs to travel:  When one is fortunate he yearns for many things.  (Suitable conditions are responsible for certain desires.  cf.  A bright day brings forth the adder.)

2. The young woman does not know that death exists:  One who has enough of everything is not too depressed by misfortunes.  (People with hope are not badly hit by misfortunes.)

3. The dance that falls to the lot of the younger generation is the one that they perform:  Whatever occurs during people's lifetimes is what they know how to deal with.  cf. When a word comes out, its answer comes out.  (Every generation is equipped against eventualities or problems of their time.)  cf.  If something stands, something else stands near it.


1. The day I go hunting is the day the deer climbs up:  When a person seeks something, that thing is scarce.  (Unfortunate or ill-luck.)

2. Tortoise says that his brothers did something good when they sewed him a  coat of iron:  One is proud when he has something that satisfies his needs.  (We are happy and proud over advantage or good luck.)

3. On hunting day, we should hunt porcupines on their habitual paths:  When the time is ripe for something, it should be done.  Having good luck; the day or time which is suitable for a thing.  (A convenient time or condition; till a suitable time.)

Experience and Inexperience

1. Retaliation does not cause quarrels:  Revenge is not bad.  (Revenge or retaliation is not bad.)

2. If a child sneaks up and burns me, I sneak up and burn him:  If one purposely does something bad and one retaliates against him, there should be no quarrel resulting from it.  (Retaliation against a deliberate action is not bad.)

3. A child's strength is like foam:  Children do things impulsively.  The strength of a child is less than that of an adult.  ( A child is inexperienced.)

4. If the hand opens the door, the mouth will claim responsibility:  Whatever has happened has happened.

5. The hen says that she gathers plenty of wealth, but the problem is that she has no hand to amass it:  Something that prevents a person from doing a thing to completion or that causes a person to regress.  (Certain things generally stand in people's way; incomplete or deficiency.)


1. If a woman is polite, her husband does not refuse to take her food:  A glad heart or a smiling face eliminates quarrels.  (Kindness begets kindness.)

2. Akîdî [cover crop, like beans] says that it does not know the boundary of the land:  A person not setting limits in doing something.  Without discrimination or boundary.  (Not discriminating.)

3. The place where one was born is where he is known:  One knows a man's limits or his strength in the land of his birth.  (A man is better known in his own country.)

4. One takes good care of the place where he lives:  A person puts more of his strength in the work of his dwelling place or the place where he makes his living.  (Where a person gets his fortune or wealth, there he is more concerned or careful.  One minds the source of his income or means of livelihood.)

Wealth and Poverty

1. If the talk is of money, the poor person is silent:  One who has no money cannot say very much.  (Poor people can't do much in situations requiring money.)

2. If one gathers wealth without eating, has he not seen how it is with the dead man?  One who gathers wealth and does not use it to do things does not have the profit from it.   (A miser is useless.  Living a miser is bad.)

3. The cocoanut says that the wealthy man eats in little tidbits:  Going slowly or a little at a time causes things to turn out successfully.  (Little by little leads to success.)

4. The beautiful tree that I saw on the road, there was no knife I could use to cut it down:  Good fortune confronted me but I was unable to get it.  (Being unable to accomplish one's desire (bride).)

5. One who borrows a cloth does not dance proudly:  A man's hand is not strong in things he does not own.  A man stands firmer where things that he owns are concerned.  (cf. Neither a borrower nor a lender be.  People are more at home with their own things.)

6. A good thing for a house to lack is sickness [Sickness is the only thing it is good not to have]:  Having nothing is not good.  (Poverty is bad.)

7. One who has no food cuts it from the basket [which hangs above the fire to dry foods]:  (We are not free with what we have not.)

8. The chicken says that by pecking at small bits here and there his stomach is filled:  Cf. Hot soup should be sipped gradually.

9. The gas [bad-smelling] passed by one who is at the top of the oil palm surprises the king-fly:  Something of which we do not know the meaning we will not understand.  (What we are not privy of surprises us.)

10. A poor person does not eat the cow's eye [it is expensive]:  A person does not get something which is beyond his means.  (cf.  Cut your coat according to your size.)

11. Anything denied to a poor person (such as ogeri [a flavoring derived from fermented egusi]) can be bought at the market:  Something scarce being plentiful.  (A precious thing becoming available to all.)

12. Something sufficient for the entire body that is good is camwood [a small amount of it can be rubbed on the entire body]:  Something both plentiful and good is scarce.  (What is plentiful and precious is rare.)

13. If money were plentiful enough to be burned, the voices of many people would be sounded louder than thunder:  If money were like sand, a crippled person would not be poor.  (If goods and services are unlimited, there will be no poverty.)

14. Having no alternatives makes cocoyam taste like yam:  What is good is good.  (Cf. Not seeing what to do, do what is available; not seeing where to rest the hands, rest them on the knees.)  (We have to manage with what we have.)

15. The one-eyed person owes a debt to blindness [is close to blindness, might as well be blind]:  When there remains only one of something, it seems as though all of it is gone.  (What is on the verge of exhausting is gone.  There is very little consolation in a little thing that remains.)

Cause and Effect

1. One who invites a child to play causes him to look down on him:  If one belittles [lit. carries down] himself, he is belittled.  (If one belittles himself, he is belittled.)

2. The chicken says that as one scratches, one eats:  A person must work before he eats.  One does not get anything without working.  (Effort must be made to accomplish any good.)

3. The cow says to the hill that she is climbing it, the hill says to her that it is taking her strength:  Strong things match each other.  Everyone is in suffering or hard work; there is no one who has enough [of what he wants].  (Everybody has his own task or problems.)

4. If the hill learns to break one's waist, the old woman learns to pause in her travels:  Things go together.  Cf.  If a man learns to steal, his wife learns [to say] that he is not at home.

5. What the hawk gives birth to will not fail to carry chickens [the offspring of a hawk is bound to be a chicken-stealer]:  Everything runs in its own path; everything follows its own lineage.  (People follow the pattern of their parents.)

6. The toad does not run in the afternoon in vain [toads are night creatures]:  One thing causes another to happen.  (There is no smoke without fire.)

7. If the rat outruns the child, he says that it is a rat that eats feces:  What one cannot afford, he downgrades (calls it unprofitable).  (The grapes are sour.)

8. Wherever a crying child points his finger, if his mother is not there, his father is:  Wherever one has trust, there his strength is.  (We rely where we get help.)

9. Short hands keep the tortoise from catching the rabbit:  Lack of strength keeps a person from doing what he wants to do.  (Were it not for our limitations we could have accomplished more.)

10. It is through demonstration that one knows the wrestler:  Through action one knows who is strong.  (Cf. Action speaks better than words.  We know the strong man from difficult tasks.)

11. If one kills a goat, one finds out who owns him:  Every person has someone who will inquire about him if something happens to him.  (People, however low, have people who are for them.)

12. When the child eats the food which caused him to stay awake, then he goes to sleep:  If we obtain what is important to us, we are satisfied.  (Attaining our desire gives us satisfaction.)

13. If you throw the bird up, you have shown him the way to his mother's home.  One who takes something out where it will get lost or where it will get spoiled is seeking to destroy it.  (Being careless.)

14.  Mgbanelu, who knew what he had done, said [by way of excuse] that his legs did not touch the ground.

15. The dog eats dung and the goat's teeth rot:  A thing should take its own consequences.  (There is a natural order of things.)

16. The old woman who is given a child to hold and says that she has bad teeth, is she given the child in order to eat it?  Excuses will not deliver a person from things he ought to do.  (Excuse is no plea.)

17. The arrow the child uses to kill the vulture was carved for him by an adult:  There are things which are too difficult for a person to do.  (There is a limit to a feat that a man is capable of achieving.)

18. If a woman is pleasant [sweet-voiced], her husband does not refuse her food:  Good behavior brings good things.  (Good behavior brings good things.)

19. No matter how large the fingers are [the fingers may be large above and below], they will not be bigger than the nostril.  Cf. One does not fail to use the thumb to snap the fingers.  (There is a natural order of things.)

20. What water does to the anthill is wash its body.

21. If one finger is stuck into the oil, it spreads to all the others:  One person causing suffering affects everyone.  (An individual can bring about evil for the whole nation or others.)

22. The food the hawk ate went to the eagle's body [the hawk is ugly, the eagle beautiful]:  Everything has something which affects it.  (Vanity is vanity.)

23. If one comes to my place, let him not come to kill me, so that when he returns home he will not sprout a hump on his back:  Cf. The dog should not purposely eat the doctor's bag.  Let the hawk perch, let the eagle perch.  Let each person carry his own load.  (Live and let live.)

24. If one does not know the place where a corpse was buried, he digs it up at the feet:  One who does not know the meaning of something cannot explain it.  (People make mistakes in what they do not know.)

25. If the chicken soils the earth with its excretions, it perches above:  Doing something to the earth which is an abomination.  One who does something bad is overcome by shame.  (Wicked people run when nobody is pursuing them.)

26. The place where a child has picked up a snail shell is where his eye is always returning:  Where someone gets a good thing is where he can be seen.  (People are always found where they derive benefits.)

27. The chicken does not forget the one who plucked its tail feathers during rainy season:  A person remembers one who did him a good turn and forgets one who did him harm.  (Good turns are never forgotten.  Kindness begets kindness.)

28. It is through discussion that the mind is revealed:  No one knows the thoughts of another person.  (Cf. Even the devil knoweth not the thought of man.)

29. The child who has been stung by a bee is afraid of a giant fly:  One who has been injured is extremely fearful.  (Unfortunate people are always very timid.)

30. One whose father was killed by a bushcow does not use a bushcow horn for drinking oil palm wine.

31. If the small bird starts developing his chest, it seems as though he will surpass his father:  When a person is growing it seems that he will surpass everyone.  (People initially seem to do what others are unable.)

32.  If one performs a sacrifice without seeing the vulture, it should be known that something happened in spirit land:  There are things whose absence indicates that something serious has happened.  (Certain things indicate gravity of events.)

33.  One who rushes into a fight does not know that fighting means death:  Being impelled by something harmful.  (Cf. Fools rush where the angels fear to tread.)

34.  When the chicken perches on the fence, if the chicken fears, the fence fears:  Something that results from something else; one who does something to a person does it also to himself.  (Cause and effect.)

35. When a snail crawls, it pulls its shell along with it.  Something that results from something else.  (Cause and effect.)

36. "Later, later" prevented the toad from growing a tail.  A person leaving   something to do later.  (Procrastination is thief of time.)

37. If death does not destroy a man's private parts, he will enjoy a woman's private parts:  Something that something else follows.  (There is a natural law of events.)  [Refers to having patience.]

38. When someone tells his child to catch a muskrat, will he also fetch water for him to wash his hands?  One who sends a person to do something should see to the consequences.

Skill and Expertise

1. Those who use their teeth for climbing know which trees are bitter:  A person can talk about the things he knows how to do.  (We are the best judge in what we are specialists.)

2. If the female sheep is going to grow horns, the back of her head ought to be strong:  One who is going to do difficult work must prepare well for it.  (To accomplish a feat, one must equip oneself well.)

3. One who makes soup does not know what is experienced by one who pounds yam:  Each person knows the most about his own skills.  A person knows the troubles and difficulties involved in the things he does.  (We know the difficulties in what we are specialists.)

4. The chicken with one leg knows how to limp about gathering food.

5. When the chicken treads on its child it does not kill it:  What is done for a person's welfare will not pain him.  (We do not feel pains arising from unintentional injury.)

6. If a chicken stops clucking, how will she train her child?  A person should not forsake his own talents.  (We cannot do without what are indispensable to us.)

 7. One does not refuse food while it is covered:  A person should know what he is talking about before he speaks.  (We have to understand a thing before we give our opinion.)

8. The load should not cover the head:  Everything has its place.  (There is normal or natural order of things.)

9. A worker on the smallest job not worrying that he owes a debt and is not going to pay it:  Small things show how one behaves in big things.  (cf. Keep care of the pennies.)  (If one is unworried by a small thing, he will be unworried by a big thing.)

10. The bow that shoots the øoba [tiny bird] is entitled to twenty arrows:  One who is able to accomplish sometrbalist what he gained in the foreign place, but rather what he brought back with him.  What one has in hand is better than something he cannot see.  (A bird in hand is better than two in the bush.)

12. Missing.

13. The old woman who cooks a meal (cooks ükpaka) knows the blind fly.  [ükpaka is allowed to ferment and has a strong odor which attracts flies.]  A person knows the heart of his specialty.  (People know more about their special work than the ordinary man.)

14. It is not always the one who calls the police who wins the case:  Truth does not necessarily lie in eloquence.

15. When the mother goat chews her cud her child watches her mouth:  People learn things by imitating others.  (People learn things by imitation.)

16. One who has been bitten by a snake runs away when he sees the head of a lizard:  If a bee stings a big dog he begins to fear bluebottle flies.  (Unlucky people fear almost everything.)

17. The target of a plot [one against whom medicine is being made] knows better than the plotter:  Being an expert, or exceeding someone in knowledge.  (Being very wise; being cleverer than one's teacher.)

18. An apparently small stream covers the bridge.  (The stream appears to be small.)  Something strong does strong work.  (Strong events lead to strong results).