1,000 KIKUYU PROVERBS
1.
Agikuyu moi kuhitha ndia, matiui kuhitha uhoro
The Kikuyu know how to conceal their quiver, but do not know how to conceal their secrets.
The Kikuyu, though very clever in concealing their arms, cannot keep secrets from the members of their tribe.
2.
Ageni eri matiri utugire
Two guests (at the same time) have no welcome.
3.
Ageni eri na karirui kao
Two guests love a different song.
When you receive two visitors at the same time, you cannot treat them in the same manner, because they have different tastes.
Every man has his hobby horse.
4.
Aikaragia mbia ta njuu ngigi
He is a man that looks after maney as ‘njuu’ looks after locusts.
‘Njuu’ is a bird which accompanies migrating locusts to feed on them.
5.
Aka eri ni nyungu igiri cia utugi
Two wives are two pots full of poison
The more women you have in your haouse, the more twoubles you must expect
Women’s jars breed men’s wars.
6.
Aka matiri cia ndiiro no cia nyiniko
Women have no upright words, but only crooked ones
The Kikuyu use the proverb to say that women keep no secrets and seldom tell the truth.
Women conceal all that they know not
7.
Aka na ng’ombe itiri ndugu
Wives and oxen have no friends
There are things which are not to be given to friends.
A woman is to be from her house three times: when she is christened, married, and burried.
8.
Andu maiganaine magithii na magiceera
Men are equal whe they are going and walking
One can notice a difference between man and man when they, ‘exempli gratia’ are commanding or working, but not on the road where they look quite the same.
9.
Andu matari ndundu mahuragwo na njuguma imwe
People who have not secret agreement are beaten by a single club.
A group of men not bound by a secret will be easily beaten by a single man
10.
Andu matiui ngamini
Men do not know liberality
11.
Andu matiui ngu, moi ithendu
Me do not know hard firewood, but only lops people put aside hard tasks and devote themselves only to easy ones.
12.
Andu me muoyo matiagaga wira
Live men do not lack work
Life would be too smooth if it had no rubs in it.
13.
Angimituiria na umirite ndangimiona rikii
He who seeks his goat with the man who ate it, is certain not to find it.
14.
Arume mari rwamba
Men have got quills
Do not annoy others because they will respond by hurting
15.
Bata ndubatabataga
Necessities never end
He that will have no trouble in this world must not be born in it.
16.
Cia athuri inyuagira thutha
The elders drink afterwards (i.e after the others)
Elderly people are not in such a hurry as young ones.
17.
Ciakorire wacu mugunda
The food found Wacu in the field.
The proverb originates in the legend of Wacu, the most despised amongst the wives of a rich man who never gave her any presents. One day, when a banquet was being held at home, she went to work in the field, since she knew there would be nothing for her at home. In the middle of the banquet a raven swooped down in the courtyard where the meat was being roasted, snatched a big piece and brought it to Wacu.
The Kikuyu use the proverb to say that God takes care of His poor.
18.
Cia kionje itigayagwo gitanakua
The property of a helpless man must nit be divided before his death
The reason is that he is unable to get anything more than he already possesses.
19.
Cia mucii iri gacuguma gacio gatathukagio ni
muthuri ungi tiga mwenegwo
Home affairs have their staff, which cannot be brandished by anyone but the head of the house
The proverb means either that private matters must not be spoken of to strangers or that in each house there must be only one in authority.
20.
Cia mucii itiumaga ndira
Home affairs must not go into the open
Do not wash dirty linen in public
21.
Cia mucii ti
Home affairs cannot be told to the public
22.
Ciana cia ndigwa itiri maithori
The widow’s sons have not tears
23.
Ciathanaga ikigua, itiathanaga ikiumbuka
Birds agree when flying down, but do not agree when flying up.
The proverb means that it is easy for a swarm of birds to alight together, while it is difficult to get up together since after eating their fill they will fly up separately. Morally the proverb means that men easily agree when deciding on an enterprise, but will probably quarrel as soon as they have obtained what they want.
24.
Cia thuguri itiyuraga ikumbi
Bought things do not fill the granary
25.
Ciatura nguyu iriaga ng’umo
When there is shortage of figs, birds eat the fruits of the ‘mugumo’
The tree called ‘mugumo’ by the natives bears little fruits that are not eated by birds when there is plenty of other food.
If thou hast not a capon, feed on an onion
26.
Cia uthoni ciambaga nguhi
The buying of a wife begins from a little thing
27.
Ciigwatagirira mareru
Goats fall that take hold of lichens
Lichens are not strong enough to prevent a goat from falling. The proverb means that unsatisfactory excuses are insufficient defence
28.
Cionje ikumi irugitwo ni umwe uri na hinya
Ten helpless people were surpassed by a single strong person
One strong person is better than ten helpless ones
29.
Cira munene ni ukia
A long lawsuit breeds poverty
30.
Cira munene ni wa uthoni igikua
The breaking of a betrothal is no small matter. Marrying a girls means giving a large numnber of goarts or cattle to her family. Starting from the day of the betrothal the price is paid gradually. Evidently it is no simple matter if the would-be husband breaks his contract and demands the return of the marrieage price.
31.
Cira wa kirimu utindaga kiharo
The lawsuit of a fool keeps the court (sitting) all day
32.
Cira wa mucii ndumagirio kiharo
Home affairs are not to be carried on in the public squuare
33.
Cira wothe wambagiririo na nda
Every case begins from the stomach
The Kikuyu have an ox or a goat killed, roasted and distributed to judges at the beginning of every case. Familiarly they use the proverb to say that one of the most important jobs of life is to provide something to eat
An empty belly hears nobody
34.
Ciunagwo rukomo, kimenyi akamenya ikiunwo
We speak byh proverb: he who is intelligent will understand
Intelligenti pauca
35.
Ehera thakirio
Clear out of the ‘thakirio’
‘Thakirio’ is the place the Kikuyu hut where the wife stays when distributing the food to the family
36.
Gakiibatha ni koi ni karithoitha
He who spends his time adorning himself knows he is going to a dance
37.
Gakiihotora niko koi uria kariina
He who adorns himself knows to what sort of dance he is going
38.
Gakunywo kagira thooko
The fool takes many people with him
It is said of people who, when invited to a feast, instead of going alone, take others with them
A fool cannot bear his own company.
39.
Garurira mbeu ti ya kinya kimwe
Change seeds taking them from different calabashes
It is good to introduce new blood.
40.
Gatami kari mondo yene gatingikurutira wira
The piece of cloth that is in another’s bag does not patch your garmet
41.
Gathutha konagia mundu njira
A little, contemptible path is sometimes the one that leads you to the highway
Little strokes fell great oaks.
42.
Gatitu ka muimwo ni iri noko kari miti
The forest of an unpleasant (ill-liked) person is the one that has trees
43.
Gatitu ka ngoro gatiunagwo
The grove of the hear is not laid open
44.
Gatinyinyiraga gatari gakunye
Nobody cries that has not been pinched
45.
Gatuma kainagia murigwa
Darkness caused to dance even him who cannot
46.
Gatundu koragithirie Watatua
A secret agreement enabled people to kill Watatua
Watatua was a powerful Chief, invincible in open combat, who was killed at night by a few men
Secret union means strength.
47.
Giathi githaragio ni gaka kamwe
A market can be spoilt by one woman
48.
Giathi kiri murugirwo
Every feast has ists guest of honour
49.
Giathi kiriagwo ni kingi
One appointment is eatedn by another
Today kills yesterday.
50.
Giathi kiumu no kia murokero
That of circumcision is a hard appointment
The Kikuyu circumcision is a civil and religious rite by which the adolescent is admitted into the public life of the tribe and becomes a man in the full possession of his rights. The ceremony is physically painful, but the candidate is expected to face the operation without wincing.
There are not gains without pains.
51.
Gieterero ti kiinaino
To wait is not to tremble
52.
Gicegu kia andu aingi ti kiega
The ‘gicegu’ of many men is not good
‘Gicegu’ is that part of the Kikuyu hut where they enclose the ram in order to fatten it.
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
53.
Gicigo kia mugunda gitinyihaga
A piece of land is not a little thing
The proverb means that however small the field you possess, it has its importance if you work it
A little house well filled, a little land well tilled, a little wife well willed are great riches.
54.
Giikaro kimwe kiri ngee kana ndaa
By staying always in the same place one gets lice.
The world is a great book, of which they that never stir from home read only one page.
55.
Gikuru kiega no kiratina
The only thing good, though old, is the ‘muratina’. ‘Muratina’ is the fruit of the hot-dog tree (Kigelia Etiopica) used by the natives to cause fermentation of sugar-cane beer. It is believed that the older the fruit, the greater it is fermenting power. The proverb means that there are only few things that improve with age.
56.
Gikuu gitiraragirio
You cannot (do not) make an appointment with death
57.
Githaka gitigunaga mumi, kigunaga muki
The land enriches not people who clear it, but people who come (when it is already cleared)
One beats the bush, and another catches the bird.
58.
Githaka kia muici ni gukaana
Lying is the thief’s stronghold.
59.
Githumba gitiri murimu wa ngoro
Beggars have no worries.
Poverty needs no granary.
60.
Githuri kiri mwatu wa ngotoko
The chest contains a beehive full of pride.
The proverb means that proud people have always in store lots of reasons justifying their wickedness.
61.
Gitiganiriro kirugitwo ni kirugamanio
Talking something over is better than leaving it pending.
Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.
62.
Gitiiro kia muka wene gitikagio athii
The song of a stranger-woman is answered after she has gone.
The proverb is metaphorically used to mean that foreigners, especially women, are not to be trusted too much.
Eat a peek of salt with a man before you trust him.
63.
Gitindo kia mucii ni kiuru
It is bad to stay at home.
He that stays in the valley shall never get over the hill.
64.
Gitoi kimenyaga kierwo
He who does not know, knows after being told.
A man forewarned is forearmed.
65.
Gitoi kiraragia kiui njira
He who does not know the road delays also one that knows it.
Who goes with a fool becomes a fool.
66.
Gitonga kigiragio iganjo gikarima
The rich man cannot be prevented from cyltivating the ‘iganjo’ he wants.
‘Iganjo’ is the place upon which a hut had been built. Since the flocks live in the owner’s hut, the floor of the hut becomes fertilized. The proverb refers to the fact that if a rich man has left a piece of his land to a poor man on which to build his hut, very often he wants it back as soon as the soil under the hut has been enriched by the dropping of the animals.
Mights is right.
67.
Gitonga kiriaga munyuko
Rich people sometimes eat badfood.
All is not gold that glitters.
68.
Guceera ni kuhiga
Travelling is learning.
The world is a great book, of which they that never stir read only one page.
69.
Gucekeha ti guicuhio
To be slim does not mean having been pared.
Do not scorn little things.
70.
Guciara kunaga irigu ngingo
The woman who gives birth to a child is like the banana tree that breaks under the weight of its fruit.
Maternity means pain to the mother.
71.
Guciara uru ti kwenda kwa mwene
It is not the mother’s will to have a bad offspring.
72.
Gucukagwo utaguteo
People slander somebody even if they do not despise him.
73.
Gukiara na gutonga ititiganaga
Riches and poverty do not leave each other.
74.
Gukira kuri ngatho
To keep one’s tongue is worthy of praise
Silence is golden.
75.
Gukira ni guthurana
Not to talk is to hate.
One keeps silence with people one does not like.
76.
Gukiririria kwagira kieha
Indulgence breeds regret.
77.
Gukura ni kuuru: ngathii uriri ngicayaga
It is bad to get old, for one goes to bed grumbling.
Old sacks want much patching.
78.
Gukuhiriria mbaara tikuo kurua
The fact that you have gone near the battle-field does not mean that you fought.
79.
Gukungagwo utuku ti muthenya
Thieves conceal themselves in the night not in the day.
The night is a cloak for sinners.
80.
Guota mwaki ni gucera
To get the warmth of fire one must stir the embers.
No gains without pains.
81.
Guoya utuuragia ukia mucii
The fear (of toil) keeps your house poor.
Idleness is the key of beggary.
82.
Guteithagio witeithitie
If you help yourself you will be helped.
God helps those who help themselves.
83.
Gutema na kanua ti gutema na rihiu
Cutting by the tongue is different from cutting by the knife.
Slander is not mortal stabbing.
Hard words break no bones.
84.
Guthama nikuo kuhika kwa arume
A man changing his abode is like a woman marrying. As a woman, on marrying, adopts the customs of the family she enters, so a man going to live in a strange country, must accept its customs.
When in
85.
Guthekererwo ni andu ti kuririrwo ni hiti
To be laughed at by men is not to be wept by hyenas.
Better to be laughed at than to die.
86.
Guthekererwo ti kuririrwo
To be laughed at is not to be pitied.
One starting any enterprise ought not to fear what others say of him.
Do well and dread no shame.
87.
Guthekio ti kwendwo
If anybody makes you laugh, it is not always because he loves you.
Eat a peck of salt with a man before you trust him.
88.
Guthigagio mbura gutongitwo matuguta
Some hope for rain even though they have not prepared their fields.
He who hopes for favours should have prepared himself to profit by them.
89.
Guthii gutigiragia mundu acoke
To go does not prevent a man from returning.
Never give up.
90.
Guthii kuonagia mundu njira.
Travelling teaches men their way.
91.
Guthii ki kuona
Travelling is seeing
Travel broadens the mind.
92.
Guthimba ti kuura
Having rain clouds is not the same as having rain.
Don’t cry herrings till they are in the net.
93.
guthinga kurugite gutonga
Virtue is better than riches.
Virtue is the only true nobility.
94.
Guthinga kikuo kihoto
Virtue is power
Virtue makes men on the earth famous, in their graves illustrious, in the heaven immortal.
95.
Guthura ng’ombe ni guthura kamukwa kayo
To despise the ox means to despise also a strip of hide from it.
One cannot scorn great things without scorning little ones related to them.
96.
Guthukagirio wanatega itega
One favours him from whom one has in the past received a gift.
One good turn deserves another.
97.
Guthuragwo mundu uriendwo
A man is (sometimes) scorned who will be loved (later on).
Judge not of men or things at first sight.
98.
Gutiri gitatuirie kingi
There is no thing which does not cause another to exist.
99.
Gutiri githinji utathinja.
There is no butcher that does not slaughter
Every man to his trade.
100.
Gutiri gukura na kurara keri
One ages every night one lives
Time fleeth away without delay.
101.
Gutiri ita ithiagwwo na gitete kia njohi no gia
ucuru
No war has been fought by men carrying a calabash of ‘njohi’ but of ‘ucuru’.
‘Njohi’ is an inebriating drink brewed out of sugar-cane. ‘Ucuru’ is a kind of thin porridge made by boiling millet-flour in water. This gruel is supposed to be highly nourishing and therefore suitable for long journeys or hard fighting; while the sugar-cane beer by inebriating the warriors makes them weak and easy prey to the enemy.
Out of temperance comes strength.
102.
Gutiri mbura itari na gitonga kiayo
There
is no rain which does not enrich someone.
It is an ill wind that blows
nobody good.
103.
Gutiri mucii uri kahii utukarugwo mutwe
In every family where there is a son, the head of an ox, goat or ram is cooked to be eaten by him with his friends.
They use the proverb to mean that ordinarily a son gives his parent more trouble than a daughter, or that in every family parents do not lack troubles.
There is a black sheep in every family.
104.
Gutiri muici na mucuthiriria
There is no
difference between the thief and the looker-on.
105.
Gutiri muki urehage urugari
Nobody entering a hut pays for the heart he will enjoy in it. Only the owner of the hut had the drudgery of carrying home the firewood; the visitor does not know the cost of the fire he is enjoying. Metaphorically the proverb is used to say that he who enters a house cannot realise the troubles of the occupants.
None knows the weight of another’s burden.
106.
Gutiri mundu ui haria eguthii no haria ekuuma
Nobody knows where he goes, but only whence he comes.
No one can see into the future.
107.
Gutiri mundu wendaga gutungana na nyoni njuru
Nobody wants to meet an ill-omened bird.
To the Kikuyu many birds foreshadow calamity. The cry of the owl forebodes mishap. If the owl cries, perched on the top of a hut, the oldest man in that village will die very soon. If someone, about to make a journey, hears the cry of any bird of ill- omen, he must not start on any account.
Nobody seeks his own ruin.
108.
Gutiri mundu utangutuika wa ndigwa
There is no
man that cannot become an orphan.
No flying from fate.
109.
Gutiri mundu wonaga wega wake, no kuonwo wonagwo
Nobody can see
his own goodness: it can be seen only by others.
110.
Gutiri murio utainagia ruthia
There is no
pleasure (however little it may be) that does not cause one’s cheeks to tremble.
The Kikuyu
consider the cheek trembling an expression of joy.
A little pleasure is nertheless a pleasure.
111.
Gutiri muthenya ukiaga ta ungi
No day dawns
like another
Every day brings a new light.
112.
Gutiri mutumia wenjagirwo mbui kwa nyina
No married woman
will have her white hair shaved at her mother’s
The Kikuyu
girls go around with bald heads which they get periodically shaved by their
relations. So the woman, who by being
married has left her house and relations, will never be shaved at her mother'’.
Once sold, ever sold.
113.
Gutiri mwana ungitema agitemera ithe
The son does not cut his finger in cutting meat for his father.
Sons are stingier than their parents.
114.
Gutiri ngware itari muhuririe wayo
There is no partridge which does not know its own way of scratching.
As many methods as men.
115.
Gutiri ngware nyinyi mahuririo-ini
No partridge is small when it claws the soil.
Every one can do great good or evil according to his possibilities.
116.
Gutiri njamba irumaga imera igiri
No prepotent man will insult other people for two consecutive seasons.
Prepotence comes quickly to an end.
117.
Gutiri nyama na ngirinyu
Meat has no choice morsel.
When distributing the meat or anything else one must not favour any one person.
118.
Gutiri nyoni njega mwere-ini
There is no nice bird in the millet.
Millet is one of the staple crops of the Kikuyu. They protect it from birds by building pulpit-like huts in which boys or women stand to frighten them whilst the harvest is ripening.
Even sugar itself may spoil a good dish.
119.
Gutiri uciaragwo ari mugi.
Nobody is born wise.
120.
Gutiri ucokaga haria arumiirwo kaara.
Nobody returns where he got his finger bitten,
Once bitten twice shy.
121.
Gutiri uikagia itimu atari na haria akuratha
Nobody throws a lance if he has no target.
There is a reason for everything.
122.
Gutiri ukinyaga mukinyire wa ungi
Nobody walks with another man’s gait.
Every man in his way.
123.
Gutiri undu utari kihumo
There is nothing without a cause.
All things have a beginning.
124.
Gutiri uriragio ni ukia wene
Nobody grumbles at being rich, all at being poor.
125.
Gutiri uriragio ni utonga no ukia
Nobody cares about other people’s poverty.
126.
Gutiri uriru utonwo
There is no mischance you are guaranteed against.
There is many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip.
127.
Gutiri uru utuuraga, no wega utuuraga
No evil, but only the good will last.
Good deeds remain, all things else perish
128.
Gutiri uta utari nyama
There is no bow without its meat.
God helps those who help themselves.
129.
Gutiri ritwa ritakuria mwana
There is no name which cannot distinguish a child
Every bird is known by its feathers.
130.
Gutiri thingira uciraga ta ungi
There is no location which discusses its affairs in the same way as the other does.
Every man in his way.
131.
Gutiri uthuire tiga akiaga
A man is poor not because he scorns possessions, but because he possesses nothing.
Sour grapes, as the fox said when he could not reach them.
132.