Here in West Africa, people say that birds speak when they make their calls. Recently, Joel was telling me a number of examples he had heard from old men in his village, and some are rather funny:
When the hen says, “Mpi poikou e ta honta ykpata,” she is complaining in the Natinti language about her husband, the rooster, who has taken other wives. The rooster has nothing to say, so he just replies,_ “Bock.”_
There is a small squirrel-like animal here that attacks chickens. When the rooster sees it, he cackles, “Ya qui kou qui ba ni.” He is telling the animal, “Wait, I am going to go and get ready,” but he is really calling his owner to come and kill it.
According to the Natimba people, during the harvest of the gray millet, Guinea hens have a special saying: “Yoo kpaka yie di koum yie,” which means, “Today is the day of millet. It is our day to die.” This is because people catch them and kill them for harvest sacrifices.
West Africans have many proverbs. Can you figure out what these mean?
_“A lie might spread for 10 years, but it takes truth just one morning to catch up with it.”
“Drop by drop, the palm wine fills the bottle.”
“The young basket asks the old basket why its bottom is worn out. The old basket replies, ‘Wait until the time of ingnams (a huge tuber), and you will understand.’”
“If a bird attracts the rain, it must not complain about getting wet.”
“You need to get close to a chicken to find out whether it has ears.”
“The old man keeps warm by burning wood he gathered while he was young.”
“If you don’t want to get wet, don’t go out in the rain.”
“He who likes honey must not fear bees.”
“He who doesn’t have any friends must avoid getting a sore on his back.”
“If the wall doesn’t have a crack, the lizard won’t have anywhere to live.” _
