Engero Ezivunudwa – Translated to English Luganda Proverbs -O

Luganda Proverbs – English Translation (English Meaning )
These are the Luganda Proverbs and their English meaning
1. Oba tonnagwa : tolaba kikusudde – As long as you have not fallen yet : you don’t know what has thrown you down
2. Obeera ndegeya : wakunzimbye ku mumwa – If you were a weaverbird : you would build a nest right on my mouth
3. Obikka ku maddu : nti malako ennyama, om eggumba – You are disguising your desire : (saying) finish the meat and give me the bone
4. Obisse bibiri : toobojjerere – ( Abikka ebibiri: ) If you have covered two distant termite-hills : you won’t be able to ck the termites (eating them on the st)
5. Obonaabona n’otafa – ( Zikusooka ne zitakuva: ; Ennume ebonaabo-nanga: ) Keeon suffering and don’t die! It is better to rsevere and not to give u Lat
6. Obonyeebonye : anti alaba alonda – You have seen trouble : well, the one who sees, finds
7. Obubaka tibufa nga butunzi – The respect for a (former) chief does not come to an end as does that for a former trader
8. Obubbi ntadde : omukazi ali mbuga – I have finished with stealing (says the husband who has been stealing) : if they have taken his wife (as a hostage) to the chief’s place (till he gives himself up)
9. Obubuiwa : bukuliisa (ettooke) eriri mu maaso ga mumw – (= Obubulwa buku-tooza – – ) Having no food in front of you : makes you take the ttooke from your neigh-bour’s helping
10. Obubulwa ggye : busembeza emmandwa ku lubu – The absence of an army : brings the lubaale priest to the front rank
11. Obudde butuukira mu muti ne bukya – (other form: Ennyonyi etuukira – – ) Dawn comes un the tree and the day starts
12. Obudde bwe buziba : ennyonyi yeeyuna omuti – When the day comes to a close : the bird takes shelter in a tree
13. Obufuzi bw’emmese : bulabika ng’omaze okuzimba enju – The fact you are put in charge of rats, is seen as soon as you have built your house
14. Obugagga ntuuyo : zittulukuka ng’ogenda, bw’owummula nga zikuggwako – Wealth is like perspiration : it abounds when you are active, but comes to an end when you rest (on your laurels)
15. Obuganzi bukayanirwa – Favouritism is passionately struggled for
16. Obugayaavu : buzaala obunafu – ziness begets weakness (physical and moral)
17. Obugezageza bwatta ssessolye – Trying repeatedly for the bait in the trap killed the ssessolye (little birds eating menvu)
18. The tcher goes so often to the well, that it is broken at last – Dutch De kruik gaat zo lang to water tot zij breekt
19. Obuggya dda : bukaza omuvule – To be of olden times : makes the muvule wither
20. Obugulu obutono : sibumegga nnyinibwo; singa nnamunye atambula agwa – Short legs do not throw down their owner; otherwise the wagtail would fall whilst walking
21. Obugwagwa nnyumba mbi : ogiyingira ogiraba – ( Kiryango kibi: ) Immorality is like a dirty house : at the very entrance itself the filth is obvious
22. Obukaba bukulya amaaso : nti Wamala yansiiwa – Immorality is eating your eyes, and you give as reason for it: The lubaale Wamala has rubbed ashes into my eyes
23. Obukadde buwoomya ki? : wazira ttooke – ( Mpa kikula kiwooma: ) What becomes sweeter through age? : bananas only
24. Obukadde obusinda amaluma : bwetisse mukene all ku mutwe – Old age which complains of plain food : is carrying a headload of mukene (small lake fish – excellent nva)
25. Obuuka ebikoomi ng’atalya bbugga – You are jumping over ground, where a heap of grass has been burnt, like a man who does not eat bbugga (vegetable)
26. Obukaajumbe : anaabusereka akeera – He who wants to t old thatch on the roof again : does so early in the morning
27. Obukojja bwa munno si bukojja bwo – The marriage relations of your friend (or your marriage partner) : are not yours
28. Obukopi bugezza effuba : ng’omutono ye mwami – ( Omwami: ) To be a peasant swells the chest (makes proud, cheeky) : if the chief is a small man
29. Obukulu buwoomya ttooke – ( Obukadde buwoomya ki: ) Ripeness makes ttooke sweet
30. Obukulu ndege : tezivugira mu mazzi – ( Omukulu takulira mpya bbiri: ) Authority is like ankle-bells : they do not ring in water
31. Obukya buziba : omwana alwa ddaaki n’ayisa amuzaala – After the morning comes the evening : the child finally overtakes the rent
32. Obukyala gwe bunaalema : abuwa musebeyi – One who is going to be tired of being principal wife, gives her powers away to one of the concubines (e
33. Obukyawe bukira eddogo – ( Bakukyawanga n’otogya ddogo: ) To be hated is better than to be involved in witchcraft
34. Obulamu kye kiwango : akiina Baabutiko – (One who says) Life is long living : makes fun of the people of the mush-room clan
35. Obulamu ttooke : bugenda n’abulabirira – Life is like ttooke : it goes (perishes) when the cultivator goes
36. Obulema tebujja dda – Lameness does not come (only) in later life (like old age) (it is possible also in childhood)
37. Obulimba bussa nnannyinibwo – ( Ky’olimba obuko: ) A liar is killed by his own lies
38. Obuuliridde nfuuzi : kwennyamira – ( Babikidde enfuuzi: ) If you talk to an oran (about his rent) : he (or she) feels grief again (remembering the loss)
39. Obulonda mke : tebugaana njala kugwa – The finding of just one ear of corn does not keehunger away
40. Obulo sibubadde bwange : bubadde bwa Ggulu-ddene – The millet corn was not mine : it belonged to the eleant
41. Obulungi : bukira obugagga – Beauty is better than riches
42. Obulungi bw’enswa : atalya mutima gwa mbuzi, aguliira mu nswa – The beauty (taste) of flying ants : one who does not eat the heart of a goat, eats it in a flying ant (it is not butchered)
43. Obulungi obwemanye : ) bukuvumya akusinga; ) bukuyisa ku balya – ( Obuteeraba: ) Selfconscious righteousness (beauty) : ) causes you to abuse one who is better than you (ide); ) makes you ss by oe who are eating (against good manners)
44. Obulungi obw’ensozi : obulaba oziri wala – The beauty of hills you admire : when you see them from afar
45. Obulungi si ddya : (wabula emsa) – ( Bulungi si ddya: ) Beauty is not the same as a hay marriage : (but the behaviour)
46. Obulwa bukula musaayi : nga si ggwe bafumise oba nga tebafumise wuwo – A fight gets lively, when blood is drawn : (so one says) only if it is not you who has been speared, or if they have not speared your own relation (son, father, brother)
47. Obulwa dda : ) blikaza ekkubo ku lwazi; ) bukutula empalaata – Walking on a rock for a long time : ) makes a visible path on it
48. Obusajja bukirana – The strong qualities surss each other
49. Obuuse nga wajjiibwa – You fly high, but not far : like the pigeon
50. Obusenze bukala mmuli – ( Busenze: ; Ekitta obusenze: ) Tenancy is firmly established by (bringing) reeds
51. Obusenze butta munaanya – Serfdom kills the lazy man
52. Obusenze bwe bubula : enswa entunda ezimba ku mpawu – If the entunda-termite does not want to work on its own anthill, it builds on the hill of the mpawu-termite
53. Obusigire bwassa Kisolo – Stewardship killed Kisolo
54. Obusigire tibugenda na kabukuto – To be a representative does not go well together with urging on people impor-tunely
55. Obusiro tebutuukirwako : ajja okulya, atuukira ku ndagala – Busiro (the king’s place) is not reached at once : one who is going to eat, reaches first the banana leaves (spread out as table cloth)
56. Obusiru obwakukutte bwa nkoko : bugizaalisa mu kyalo – The madness that got hold of you is that of a hen : it makes her lay eggs in the village (away from home)
57. Obusolo bwa kuno tebufa : atega gumu – (One who says) The animals of this ace do not die : sets only one tra The hunter who is more rsevering and lays tra all over the ace, will get more
58. Obusolo gye babutta, gye bweyuna (= bweyunira) : ) ettooke eddene mu ggwaatiro; ) omumonde omunene gukula mu lusalosalo – ( Gye babutta: ) Where they kill the animals, there they go again : ) like the big banana at the eling ace itself; ) a giant tato grows in the ditch
59. Obusungu mugenyi : ) akyala n’addayo; ) amala kuboonoonyesanga yeege-nderera – Anger is like a visitor : ) he comes and goes; ) first it caliijjuses you to do evil and then it goes away
60. Obusungu obungi : bukulagiriza emmese olusuubo – ( Omwogezi ayinga: ) Great anger : makes you show the food parcel to the rat (because in your anger you talk to yourself, whilst hanging up the food parcel, saying: I’ll hang it up here and the rat will find it)
61. Obusungu obungi tebukkutibwa (= tibukkutwa) : Nnamunkanga eyabukkuta ekifuba kabanika – Great anger is never satisfied : the dragon-fly that got its fill, got a distended chest
62. Obutaagalana bukusabisa mukazi wo gonja – ( Okulwawo kukusabya: ) Absence of mutual love makes you ask your wife for a roasted banana
63. Obutajja kundaba nnasiba embwa ku lumbugu n’egaana okululya? Is the reason that you never came to see me : because I have tied the dog to the lumbugu (grass) and it refused to eat it? What have I done, that you shun my company? –
64. Obutalya ku kimu bwassa wajjiibwa – Eating not only one (caster-oil-berry) : killed the geon
65. Obutamanya bya mwaka : ng’emmese esula omw’omulima – Not knowing the time of the year (season) : means being like a rat that lives in the house of a farmer
66. Obutamanya nnaku : bukuzza gye baakutunda – Not knowing the misery (that awaits you at home) : makes you run back to the place where they have sold you
67. Obutamanyirira : bukussa n’omuyombi omukago – Lack of experience : makes you contract blood-brotherhood with a quarrel-some person
68. Obutamanyirira butabaaza anaafa – Being unexperienced makes one fight and meet death (risking too much)
69. Obutamera kirevu ; njuba ya kikome, ekuliisa lwa ggulo – Beardlessness is like a cloudy day (overcast sky) : which makes you take your suer early
70. Obutannaziba : tobusindikirako maluma – When it is not yet evening : do not complain that there are no vegetables (meat, fish, greens, termites etc
71. Obutasaba baabulekera (= bwalekerwa) mbwa – Taking without asking they considered as befitting a dog only (not man)
72. Obutaseeranye : tibugulibwa – Without mutual bargaining in trading (buguzi) : there will be no sale
73. Obutateesa buliisa abasatu amaluma – Not talking things over : makes three people eat without vegetables
74. Obutazimbye : bumanyibwa nnyinibwo – ins (bulumi) which show no visible signs (swellings) are only understood by the patient himself
75. Obutekkaanya : bukutindiza balugu (ng’enva ze balya zirandira wansi) – Thoughtlessness makes you lead up the balugu-plant (yam) (because what is eaten of that plant, is not above, but below ground)
76. Obuteeraba : bukuvumya akusinga – (= Obuteemanya – – ) Not to shout ku lwa Kabaka (when saring an animal) : means enmity
77. Obuteeraba : bukuyumya akusinga – Obuteemanya – – ) Not knowing one’s own failings : makes you blame one who is better than yourself
78. Obuteerowooza : ng’omuwuulu asaba eggobe – ( Balusaggya: ) To be thoughtless : as a bachelor is who asks for ggobe (vegetables)
79. Obutetenkereza : bukonya obuto – ( Ntetenkanyiriza: ) Slow cooking leaves unripe bananas underdone
80. Obuteewuliriza bunyooza ennanga amatu – Not answering quickly to the tuning-efforts causes a harp (i
81. Obuteezhnbira bwassa wangiri – Not building its own house : has killed the wild pig
82. Obutise amatama : nga nnyinimu abba – ( Ntudde entende: ) You cover your jaws (you keep your mouth shut) : like the owner of the house who steals
83. Obutooke obuto : bugwana nva – Unripe matooke ought to be offered with enva (vegetables)
84. Obutta bumenya omulawo : oleeta kibaya – If the (tough) porridge breaks the stick (used for stirring) : do you bring a papyrus-stalk (to stir with)? If strong measures did not bring success, will weaker ones do?
85. Obuwa si bugabane – To give is not to share
86. Obuwulize : bwe buganzi – ( Muddu awulira: ) Obedience means affection (favouritism)
87. Obuyingirwa : bwambaza embwa olukoba – Forced obedience ts the collar round the dog’s neck
88. Obuyisi bw’omu : nsega y’ebika (= bulangwa nsega) – The passing away of the lonely traveller is made known by the vultures (circling over the body)
89. Obuzadde bulima : obusuutira we babwagala (= okwenyumiikiriza we bakwaga-la) – Parenthood is like tilling the land : they (the parents) like to be praised for it
90. Obuzadde buwonya embooge – Bringing forth saves the mbooge (vegetables) from being killed (plucked)
91. Obuzaaliro si bwe bukuliro – The place where one is born is not the place where one grows old
92. Obuuza nga Munyolo : akulaba n’ensuwa, nti ogenda iziba? You are greeting like a Munyoro : when he sees you with a watert, he says: are you going to the well? Lunyoro iziba corresnds to Luganda emugga –
93. Obuziina gye babwagala : gye babwaliirira – Where they like the rags : they spread out the mat for them
94. Obwami ddiba lya mbogo : terizingwa omu – Chieftainship is like a buffalo-skin : it cannot be rolled up by one man
95. Obwami kyambalo kyazike : nnannyinikyo bw’akikuggyako togaana – Chieftainship is like a borrowed garment : if its owner takes it away from you, you cannot object
96. Obwami obutono : bukubuuzisa gwe watumye – A small chieftainshimakes you question the one you have sent (with a mes-sage)
97. Obwangu bw’okuwa : bukuweesa atalikuwa – Being quick in giving : makes you give things to one who won’t give you any-thing in return
98. Obwavu bukuliisa ebikonde – ( Omwavu aluma: ) Poverty makes you eat your fists
99. Obwavu bukuliisa nnyoko – Poverty makes you eat your mother
100. Obwavu si bbanja – Poverty is not (as bad) as having debts
101. Obwavu : tebukozza – verty does not make one thin
102. Obwavu tebukumanyisa gw’oyagala (or: akwagala) – Poverty does not let you know whom you might love (who might love you)
103. Obwayiise : tebuyooleka – (obulamu) What is ured out, cannot be gathered again
104. Obw’effumu : si bwa ddogo – (obulwadde) Sickness from a sar-wound and from witchcraft are not (to be treated) alike
105. Obw’ekiro : buzimbya enkadde – (entwiri) Night-time : makes old rancour grow
106. Obwemage bwe balanga : enjobe mu lusa – (A person whom they accuse) without reason : is like an antelope in the marsh (accused of having damaged the crop)
107. Obw’enkya : si bwe buziba – ( Bwe bukya: ) The weather in the morning is (often) not the same as in the evening
108. Obwerabize obungi : bukusabya gwe wamma – Great forgetfulness makes you ask something from a person, to whom you have (in the past) refused a request
109. Obwesige bull nnyanja – Trust (safety) is found on the lake
110. Obwewussa bussa (= bulitta) emmandwa – Hypocrisy kills the sorcerer
111. Obwezizingirire empogola erwana mu ntamu – To be tied up all round ,: is like a banana in the jacket, fighting in the cooking pot
112. Obw’olubuto : butwala obw’omutwe – (obuwadde) Illness of the belly : brings along illness of the head
113. Obw’omu buwola(ko) oluuyi – Porridge (obutta) served to one man gets cold on one side (the one he is not eating from)
114. Obw’omulimba : tibukeerera – The time which a liar mentions (in his narrations) is not disputed
115. Obw’omutambuze tibuziba : enjuba egudde ng’agamba: npenda emisana – For a traveller it does not get dark : although the sun is down, he says: , it is still light!
116. Obwosi : buluma gwe bwaddako – The sickness obwosi (of children who are deprived of breast-feeding) hurts more those children born before (by the same father)
117. Odaagana (= otaagana) : ng’olwatta Mpoobe e Kibiri – You make vain attempts (to escape your fate) : like Mpoobe (who was killed by Walumbe) at Kibiri
118. Oduula nga musibe : nti tunaalaba okusula nga tutunula – You speak sarcastically like a blind man : (saying) we shall find a place for sleeping, while we still see (whilst it is still day-light)
119. Ofanga n’otodda : ng’omuntu anyaze omukazi – Die and don’t come back (be courageous and don’t fear death) : like a man who fights for a woman (in the battle)
120. Ofubye ng’akagobera embuga : nti bwe kanaalya omwana wa beene – You are solicitous like one who drives a wild animal away from the chief’s ace : (fearing) it might eat somebody’s child (the chief’s)
121. Ofudde lwa nnabamba : kawumpuli lwatta omuwazi – You died of a contagious sickness : plague killed the tanner
122. Ofunda n’ekkubi : n’otobeera na ddiirawamu – You prefer an ekkubi (big bird of prey which sucks only the blood of the animal killed) to the big grey eagle, which takes the booty along
123. Ofunda ne ndikutunda : n’otobeera ne ndikutta – You efer to be with one who says I shall sell you, rather than with one who says I shall kill you
124. Ofunda n’omuko omwavu : n’akulambula – ( Omuko omwavu akanya: ) It is better to be content with a poor son-in-law : he will come personally to help you, when you are in need
125. Ofunda n’omuliika : n’anunula (= n’akukuliza) abaana – ( Bayita n’omuliika: ) You bear with an usurer, if he redeems your children (from slavery)
126. Ofuuse gw’e Kanyanya : mugenzi tazze – You have become like the edible-rat of Kanyanya : once gone (escaped) it did not come back
127. Ogandadde nga mubbi ow’omunnyu : bakuba omwana – ( Obutise amatama: ) You lie on your back (saying nothing) like one who has stolen salt (and does not confess) : although they beat the child for it
128. Ogenda Mbaale mu Baganda banno – You are going to Mbaale to your Baganda-brethren
129. Ogenze mugga : okuggwa kko? ( Twazze mugga: ) Do you go to the river : to get rid of the dirt? Said of somebody who wants to get rid of his debts –
130. Oggye ku mutwe : otadde ku kibegabega – You have taken (the load) from the head and t it on the shoulder (i
131. Ogira ekiniga : ng’omusezi alya menvu – ( Okinagguka ng’omusezi: ) You are spiteful : like a nightdancer eating menvu (eating-bananas)
132. Ogitte : eva mu nnyiniyo – (The order) kill it (the cow or the goat) can only come rightly from the mouth of the owner
133. Ogobedde munya mu ssubi – You have driven the lizard into the grass (the thatch of the house)
134. Ogubula eyeeguya : tegukala – (omukwano) Friendshithat is lacking in mutual interests (consideration), does not last (is not solid)
135. Ogudde ddalu : kuwona mabanja – (If) you become mad : (that means) you get rid of debts
136. Oguddinnanwa : gwe guwunya ensiwo – (omwenge) Beer that is mixed again with ferment : makes the brew tasty
137. Ogufa : tegumanya yasooka – (omukwano) Friendship that comes to an end, no longer knows the one who started it
138. Oguggwa : tiguba muka – ( Okulya ennyingi: ) Beer that is finished : has no taste (was not strong enough)
139. Ogugutana : ng’ow’ejjanga aloga muliro – You are disputing something (muttering to yourself) : like one with sick (bleary) eyes, kindling a fire
140. Oguliko omuseesa : teguzikira – Fire that has a ker (stirrer), does not go out
141. Ogummuka gwe gukuwa nsogola – The expectation of the mubisi being tasty (pleasant to drink), encourages you to brew
142. Ogunaanyula : tegubuulirwa muwemba, ne bw’ossaako omungi – Unfermented banana-juice (mubisi) that is going to be good beer : is not influenced by muwemba (millet, added for fermentation) even if you add much of it
143. Ogusula gwe gukuwa emza : nga mulungi – (omusango) A case which is stned (for another day) gives you a chance of defence : if it is in your favour
144. Ogutaggwa : guboolanga abataka – (omusango) Incessant strife : brings mutual hatred among the land-owners
145. Ogutaliiko mpeera : gugenda n’okwebaza – Work for which no payment is asked : goes with thank you
146. Ogutali mutume : tegukalaza (= tigukaluba) – (omulimu) Work which is not a command : does not make one angry (or: is not irksome)
147. Ogutannammuka : tigukukubisa mwana – (omubisi) Since the mubisi (banana juice) has not yet oozed out : this (fact) causes you to refrain from beating the child (if he takes and sucks a lyenvu)
148. Ogutateganya : siguzza nvuma – (omulimu) ( Ayagala okunyiriza: ; Ky’oyagala kikuseeza: ) Effort which does not persevere : does not bring back the slave (who has escaped)
149. Ogwa gonja (= olwa gonja) teguggwe? : nga y’alidde eky’engabo – Will the affair with the gonja not come to an end? : (says the one) who has already eaten the best part of it (ekiwango ky’engabo)
150. Ogwa kasajja gundeebuukanya : nga ggwe wamwezaalira – ( Gunzise mu vvi: ; Kwata n’owaayo: ) The case of the little man (son) has caused me a lot of hard work : (you say so) if you have brought him forth
151. Ogwayambadde : teguyita bwereere (= teguyitira awo) – A body that is clothed : does not walk naked
152. Ogw’edda : tigukutwaza lubugo lumu – Old friendship : does not make you take one barkcloth (for the burial)
153. Ogw’embuga : gutta atagenze – (omulimo) Work for the chief : kills the man who refused to go
154. Ogw’embuga : ) gutta ogw’obuko (ng’abakazi alina babiri); ) tigulekeka – (omulimo) The work for the chief (communal work) : ) comes before the work for the father-in-law (if one has two wives); ) cannot be left alone
155. Ogw’embuga : tigunywebwa atudde wamu – (omwenge) The chief’s beer is not drunk by him who remains at home
156. Ogw’enzikiza : ayogedde ku bule – (omusango) One who accuses another of a crime committed in the dark (without witnesses) : talks about little clouds (i
157. Ogw’okulya : gusuula emmese mu kita – Gluttony throws the rat into the beer-calabash
158. Ogw’omulimba : tiguggwa mpoza – (omusango) The trial of a liar never comes to an end (in arguing)
159. Ojaganya ng’eyakimeza okw’enjala : nti obutiko bugenda kukuloga enjala? You are rejoicing like one who has watched a mushroom grow in famine-time : are mushrooms going to aease your hunger? Mushrooms do not nourish – – Taking easure in worthless things
160. Ojaganya ng’ow’amalibu alonze erinnyo – You are rejoicing, like a toothless fellow, who has found a tooth
161. Ojjanga kwa nkuba : omusana guleeta enjala – Come during the rainy season! : the hot season brings famine
162. Ojjanga n’olya : y’akuyita Lubuna miryango – Come and have food with me (he says) : and then he calls you a miserable hungry fellow, hanging round all doorsteps
163. Ojjukidde okwebikka : ng’obudde bukedde – You think of covering yourself (to go to sleep) : when the dawn is breaking
164. Ojjukire okwebikka : nga bukyali! ( Ojjukidde okwebikka: ) Think of your bedding (place for sleeping etc – ), when there is still day-light
165. Okaabidde mu lwabya : wakasanke mu lwa mngu – You wail at the mourning-rites : like the kasanke (small red finch) at the mourning for the eagle
166. Okaddiwanga mubiri : n’otokaddiwa mwoyo – You become old in your body : but you are still young in your mind
167. Okalaliddwa : atali muwadde okuyoya obusera – You are (unreasonably) angry : as it is unreasonable of one who is not sick to clamour for rridge (buugi)
168. Okambagga (or: Akambagga) : ng’embidde ematirewo – You are a sour fellow : like freshly eled mbidde (beer-bananas)
169. Okamaze : omufumba kafu lw’eggulo – You are the limit : you cook (for your husband) only a tiny bit in the evening! Laziness, stinginess!
170. Okangabadde : ng’ebyanika taba – (ebiriba) You are difficult (crooked, stubborn) : like cow-hides on which tobacco is dried (in the sun)
171. Okansombedde : kimbagaya yakasombera Balama – ( Tekibula musombi: ) You have brought evil over me : as the Kimbagaya has brought it over the Balama
172. Okantyabidde : akalimu obuwuka obw’okunnuma – (akaku) ( Omwana ali-ntyabira: ) You have collected firewood for me : in which there are stinging insects
173. Okekkera ng’afumba ekiro : nti ssebo tunaaliira mulyango – You are talking (nonsense) like a woman cooking late in the evening : (saying) ssebo we can eat in the doorway (in the moonlight)
174. Okekkera ng’afumba obutooke obuto : nti ewaffe tulya ga bisiisa – You are talking (nonsense) like one cooking unri bananas : (saying) at home we eat caterllars
175. Okekkera nga agula endiga (= ente), nti yaswala amagulu – You are talking like a man who buys a sheep (cow) and complains about its ugly legs
176. Okekkera ng’agula nnandere : nti taliimu maaso; k’oli nti ogula wa kukuuma waka? You talk nonsense like one who buys a nnandere (small fish in Lake Kyoga), saying: but it has no eyes! ; (reply) do you buy it for watching your house (in your absence)? If these fish are kept for long, nnyenje or rats might eat their eyes; a sign that they are not fresh – Munno
177. Okekkera nga muk’omugoma; nti ow’omwange leero agireese n’amayembe gaayo? Are you joking like a drummaker’s wife, who says: Oh today my husband has brought his fare with the horns on? When cattle were killed in the lubiri (king’s enclosure), the drummers were given the heads and the women greeted their husbands with this joke –
178. Okekkera nga nnakawere omuli w’omunnyo : nti nnawonyezza kigongo – You are talking like a mother whose newly born child has died, because the mother has taken salt during her pregnancy, saying: I have saved my kigongo (my life)
179. Okekkera nga nnakyeyombekedde asima kandi : nti kuliko nsajjalala; nti ekiku-suza wekka mu nju, ng’abasajja ball mu ttaka kiki? You are talking like a spinster digging up kandi (kind of yam) and saying: there are tasteless ones among them; (sarcasm) why do you live alone in your house, if there are men in your soil? Lusajjalala has two meanings: ) tasteless, inedible yam; ) manikin, miserable specimen of a man –
180. Okekkera ng’ava eri omulwadde, nti twasuze ku bugubi – You are exaggerating like one who comes from visiting a sick person, saying: we have stayed with him till the cry of the quails (early morning)
181. Okekkera ng’eyakafiirwa, nti leero nadda wa? : nti abaflirwa edda balaga wa? You are talking like one who has just lost (a near relation) through death, saying: where shall I go now? : (answer) where did those go, formerly, who lost their relations? p –
182. Okekkera ng’eyeekubye ekigere : nti simanyi kye kinanviiramu – You are talking nonsense like one who has hurt his toe and says: I do not know what will come out of it (i
183. Okekkera ng’omufumite : nti omusaayi gupnenze munda; bulijjo gubeera wa? You are talking like one who has been speared : (saying) my blood is flowing into my body; (answer) where is it otherwise? , –
184. Okekkera ng’omugemuzi agamba, nti enkukunyi zampaatidde ku kibuga – You stretch a point like one who has taken victuals to the bbooma and says: the fleas have attacked me in the chief’s place
185. Okekkera ng’omugenyi eyaliiridde amaluma : nti omutwe nnassa wa? nti zinga mu ddiba ly’embuzi – You are talking like a visitor who was given food without vegetables (addi-tional dishes), saying: where shall I put the head (meaning his own head, for the night’s rest)?; (answer of the host) wrap it up in the goat’s skin
186. Okekkera ng’omukazi agamba, nti emmanga eyo tekyayita kambe – You are talking like a woman, saying: down there (in the lusuku) a knife cuts no more (matooke) (i
187. Okekkera ng’omukazi omuzadde : omwana bw’akaaba, nti bwandu bwe bumu-kaabya – You are talking like a mother, whose son is crying (saying) : it is stomach-ache that makes him cry
188. Okekkera ng’omulimi w’empindi agamba, nti empindi zange zali ziri matuba, ennyonyi zizirya – You are exaggerating like a planter of beans, saying: my beans over there are as big as figs and the birds feed on them
189. Okekkera ng’omukunku eyeekoonye : nti ekigere nkimazeewo; nti kyakume-zeeko ggulo? You are talking like one without toes who has stumbled : (and says) I have ruined my toe!; (sarcastic answer) has it (the toe) just grown this evening? (formerly you had no toes) –
190. Okekkera ng’omulwadde agamba, nti kasookedde ndwala siryanga ka mu ntamu wabula obusera bwe nnawuseeko eggulo bwokka – You are exaggerating like a sick person (complaining) : since I have been sick, I have not eaten anything cooked in a cooking pot; I have sipped only a little porridge in the evening
191. Okekkera ng’omulwadde anywa taba : nti kasooka ndwala siriimu mukka – You talk (nonsense) like a sick man who is smoking : (saying) since I fell sick, I have no breath
192. Okekkera ng’omulwadde nti lulinzita nga lummazeemu amaanyi – You are talking like a sick person who says: the sickness will kill me as my strength is finished
193. Okekkera ng’omulwadde nti olumbe lwanzimba munda – You are talking (nonsense) like a sick person : (saying) the sickness caused a swelling inside my body
194. Okekkera ng’Omunaawa : nti Kabaka yandeka nga ndi gongo; nti kaakano oli muluusi? You are talking like a certain naawa (ganda of wokota) saying: When the king died, I was at gongo (place on the saka road); (the other under-stands: I was a mugongo (female animal bearing), and asks) and now you are a muluusi (animal not yet bearing)? , –
195. Okekkera ng’Omunnabuddu : nti Kabaka yantuma lwokyo; nti olwokya Kaba-ka baluggya Buddu? ( Oyogedde bitajja: ) You are talking like a man from Buddu : (saying) the king has sent me on an urgent errand; (reply) does the branding iron (that cauterizes the sores of the king) come from Buddu? In Lunnabuddu lwokyo means in a hurry; in Luganda branding iron – ,
196. Okekkera ng’Omunnabusiro asima balugu : nti laba Kabaka mwe yakkira! ; nti owuwo ali mu ttaka? You are talking like the man in Busiro, digging for yam and exclaiming: look here, the king (big tuber) is down here! ; (rey) is your king living in the soil? , –
197. Okekkera ng’Omunnabuyaga : nti leero Kajeerero ali Nkira, nti edda ggwe wamukiranga? You are talking (nonsense) like a man from Buyaga (county) saying: Today the Kajeerero (chief) lives at Nkira (place); (reply) have you formerly surpassed him? sunderstanding the expression: ali Nkira (he lives at Nkira), and inter-preting it as alinkira (he will surpass me) –
198. Okekkera ng’Omunyolo : nti okulya enkolo, ndya lumonde; nti enkolo, nga lumonde gw’olabye? You talk like a nyoro (yima) who says: I should prefer to eat potatoes, rather than banana-stumps; (reply) where you eat banana-stumps do you find any potatoes? Banana-stumps are only famine food; therefore where you see people eating them, you can be sure potatoes are no longer there – Castles in the air
199. Okekkera ng’omunywi w’emmindi : nti mundeke, sikyalimu mukka – ( Oke-kkera ng’omulwadde anywa taba: ) You are talking lies like a pipe smoker who says: Leave me alone, I have no breath left
200. Okekkera ng’omusasi : ) nti nnyabo nnyinyika! ; ) nti nnyabo tompeereza mutwe? You are talking nonsense like one who wants to work for food : ) (saying) madam, give me work! Okunnyika has two meanings: to put to work or to immerse – The madam seems to understand the latter and asks teasingly: Don’t you know that the man Mpisi whom they put into the lake Mutukula (in Ssingo – Hoima Road) never came back? You are talking nonsense like one who wants to work for food : ) (saying) madam, won’t you put more on top (of the food basket)? The woman takes mutwe in the literal meaning and asks: If your mother has not given you a head, when you were born, how can I give you one now? /
201. Okekkera ng’omusumba w’enkoko : nti ez’ewange ziwalalira emiyagi; nti ggwe, nnannyinizo owalalira emivule? ( Amampaati aga nnyini: ) You are exaggerating like one with a hen-farm : (saying) those hens at my home leap over miyagi shrubs; (sarcastic reply) and you, their owner, probably leap over muvule trees? –
202. Okekkera ng’Omuyima (= Omulaalo) : nti nnalidde enjuba; nti eyiyo eri munda? You are talking like a yima (herdsman) saying: I have eaten the njuba; (reply) oh! your sun then is inside the body! In Luganda njuba means sun; in Luyima it means blood cooked from the lancing of a cow –
203. Okekkera ng’Omuzungu : ndiyo; nti wabuna nsi? You talk nonsense like a White man, constantly saying ndiyo; are you all over the place? Ndiyo means yes in Kiswahili, but I am there in Luganda –
204. Okekkera ng’omwavu gwe bakwatira ku kibuga : nti singa bantadde ndaba omugagga mu kyalo, mmugwako – You are talking like a poor man they have caught in the town (without musolo-ticket) : (saying) if they would let me free, I would go and see a rich man in the village and beseech him to help me
205. Okekkera ng’ow’ebbango, nti bwe nnatuuka, nnagwa bugazi – You are talking like a hunchback, saying: when I arrived, I fell on my back
206. Okekkera ng’ow’ebikaata ava embuga : nti tukutte mu gabuguma – You are talking like one with syphilitic hands, coming from the chief’s place and saying: we got hold of some hot things (hot meat)
207. Okekkera ng’ow’ejjanga abika, nti gundi yafa : nti naffe tulabye bw’okaaba – You are talking like one with inflamed eyes, bringing a death notice, So and so died : (reply) we also see how you are weeping
208. Okekkera ng’ow’ekirevu akuma omuliro : nti bampeeyo essubi nkume omuliro; nti eryo lyonna erikuli ku mumwa? You are talking like a bearded fellow lighti