DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49272#0337
THE WAYAO OF NYASALAND
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joined in the game, unasked. Next moment, the ball came in his direction and catching it
in the moonlight, he suddenly found himself grasping a bleached human skull, while every-
one else had vanished. There he had to stand frightened as he was till the morning, when
he was found in this ridiculous predicament.
6. Tung awe watisisye majani gasyene!
Mr. If-We-Were-You let escape the baboons of the owner (himself).
Ningawe, meaning “ if I were you ” is also used.
This expression signifies “ A man cannot serve two masters ” or “He who tries to
please everybody will please none,” as is explained in the following story: Mr. Tungawe
and another man had their gardens adjacent to one another but the latter’s was next to
the forest and the baboons used to come and ravage his crops. He therefore consulted a
medicine man who gave him medicine to put all over the garden, which would cause all
the baboons who came to the garden to die. “ But,” said the medicine man, “ you must
promise to bring me the Mtalya! ” (the little baboon which acts as sentinel and guide).
The man did as he was told with the medicine and in the morning found all the baboons
dead in the garden; so picking up the body of the Mtalya, he was just going off with it to
the medicine man, when Mr. Tungawe in the next garden who had been a witness of the
good wrought by the medicine, said, “ If I were you I should not take the little Mtalya,
but the biggest baboon to give to the medicine man,” so after hesitating, he picked up
the biggest baboon to take instead of the little one. Immediately, it and its fellows came
to life again and ran away into the forest!
7. Mkokoya wa wawile wanache njusi!
While they delayed, the children singed the serval cat!
This expression has the meaning, “ If you do not do a thing at once, you may be too late! ”
and has reference to another story. Some youths out hunting killed an animal which they
did not recognize, so one of them went back to the village where he found the old men all
chatting and told them they had killed an animal they did not know. The old men said,
“ We will come and see it”, but they went on chatting until a second message came. Still
they said, “Yes, we are just coming,” but they did not go; so the boys not knowing any
better, instead of removing the skin, which is of value, with the hair on, singed all the
hair off which was their custom with some animals, so that eventually, when the old men
arrived they found they had lost a valuable skin. Another saying with the same meaning
is: Mkokoya wawelechele wanache pa ugono, “By delaying she gave birth to a child on the
mat.”
8. Angulola lyuwa wasokonechele!
(He who said), “I look at the sun”, he went astray! [Cf. Johnny-head-in-the-air.]
Che nguusya waiche ku musi!
Mr. The-One-Who-Asks arrived at the village!
321
joined in the game, unasked. Next moment, the ball came in his direction and catching it
in the moonlight, he suddenly found himself grasping a bleached human skull, while every-
one else had vanished. There he had to stand frightened as he was till the morning, when
he was found in this ridiculous predicament.
6. Tung awe watisisye majani gasyene!
Mr. If-We-Were-You let escape the baboons of the owner (himself).
Ningawe, meaning “ if I were you ” is also used.
This expression signifies “ A man cannot serve two masters ” or “He who tries to
please everybody will please none,” as is explained in the following story: Mr. Tungawe
and another man had their gardens adjacent to one another but the latter’s was next to
the forest and the baboons used to come and ravage his crops. He therefore consulted a
medicine man who gave him medicine to put all over the garden, which would cause all
the baboons who came to the garden to die. “ But,” said the medicine man, “ you must
promise to bring me the Mtalya! ” (the little baboon which acts as sentinel and guide).
The man did as he was told with the medicine and in the morning found all the baboons
dead in the garden; so picking up the body of the Mtalya, he was just going off with it to
the medicine man, when Mr. Tungawe in the next garden who had been a witness of the
good wrought by the medicine, said, “ If I were you I should not take the little Mtalya,
but the biggest baboon to give to the medicine man,” so after hesitating, he picked up
the biggest baboon to take instead of the little one. Immediately, it and its fellows came
to life again and ran away into the forest!
7. Mkokoya wa wawile wanache njusi!
While they delayed, the children singed the serval cat!
This expression has the meaning, “ If you do not do a thing at once, you may be too late! ”
and has reference to another story. Some youths out hunting killed an animal which they
did not recognize, so one of them went back to the village where he found the old men all
chatting and told them they had killed an animal they did not know. The old men said,
“ We will come and see it”, but they went on chatting until a second message came. Still
they said, “Yes, we are just coming,” but they did not go; so the boys not knowing any
better, instead of removing the skin, which is of value, with the hair on, singed all the
hair off which was their custom with some animals, so that eventually, when the old men
arrived they found they had lost a valuable skin. Another saying with the same meaning
is: Mkokoya wawelechele wanache pa ugono, “By delaying she gave birth to a child on the
mat.”
8. Angulola lyuwa wasokonechele!
(He who said), “I look at the sun”, he went astray! [Cf. Johnny-head-in-the-air.]
Che nguusya waiche ku musi!
Mr. The-One-Who-Asks arrived at the village!