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The (hardly revolutionary) conclusion has dawned on me that it’s probably better to aim for little and often, rather than big and rare. So I’ll endeavour to share little updates of things I consider to be interesting or inspiring or thought-provoking as they crop up through life and ministry here in the Gambia.
Something light-hearted for the time being… African proverbs!
I imagine (I’ve not exactly researched it) that all cultures have interestingly varying proverbs. West African proverbs, like West African food, certainly seem to have a unique flavour to them. Here are a few that I’ve enjoyed discovering so far…
"If you love the monkey, you can’t hate its tail."
Meaning: If you love someone and are committed to them, then you can’t pick and choose which bits of them to love - you’ve got to take the whole package!"The owner of a donkey knows the donkey well."
Meaning: If you own something, then you will know how to operate it better than someone else. Classic example: a local taxi will often have several body parts falling off. Consequently, I’ll commonly not be able to open a door to enter or leave! The driver leans over and jolts a scrap of some material with a particular motion, which seems to magically open the door."The tortoise wants to box, but the arm is short."
Meaning: Know your limits! Even if an ambitious tortoise really wanted to box someone, sadly he has to accept that he simply won’t be able to! (Why a tortoise is chosen to make this point I don’t know; it is a rather amusing image though!)"If a snake misses you, when you see a worm you’ll run."
Meaning: Once you’ve had a near-miss with something, you’ll be much more cautious about it in the future! Imagine you have a close encounter with a dangerous snake… Next time you see a snake-like large worm you’ll run for your life!I’ll keep my ears open for more… Till then, love your monkeys, know your donkeys, learn from the tortoise, and mind those snakes!
