Sudanese Proverbs

by

The Mouse and the Beetle – a Sudanese Proverb with a Folktale

الخنفُسانة شافت ولدها في الحيط قالت دا لولي ملضوم في خيط

al khunfusaana shaafat walada fi l-HeeT gaalat da luuli malDuum fi kheeT.

The dung beetle saw its son on the wall and said these are pearls put together on a string.

Though the dung beetle is ugly, to his mother he is as lovely and beautiful as pearls beads strung together on a thread. This proverb implies that parental love can be blind. There is a short folktale called The Mouse and the Beetle relating to this proverb.

It once happened that a mouse married a beetle. One day when the beetle went down to the river to wash her shamla (a rag of wool or goat hair used by Sudanese women to cover their bodies when having a smoke bath), a strong habuub suddenly blew and swept away the shamla, together with the beetle who was clinging on to it tightly. The gust of wind threw the beetle on an island in the river, leaving her feeling shocked and bewildered. By coincidence, a boy from the house where the mouse and the beetle had their hole was passing near the shore. When the beetle saw him, she called out in her loudest voice: Continue reading →

Advertisement
by

musmaar JuHa. Juha’s nail. – مسمار جُحا

مسمار جُحا
musmaar JuHa.
Juha’s nail.
This expression is used to describe an unwelcome person who it is hard to get rid of because they always come up with excuses and justifications for lingering. Under Sudanese culture it is considered shameful to turn away a guest, particularly at meal times.

This saying has an amusing story behind it.
One day Juha was approached by a man who wanted to buy his beautiful house. Juha agreed to the man’s offer but on one condition. He insisted on retaining the ownership of a single nail that had been struck into one of the walls. Being delighted with the price, the buyer agreed to this odd insistence and the sale was soon completed.

After a few days Juha arrived at the door when the family was having their dinner with the excuse that he wanted to see his nail. The new owner allowed him in and as the Arabs are famous for their generosity, Juha was invited to share their meal after seeing his nail. This was the first of innumerable visits that Juha made in the following days. Juha would arrive at all hours, day or night, on the pretext of wishing to see his nail. The new owner finally lost his temper as Juha was depriving his family of any rest and privacy. In a blind rage, he stormed out of the house, shouting to Juha, “Take your house with its nail. I don’t want it!”

مسمار جُحا

by

Hukum garagoosh. The judgment of Garagoosh (part 2)

One of the funnier stories about Garagoosh’s lack of fair judgment concerns a farmer who appeared before him to complain that a thief had stolen one of his chickens. He produced a witness and the thief made a full confession under Garagoosh’s interrogation. Garagoosh then announced that the thief must pay a fine of one dinar. Upon hearing this everyone thought that the matter had been settled until Garagoosh added that the owner of the chicken and his witness should also be fined a dinar each as well! When they asked Garagoosh about the legal basis upon which the judgment was based, he merely remarked, ‘I judged the thief because he has taken what doesn’t belong to him. I fined the owner because he didn’t take good care of his chicken.’ ‘But what guilt did the witness commit, your honour?’ asked one of the counsels. Garagoosh’s reply was final, ‘Because he has interfered in what doesn’t concern him!’

by

The judgment of Garagoosh (part 1)

حكم قراقوش

Hukum garagoosh. The judgment of Garagoosh.

This short expression is used when a peculiar or tyrannical judgment has been passed. The litigious nature of Sudanese society helps to account for why this Arabic saying about a judge called Garagoosh is commonly used.

There are numerous stories about him such as that of Garagoosh although few can be as bizarre as that concerning a pregnant woman: It once happened that a soldier collided with a farmer’s pregnant wife as he rushed to climb onto one of the small boats that ferry people across the Nile. The incident resulted in the poor woman having a miscarriage. After the farmer brought a legal case against the soldier, the parties appeared before Garagoosh to set out their case. Garagoosh decreed that the soldier take the peasant’s wife to his house until she was pregnant again, and that after she had been pregnant for seven months she should return to her husband. “Oh my great master! I withdraw my complaints, and entrust my case to God and his justice,” was all that the flabbergasted farmer could plead.

Another story relates how a creditor went to Garagoosh to complain that his debtor had failed to repay the sum loaned to him. In mitigation, the debtor explained that although he was a poor man he had endeavoured to repay the creditor. However, he had been unable to find the man when the money was in his pocket, and by the time they met the money had been spent. In response Garagoosh passed judgement that the creditor should be gaoled so that the debtor would know the place to hand over the money! On hearing the sentence the creditor didn’t hestitate to forgive the debtor all the money he had borrowed!

 

by

Sudanese Proverbs: Translated, Translitrated & Explained

BookCoverPreview[1]

Our book on Sudanese Proverbs is now available as a print on demand book.

The cover was created on a Createspace template which only allows certain options. Nevertheless we were very pleased to receive the cover image from the Sudanese artist, Ahmed Amir Jabir.

by

Sudanese Proverbs: Translated, Transliterated & Explained (finally finished!)

page0001

Our book on Sudanese Arabic Proverbs is thankfully finally seeing the light of day!

Here is the description of the e-book :

This collection of proverbs provides a fascinating glimpse into the culture, social morals, historical traditions and humour of the Sudanese people. Learning some of these proverbs can be a great way of sharing your sense of humour or expressing an opinion without having to stumble on words that might be misunderstood. For the most part, these succinct sayings call for virtues that encourage solidarity, peace and coherence within society.

  • Contains over 560 Sudanese Arabic proverbs that are commonly used in the Sudan.
  • Each proverb has an English translation.
  • The transliterated script guides pronunciation and assists beginners in learning the Arabic language.
  • Concise notes explain the meaning and cultural background of each proverb.
  • Includes a dozen folk-tales linked to individual proverbs.
  • An alphabetical index is supplied for easy reference.

The book can be purchased on the Amazon website

(We hope to publish a print on demand version as well.)

by

Who could say that the mule is in the pitcher? (an Arabic Proverb commonly used in the Sudan)

The Mule is in the pitcher! by Muna Zaki

The mule is in the pitcher!
by Muna Zaki

منو البيقدر يقول البغلة في الإبريق؟

minuu al bigdar yiguul al baghla fi l-ibriig?

Who could say that the mule is in the pitcher?

This proverb is said to imply that a person cannot say the truth because he is afraid of the consequences. There is a story behind it:

There was once a judge who passed an unfair verdict that a man should be given 60 lashes and fined 60 pounds. The hapless man was forced to accept the judge’s sentence. He went out after the execution of the verdict filled with anger and resentment that he was unable to discharge. On his way, he met a genie that saw the signs of rage on his sullen face. When this genie asked what the matter was, the man told him about the unjust sentence passed by the judge.

The genie replied, ‘I could take your revenge from that judge and he will be flogged 600 times instead of the 60 lashes he gave you. And instead of the 60 pounds he fined you I will make him pay you 6000 pounds. What do you think about this?’

The oppressed man readily agreed to the genie’s suggestion. In the flash of an eye, the genie was transformed into a very handsome baghla (mule).

Now the judge was well-known for being passionately fond of mules. Knowing this the genie suggested that the man should sell him (as a mule) to the judge for the set price of 6000 pounds.

The man led the mule around the village until he passed by a group of people amongst whom was the judge. As expected, the judge admired the animal and asked the man to sell it to him. The man followed the genie’s advice and asked the judge to pay 6000 pounds. The judge agreed to the exorbitant price because the mule was an exceptionally fine one. From that time on, he rode the mule wherever he went, and bragged to everyone that he had the finest mount in the district.

One day, the judge was making his ablutions while the mule was standing before him. The judge was looking in admiration at the animal when something unbelievable happened before his eyes. The mule was sucked down into a jug being used for the ablutions. The terrified judge started to scream madly, ‘The mule is in the pitcher! The mule is in the pitcher!’

People hurried to him to ask what was wrong. When he told them that the mule was in the pitcher, the people looked inside but only saw the water. They tried to convince him that it was just his imagination but the judge swore by his faith that the mule was in the pitcher. Naturally the people thought that this was absurd and began to scoff. ‘Couldn’t the judge see the mule standing before him?’ they asked incredulously.

As soon as they had gone the mule slid back again inside the pitcher. The judge this time screamed even louder, ‘The mule is in the pitcher! The mule is in the pitcher!’

The people thought that the judge had become mad so they took him to a religious sheikh to seek some treatment. The judge tried to convince the sheikh that the mule really had gone inside the ablution pitcher but to no avail. The sheikh was convinced that the bedeviled judge had completely lost his mind. He stared to flog him hysterically with his whip but even then the judge continued to scream, ‘The mule is in the pitcher! The mule is in the pitcher!’ until he lost consciousness. When he regained his senses, he found his mule standing in front of him. Then the people asked the judge where his mule was. He pointed to the mule before him and it seemed to everyone that he had been healed from his madness. However, as soon as the judge was alone with his mule, it returned back to the pitcher and the judge started once again to shout and scream madly. The people took him back again to the sheikh who flogged him violently. This situation continued for a long time with the judge being beaten each time he relapsed into apparent madness.

One day while the judge was making his ablutions, the mule slipped inside the pitcher and looked up at him. The judge laughed and quietly addressed his mule by saying, ‘I see you but who could say that the mule is in the pitcher?!’