Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001

From: Abigail Stamm

Subject: Malawian Folklore

18 November 2001

Malawi folklore:

The people I have asked in my village do not know the stories behind many of the Malawian proverbs. They can only tell me what the proverbs mean. Where possible, I gave the outline of a story that explains the proverb. All proverbs are given in Chichewa with rough translations in English.

1. Ukapanda manu usamaswe phale.

"If you have no teeth, do not break the phale."

There were two people. One had no teeth. The second wanted to roast maize using a phale, a piece of broken urn used like a frying pan. The toothless one became jealous because he could not eat roasted maize, so he broke the phale.

2. Lende nkukankhana.

"Push each other on swings."

There were two people. They wanted to play on the swing. One got on and the other pushed. When the pusher was tired, she stopped and climbed on the swing, then asked her friend to push. Her friend said no, she was tired. She said again that her friend should push, then added, "lende nkukankhana." (Essentially, two people are needed to play on swings.)

3. Wakufa sadziwika.

"The one who is dead will not be known."

A guinea fowl wanted to eat a finye, a small walking frog. It kept saying to the frog, "ufa lero" (you will die today) as it tried to peck the frog. The frog answered, "wakufa sadziwika." It made a poison on its skin. As the guinea fowl pecked it, its beak became covered with the poison. Its beak was sealed shut and the guinea fowl suffocated and died.

4. Chala chimodzi sichiswa nsabwe.

"One finger cannot crush a louse."

There was a man who stayed always alone instead of chatting with his friends. After a time, he encountered a problem that he could not solve alone. He went to his friends for help and said to them, "chala chimodzi sichiswa nsabwe," to show that he needed help.

5. Walira mvula walira matope.

"To cry for rain is to cry for mud."

Some people were crying for the rains to come. When the rains came at last, they caused a lot of mud. Then the people complained about the mud because it was so bad that they could not go anywhere. The ones who were tired of their complaining said, "walira mvula walira matope."

6. Mlendo ndi mame.

"A visitor is like dew."

Some people complain to themselves when a visitor comes unexpectedly. Perhaps they have no food or no place for visitors to sleep. Then the visitor leaves after a few hours or a few days and the host is upset that the visitor has gone.

7. Kuyenda ndi kuvina.

"To travel is to dance."

When you dance, you do not know where your feet will take you. You just go around and sometimes you trip on someone else's foot. As you travel, you do not know where you will go or who you will meet. Maybe sometime you quarrel with someone and part on bad terms. Another time, you meet them and ask for help, not realizing who they are. Because of the quarrel, they may refuse to help you or even make trouble for you. If you always part with people on good terms, they will always be willing to help you.

8. Ukayipa dziwa nyimbo.

"If you are ugly, know a song."

An ugly person may not be nice to look at, but when he sings, his song is so nice that the pretty people dance. The proverb is translated, if you are not good at one thing, learn to do another.