excerpta maldiviana no.12 maldivian proverbs
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/11/2019 Excerpta Maldiviana No.12 Maldivian Proverbs.
1/8
D/A
JoURNAL,
R.A.s.
(cDrrLoN)
[Vor,.
XXXIi.
No.
86-19331
EXoER?TA
tu,(r,olvrEN.t
373
But etymologically,
at
all
events,
the
verbal interpreta.
tion
of
the
Latin
proaerbium
(firo
*
uerbum. "
publicity
saying")and
its
Greek
correlati.ve
paraemia
(para
f
oimos,
"
wayside expression ")
tends
to
show
unmistakably
that
"triteness,
common
usage,
and
popular acceptance
''
are
'essential
features
of
the
Proverb,-oi
Adage
(?
ad,
agend,um
aptum), its near
parallel.
The
languages,
whether
of Europe and
America,
of Asia,
and
Africa, or
the
Seven
Seas
of the
World,
have,
each and
all,
their
special stores
of
wit
and rrisdom
in
the
shape of
Proverbs;
albeit, so
much
appears
akin
to the
rest, that
careful
study would
seem
to
point
,,either
to
some same
origin, or to the
hypothesis
of an
universal wisdom
manifest-
ing itself
vicariously
in
the
pithy
sayings of all
nations,
barbarous
and
civilized."
Oriental
Proverbs
are still
but
little
known in
Europe
'
outside a
small circle of
Orientalists,
and even they
have
to
a
great
extent overlooked
them.
On
Proverbs
of
the four
main
languages (Dravidian)
of Southern India, (
Tami,l,
Telugu, Kannarese,
and Malagillam),like Si.r"rhnlese
i
(Aryan)
in
Ceylon,
.'Collections"
have
been
issued,
from
time to
time
;
but all are
capable
of much
extension.
milorvrnr PRovERBs,
The
fortunate
opportunity
of
a
few months'
sojourn
*during
1922 inthe
little
known
Mri,ldive
Islands-Ceylon's
Muslim Dependency-afforded
the
writer
the
welcome chance
of acquiring
a
casual,
though
but partial,
"
batch
"
of
Proverbs
current
on
the
Group.
From
this
uindfall
a
random selection
is
ofiered
in
the
present
Paper;
limited,
of
set
purpose,
to
half.
a-hundred-lest
peradventure
Don
Quixote's
heavy
curse do
light
upon
him
from readers
justifiably
resenting
the
gratuitous
annoyance
of
"
damnable
iteration."
2
In regard
to
the
broad nature of Mrildivian Proverbs,
i{,
is
not
surprising
t,o
find
the " tang
of the sea
" largely
per-
vading'many
a
tritum
uetustate
prouerbium
of
these
hardy
sea-faring
fslanders
of "
Mehi, Laka" (" Ci's-mare
Lar.rkd,,"
l.
Several'Collections":-Spec'imens
o.f
Sir.thalese
Prouerbs
(L.
de
Zoysa
Mudaliyar)
Journal
C.A.S.,
f
870-f 872
:
l88l
;
Athi'thd
Wd,lrya
D,ipaniya
(Mendis)'
Si,r.thala Upamd,
(N.
Mendis,
f
890),
&c.
2.
"
I{eaven
confound
thee
:
sixty
thousand
devits
take
thee
and
thy
Proverbs "
EXCERPTA
MATDIVIANA.
Bv
H.
C.
P.
Bnr,r,,
c.c.s.
(Retired)
No.
I
Iz._MALDIVIAN
PROVERBS.I
FOREWORD.
"
A
Nation's
Proverbs,"
rightly
has
it
been
said,
"
are
as
precious
as
its ballads,
as useful,
and perhaps
more
instructive."
" Despise not the discourse
of
the
Wise,
but acquaint
thyself
with
their Proverbs
:
for
of them
thou
shalt learn
instruction."
Thus wrote
Jesus
the
son
of
Shirack, in his
"
Wi,scl,om,"
or
"
Eccles'iast'icus"
(VIII.
8)
some
twenty
cent,rrries ago.
.
" Wisdom
manifests herself
in divers
forms,
but
seldom
perhaps
in
any
more
acceptably,
or
impressively,
than
when
she clothes
herself in
proverbial
guise."
'
Yet for
the
definition
ol
a
Prouerb,with
complete
accuracy,
there
standeth
forth-Who
? Echo
Who
?
"
"
Much matter
decocted
into
few
words
"
(n'uiler)
;
('
Shortness,
sense
and salt
"
(Howell)
;
"
Wisdom
of
many,
wit
of one
" (Lord
Russell)
;-these
and
other
attempted
qolgtigns
(includ"ing Erasmus'
well-known,
but
inadequate,
"
Celebre
d,ictum
sci,ta
qud,piam
noai,tate
i,nsigne
")
all
faU
short
more or
less
of
solving
fully
the
" complex,"
so
quaintly
assayed
by
a
Latin poetaster-
Omne
Epigramma s'it'instar
ap'is,
s,it
oculeus
illi,,
Si,nt
sua mella,
sit et corpor'is euigui,.
" Proverbs
and bees should-an
they
do
not
fail*
-,__I,"1 "Zl"u.
:I*01:1
"1g
in
tail.
"
L
For
the
never
failing
gencrosity,
tt
d
"oo"t"ooJr.lJir."J6-it
tudents in
MS,ldivian
literary
research,
the
writer is almost
entirelv
iqlebted to
his
kind
friends
at
M61e,
tlle
State
Ministers
A.
Ahmad
Dldf,
Dori,miriti
Ki.legeJd,nu,
his son
A,
Mu(rammad
Amln
Dtdf.
and
M.
fbrd,hfln
Dldl,
a
cousin, who
supplied
the
Provorbs printed
in
this
Paper,
as
well
as others.
-
8/11/2019 Excerpta Maldiviana No.12 Maldivian Proverbs.
2/8
374
JorrRNAr,,
R,.A.s.
(cDyLoN)
fvor.
XXXI.
Mri,ldives),
whose
boats
have
long
frequented.
far-flung Eastern
harbours:
in this
respect
at
least,
differentiating
them
noticeabl;z
from
their more
land-bound
progenitors with
wider
interest's,
dwelling
in
"
Ahi
Laka"
("
Trans-tna,re
Lankd,," Ceylon).1
But,
as
with
Silhalese
Proverbs,
"
the saving
grace of
spicy
humour
"
displays
itself
not
infrequently in
their
Mri,ldivian
congeners-at
times
with
a
refreshing
unsophisticated frankness
startling
to
ultra-refined
ears,
X'or the
rest,
it,
should
berememberedthat"the
vagueness
of
tlieir
epigrammatic
brevity
allowing great'
variety
of
meanings,
the
play
upon
words,
and alliterations,
may
cause
the
true
point
to
be
missed in
the
translation of
many."
SIT{HALESE,
AND OTHER PARALLEL,
PROVERBS.
The marhed
affinity
of
the
Sinhalese
language
with
the
Mri,ldivian
form
(in
particular
thepurer
dialect
of the
South-
ern,
and
more distant, Atols,
rvhich
retains
fuller
elements
of
its
original
source,
owing
to
less
intercourse
both
with
Western
India,
and Muslim influence
during centuries
of
Arabic
and
Persian
trade) is,
as
was to
be
expected,
very
patently
exhibited
to
no
small
degree in
the mutual
similarity,
of
the
proverbial
lore of
both races.
.i
Interesting
proofs
of
distinct, Muslim
contact
with
the
Archipelago,
and fslamic infilt'ration-mainly
in
the
Northern
and Central
Atols-crop
up
;
but
these
only
go to
emphasize
further
the greatly
preponderating general
resemblance-so
manifestly
derived
from
the erst-time
Sinhalese
parental
stock,
after
the
Aryan
migration into
Ceylon from
the
Indian
Continent.
To
bring
out
t'his
close
kinship
between
Silhalese
(S.
Upama)
and
Mri,ldivian
(M.
Musd,lu)
Proverbs
the
more
effectually,
all examples
of the
former
quoted
have been
placed
immediately
below
the
equivalent,
or
semi-co-efficient,
paraemiology
of
the
Islands.
1.
"
Meh.i,
Laha"
(lit.
" Here
La4kri,
")
;
-
"
Ahi Lalca"(li,t,
,'
There
Lalk6
").
I'erms
usod
in the
old M6,ldivian
BoQuga,lu
L6maJcinw
iR,oyal
Copper Grani),
Plate
T,
obsorve,
line 3.
No.
86-
19331
EIiLDIVIAN
PB,OYTRRS
,NF
n'inally,
to
illustrate,
pro
tanto, the
cosmopolitan
currency
of similar
"
wise-sayed
saws
"
throughout
the
rryorId, sporadie
instances of
kindred quips
are
interpolated
from
occasional
'other
Eastern
sorlrces, as
well as
European
languager
mainly
Latin.l These
can
doubtless
be
greatiy
s',rpplemented
by other
students, attracted
to the subject,.
MALDIVIAN
PROVERBS
(r.)
GEnERAT
Funet f6ya(f) fen
fr.rrun.
1'
"
(Like)
pouring
water
into
a
broken
pot""
S'imiles.
(a)
Kecli,chcha,
lur,ld.ta
waturcr, walcho,ranna wagcyi,
(S).
" Like pouring
rvater
into a broken
pot,."
(b)
In pertusxLnl
ingerimus
di,cta d,olium, (L).
2.
Furiff huri
ba{iyale(T)
Cuqu
Cuqe(f)
nag6fe.
" The u'ater-pot
that is full wili not shake
(/ri.)
tnake
gurlu gudu
sornd)."
Si,mile.
(a)
Piri.qtu
lml{,
di,ya no-selueyi
(5.)
"
In
a
full
pot'
the water
wiil
not
shake."
3.
Satti
nubai
bat-kofu
heyo.
" The
cooking-pot may
be bad,
(but)
the
rice
(boiled
"therein)
good'"
simires.
Kauuru
gini
rnoleuud, moka:da
aptd,
bata'
pehi'chchi'
'na,m (S).
(a) " lVhat
boots
it
who
kindles
tbe fire,
if
our rice
be boiled."
(b)
Metiyen
wat
molcad,a
bah,la
mtyd
g,lli
nam
(S).
"
What
matters it
if
the cat,
though
rnade
even
of
ctray,
catch
the rat."
4.
Vale(f)
nutefeneye d6nfle tefeni.
" The well
will
not
break,
should lhe d,ann{,
z
lsnap)
"
Sin,ile.
(a)
Ed,ap{,a
giyd,tro
tot'upalat
yagi-da
(S).
" Though
lhe
ddancla
(single log bridge) be washed
ryerl4le9llr4lqrlqv
solee
j--
-
l.
(A),
Arabic
I
(D),
English
;
(F),
'rench
;
(Gr),
Greek
;
(II)
Hebrew
;
(I)
Italian;
(L)
Latin
;
(S),
Sinhalese
;
(Sc.),
Scotch
;
(Skt.),
Sanskrit
;
(W.A.),
Wcst African.
u
,.
Ddnni:-Long-handled
scoop
with
coconut,-sheil head.
'i
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8/11/2019 Excerpta Maldiviana No.12 Maldivian Proverbs.
3/8
376 rouRNAL, R.A.s.
(cE].LoN)
1Vor,.
XXXII.
5.
Furo ilariyaka(1) kiren
nulibeneye.
'1The babe that cries not
will
get
no
(breast)
milk.',
Bimile.
(a)
Eid,ti-koktlu
lciri
erenne (S).
"
When
the
infant
cries
the
(breast)
milk
will
rise.',
6.
Rihs
fii
mafcha(I)
foi
veltunu
hen.
"
Like the
(grain) pounder
falling
on
(one's)
sore foot.',
Similes.
@)
|glrf
aslunu
minihtita
gonti
gnrui
wdgeyi
(S).
"
Like the
ox goring
the
man
fallen
from
the tree."
(b)
Kord
pitata
rnard (S).
"
The
pangs
of
death added
to
lameness.',
(c)
"
Heaping
Pelion
on
Ossa."
(Gr.)
(d,)
In
flamma,m fl,ammas,
in
mare
fund,is
aquas (L).
7.
Vepten dft6,
s6,
ko(ry) f6liye.
" Pushed
down
when falling."
Simile.
(a) Vetenta
yadd,6
tattu
kata
wrigeyi
(S)
('
Like
pushing
down
(one
already)
falling."
8.
Bafuge nagu kita(1)me
varaka(1)
henien
kamaku
terle(p)
nuv6neye.
ll
Drag at
a dog's
tail as long
as you
choose,
Efiort to
straighten
will
be
of no
use.',
Bimi,Ies.
(a)
Bg,; u
wofue
gda
arin[a
beruwd,
wdgegi (S).
"
Like
failing to straighten
a dog's
taii.,,
(b)
Bi,hird,ta
gtti,ka
motada (S).
Why
sing
to
the
(stone) cleaf ?"
9.
Gini
dun mihi rat mala(1)
biru
gannineye.
"
He whc has known
the
hurt,
oJ
fire's power,
"
Feareth
the
sight
of nature's
red
flower.,,
Similes.
_
(a)
Gini
penellen
beta
ha aya
lcanti
med,iriyti
clutuwd,tna
d,uwannd.
u
ri
g
eyi,
(8,).
No"
8{1-19331
uilnrvreN
PnovDRBS
At
ot
kama(p).
"
Part
better."
"
Like
the
person
(once) beaten
with a
fire-brand
running
&way
on
seeing
a
fire-fl1'."
(b)
'l_-He
whom
a
snake
has
bitten dreads
a
glow-
worm."
(.W.A.).
10.
Tlya
ketagak
gut
runieyt.
" Like
stooling
into
(one's)
feeding
plate.n'
Simil,
(a)
Kdpu, patd
runndk
nten
(-\)
"
Like
stooling
into
(one's)
feeding
plate."
(b)
Magna
moaet
stomachum
fastid,,ia
si
puer
unc ,is
Tractauit calicem
manibus (L).
-
(ri
"Throw
no
stones
into the
well
rvhence
you
have
drunk
"
(Heb.).
(d)
" It's
an itl
bird
which fouls
its own
nest
"
(E).
71.
Vehen
o1lyw6
fen
negun.
"
Collect wat'er whilst
it rains."
Bimiles.
(a)
Galdyana uaturen
d,dtak
gattat
ltiba
lu (S).
,,Even
two handfuls
got from
running
water
are
gain,
't
is
said."
(b)
"
Make
hay
while
the sun
shines" (E).
72.
echehe(f)
tlu
nukurale
ane(t) efche(l)
tibeno
not
with what is
held, counting
on
something
Bi,mi,Ies.
(a)
Mitd
un
kurull(t,
erala
ga,lte
un
kurulla
ell|mata
giyak
men (S).
" Like releasing
the bird
in (one's)
fist
when going
to catch the bird
on the
tree."
(b)
Atd neti
m,uttu
ette mu.ditt,
etarayi,
(S).
Things..
unpossessed
(Iit.
not
in
hand)
are
(as
though) overseas."
(c)
Certa
am,ittem,us
dum
'incerta
pet,im,us
(L).
(d)
"A
thousand
cranes
inthe
air are
not
worth one
sparow
in
the
fist "
(A).
(n)
"
A
bird
in the
hancl
is
v,'orth
two in
the
bush',
(E)
13.
Vali
riti
tilatuniryiye.
"
The knife
is
beautif-rrl,
if the
blaCe
be
sharp."
it7 7
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8/11/2019 Excerpta Maldiviana No.12 Maldivian Proverbs.
4/8
378
JuTRNAL.
R.A.s.
(('EYLuN)
lVor-.
XXXII.
l
it
Simi'les
'
(a)
Le coitte
en
6te
Ie
go'it't
(tr').
(b)
" The worth
of
anything
is
just
as
much as
it
wiii
nring
"(E).
14.
Kuriot
gerige
fide
fennSni.
"
The
back
o{
the ox
in front
(rnoving
ahead
in single
line)
can aione be seen."
S'im'iles.
(a)
Atz'ungd.
ehd,
kuna
mdlgahalt,
ua,qeyi
penenctuti
lu,
'
To,mungeehdkunq,
e,bamal
rdnzmtak
ud,geyi
penanauo
l'u(S)
'
-
8/11/2019 Excerpta Maldiviana No.12 Maldivian Proverbs.
5/8
380 ,ronR,NAr,,
B,.A.s.
(cEYLoN)
[Vol.
XXXII.
Simile.
(a)
"
You
may break,
you
may shatter,
the
vase as you
will,
The
scent
of
the
roses
is over
it
still
" (E;.
23.
Ala
gahakun
keyo
nlre(1)
nufal6neye.
" From
a
yam's
root,
springs
no plantain shoot."
Similes.
(a)
Non
generant aquilae columbas
(L).
(b)
" The
crab's
daughter
beareth not
a
bird
" (W.A.).
(c) " Do
men
gather grapes
of
thorns,
or figs
of
thistles
? "
(il).
24.
Danna
mis
ar6
gala(1)
aranffi
danna
mis
vineye.
"
Ii.e who
stands
on thd
(same) rock as.
the
learneil
will
be deemed
to be
learned."
Sim iles.
(a)
Uttamauinge
guna
uttamayri clani,t
(S).
" Good
men's
merits
are known to the
good."
(b)
Noscitur
a
sociis
(L).
(c) "
Even foolish
men to eminence
may
rise,
By
following
closely actions of the wise.' '(Skt.)
(d)
"
Keep
gude company
and
ye'll
be counted ane
of
them
l'
(Sc.).
25.
Bo
foti
gaye
tiya huri.
" Like wearing
ostentatious
(lfl. thick)
clothing."
9i'miles.
S'imia
si,mia
est,
etiam
si aurea
gestat'ins'ignia (L)
" Tntrmpeter
unus
erat qui
coa,tum
scarlet hobebat,
Et magnum
perirvig, tied up with the
tail
of a
d,ead
pig."
" Let
ne'er
your
gear
o'ergang
ye "
(Sc.).
"
Like hedgehogs
dressed in lace
" (E)
26.
Tan
otti
godi
iehun.
" (Like)
arranging the
seats
while
there is
space."
No.
86-19331
lrdr,orvt,rN
PROvERBS
27.
381
Beru
fufali
jehim6
gifili
fen
walun
gele({)we1tun.
"
(Like)
a
brick
fblling
from
the
back
rooms's
well
when
the
garden
gate is
opened."
Simile.s.
(a)
Dolend,i
mod,us,
non
est tim,end,i,
(L).
(b)
"
The
leaf
crackled,
and
your
slave
fled
"
(W.A.).
(c)
"
Conscience does
make cowards
of
us
all
"
(E).
28.
Ei
Banil6ra
de
geriye
tafine
waraka(1)
teliya dere.
"
(They
are
but)
two
Government
cattle :
let
them
fight
as
much as they like."
Similes.
@\
Achariyata mayintlharna
eltanam magd. ba,llatat epd
(S).
"
If
the
blacksmith"needs
not the
bellows, my dog
even
will
not want
it."
(6)
:'
Hippoclides
don't
care
"
(Gr.).
(c)
l{i/
est
ad
nos (L).
(fl
"
n'ight
dog,
fight bear; wha wins
deil
care "
(Sc.).
29.
De
karliye(1)
ek urayaku
nonnineye.
" Two
swords
cannot
be kept
in
one
scabbard."
B'im'iles.
(a)
Eka
Pansold,
inna Ma,hanu,n
(Jnnanselat"
l;uQamita
harataag
annctu:a
lu
(S)
.
"
Even
Buddhist Monks,
't
is
said, living
in
one
Pansala
come to loggerheads."
(b) " Two
crocodiles do not
live
in
one hole
"
(W.A.).
(c)
"
Two
of
a
trade
seldom agree
"
(E)
30.
Ibur6himaku
marcha(r)
iluniye
ran vihene
vifye.
kibihinnek
erima
ehinna(T)
"
The
world
becomes
golden
to
the
ant which
climbs
on
to anibrahi,m
(gold
coin).'t
S'imiles.
(a)
Ratran
tilca
keralu katussa ud,ge
(S).
"
Like
the
piece
of
gold
tied round the neck of
the
chameleon."
1
(b)
Aspe,ri,us
nihil
est humil,i,
cum surgi,t in altum
(L).
(c)
,,Set
a
beggar on
horse
back,
etc."
(E).
1. Seo
the
story
in f,ouis
de
ZoV""l"
p"""""f",
ll.t
(a)
(b)
(c)
td)
(a)
(b)
Similes.
Omnem creile
d,iem tibi.d,i,lunisse
supremum
(L).
"The Bird of
llime
has but a
little
way
to flutter,
-And
the Birtl is
on
the
wing "
(E).
(C.A.S.
Journal.
1
8?2).
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382
JoLTF,N,\r,J
11,.A.s.
(cErrLoN)
[Vor,.
XXX["
(d)
"
Gokl
I
Gokl Gokl Gold
tsdght
ancl
yelJ.ow,
hard antl cold
;
l-low
rvidelv
its ;rgencies
1'e
t'\'--
No'vr starnped with the image
of
Good
Queen
Bess,
Ancl
nou' of a Blootly
Mary
"
31.
Karnaku
terene
kama(r)
libeni.
"Do
something;
gain
something."
Bimiles.
(a)
Ata
noholla
kata
hollanta
behe
(S).
"
Without exertion
(lzl.
mol'ing the
hand)
one
cnrrnot r.al
(/i1.
mole
the
rnorrlh)."
(b)
Nil
si,ne
magno
Vi,ta labare
dedit
mortali,bus
(L)
(c)
I.l
_ry'Ua
pcts
cl'
ornelette
sans
ce,ssey
des oeufs
(X-).
(d)
"
No
pains,
no gains "
(E).
32:
Kukulu
govi
kamaku
afye(T)
nuvileleye.
" If
hens
crow
it
is not
da,rvn."
Simi,les.
eti
gdni
etilmran,a
kiki,Iit
aidalanault,
lu(S)
't
is
said,
will
cro.lv
that is
reared
bv
:l
(6)
"
Whistling
woman,
crou,-ing
hen,
Pieaseth
neither
gods
nor men
"
(E).
33.
Tiya
fenuni
hudu kalake.
" Like
a
white
crow."
Sim,iles.
(q)
Rqya auis
'in
terris,
ni,grogue sirni,lli.ma
cygno
(L).
(6)
"
Very
like
a
whale." (E).
&4.
Midalu
iiattin
wafen
bovuma(1).
_
-
_"
The
rat
gnarvs
into the
young
coconut
:
the
bat
drinkg
the
v'ater."
Sim,i,les.
(a)
){eturt gehu,m
Kapu,rolatalu,
Bat ti,lw
Ti,ki,rrilata,lu (S).
.
"
The
tlancing
(labour)
falls
to
the
Kapurd,la,,
the
Jroilcd
tice
to TiA'irdla.'t
is suid.''
(b)
"
Sorne
have labourert,
others
profited
,'
(Gr.).
(q)
Src
aos
nan
"-obi,s.
(L.)
ld,)
Le1
four
font
des
festins,
et,
les sages
les
mangent (E)
(e) "
One
soweth,
anothel
i'eapeth
,t
(E).
(a,)
Kctta
ba,ha
"
The hen too,
gabbliirg
woman."
/
J\ro.
86-
19331
rr-4r,nrvt,,r.N
pRovERBS
:J83
(2.)
SEA-FARrnc
35.
Ganf6 rl6ni
bodu
mahe.
"
Hrrrge
was
tlie
fish
that
escaped
"
Si,rnile.
Giyo
Lilla
mah,a
elru l,zi,
(S).
"
The
Lrild that got
awalv'
nv-as
the
jmniensr>
,
)ne,
)t
is
sairl."
36.
Fetunu
Odi riy6,
dalu
viyas
kanaku
at
daru
nuvdre"
"
Iilven
if
vo1
sink
undcr a
(capsized)
OrJ'i's
1
mast,,
get.
not
ca,ught
in
a
blind
man's grip."
Si,mi,Ie.
(a)
I{an,tita ahuuuna
beli,mekka
udgeui,
(S).
"
Like
the
flea
caught
by the
blind
man."
31.
'
Ek
donu
gd
de
buliye
tiya
jehi.
"
Like
baiting
two
hooks
on one line."
Sim,iles
(a)
Duos
Ttarietes
de
padem
f
delia
tlealbare
(L).
(b)
"
Killing
tvo
birds
.ryith
one
stone."
(E).
38.
Bas
nuvike
Odiyelge
itirubala(1) n6r6fe.
"
Station
not
vourself at the
Odi,'s
bow unless you
(can
take)
command, (lit. sell
not
vour
rvords).
Simi,les.
"
Contmand
will
show
the
man "
(Gr.)
Rer
est
qui
metuit nihil.
Rer
est
cluique
cupit nilLil (L)
"
A
subjectless King is
no
Kinq
"
(W.A.).
39.
MSle
d6n Kelaya(y).
"
Going
to
Kelava
(in
Tiladummati
Atol,
ldorthern-
most) in
order
to
reach
Mrile
"
(0entra,l
Abol).
(a)
(b)
(c)
I
.
&li:--
Miilclivian
sailing
vt'ssel
Cf
.
D6ryi.,
No.
4
8
riry'ra..
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384
JoURNAL,
R,.A.s.
(cEvLoN)
[Vor,.
XXX[.
Si,miles.
(a)
Parangiuti
Kdttd,
giyd wdgeEi
(S).
I
" Like
the
Portuguese
going
to K6 t6."
-
(b)
Prend"re
le chernin
d,es dcoliers
(E).
Ronu eduru.
"
Mastor of Rope-(?naking)."
Similes.
(a)
Aliquis in otnnibus,
nullus i,n ,si,ngutis
(L).
(6)
"
Was everything
by starts, and
nothing
long."
(c) "
Jack
of all trades, master
of
none
"
(E).
41.
Am6 kiti fara(1)
tliyun.
"
Going
to
pick shells,
only because (his) mother
bade
hirrr."
Similes.
(o)
Btulti,tia esl
aenatum d,ucere
inuitos
canes
(L).
(6) "
Where the
mind inclines,
the feet lead
"
(A).
(c)
"
He
ne'er did
a
gude
darg
(day's
work)
that
ga'ed
grumbling
about
it
"
(S".).
(3.)
MUSLTM
42.
Burudi
gai
mu kurun.
" To
make
sure of Buruild."
2
l.
Portuguese
going
to
K6ttE;-See
Da
Quieroz
(Book
2,
"Chapter
l) and De Zoysa's
Sinhalese
P'rouerbs,
No. 17,
Journal C.A.S.,
I
870.
On
the first arrival
of
a Portuguese
Fleet
at
Colombo
(November,
1505),
the Admiral, Don
Lourgengo
de Almeyda,
sent two
successive
Ambassadors,
Fernao
Cutrim
and
Payo
de
Souza,
to
the
Si4halese
1(ing then roigning
at K6t)d.
Though
K6tt6 is
situated
but sonie
six
miles
from
Colombo,
"
through the
industry
(stic)
of
the
Cingalas,"
each Ambassador
"
spent
three
days
on the
journey,
going
uphill
and
down
dale
and
crossing
the
same
river
(K6lani
Ganga) several
times."
Remonstrance
with
those who
guided
them
was
met Ly
open laughter.
the intention
of
the
;Sinhalese
being "
t'o secure themselves
from
any
danger."
As countor to
this Proverb, runs
:-"
The.
longest
way
round is
the
shortesL u'ay
home."
2. Burud,ti:-Arabic
BQ.trdah.
An
Arabic
poem,
said to have
.boen
composed about
A.Il.
810. culogising
the
Prophet' Muhammad,
,and
inculcating moral
precept's.
This poem
is
now-a-days
at times
recited
at
social
gatherings, where
the
guosts
are
hospitably
.entortained,
(a)
Eanus
Wo
d,ucit
qula
(L).
(b)
"
Whenthestomach
calls,
wisdom
falls "
(A).
(c)
"
Ilka
man
as
he likes-I'm
for*the
cook "
(Sc.).
43.
Danberair)
vure
Taguqi
diguwrin.
I
Tagud,i, (playing)
becomes
longer
than
Dan-beru.'
Similes.
(a)
Omne
ni,mium
nocet;
ne
quid,
nimi's
(L.)
(b)
Injussi,
nurlquam
il,esistant
" Though
unasked,
they'll
play and
play,
Till patience
self is worn
away."
(c) "
Nothing
is there
to
come, and
nothing.past,
But
an
eternal
now
does
alwaYs
last
"
(E).
44.
IVliskit
hulu
jehi
mih6
heileniye.
"
(Like)
the
man who set
fire
to
the
Mosque
(at
dead
oi
night,
loudly denouncing
'Somebody'
as he
emerged)."
"
Sim'iles.
(a)
Wahd'i'nta
g'iya
Dduald,
isd lwila
aetuna
uageyi
(S).
"
Like
the
Dduale
falling
on
one's
head when
entering
for
worshiP."
(b)-" There's
many
a siip
'twixt
cup
and lip
"
(Gr.).
(c) Acto exlteriora
ind,icant
interiora
secreta (L).
(d)
" He who
geis
between
the
onion
and its
'peel
wiil
not
emerge
free
from the stench
"
(A).
Ar-Rahumdnu
nudineye.
45.
Surat
fa1aifi
viyyri Fabiya(f)yi
S6
nuiehi
"
He
who
begins
(reading)
'
Ar-Rahmd,n
Stirat'2
not
fail
to
rneet
(the
words)
'
fa-bi-ycr'yi'."
will
l.
Da,mberu
.:
Tctgludi,;-
liunes
played on
trvo
M6,ldivian
''
tom-toms,
so namecl.''
2.
Ar-Rahmtin
Sural.-Surat
55 of
the
Qurdn
entitled
"The
Mercifnl."
The
sentence
"
lta-bi,-ayyi-alai-Rabbi-kuma-lukazzi-brin"
("Whir'h,
thelefore,
of
your
Lord's
benefits
l'ill
ye
ungratefully
deny
? ":
Sale.
1734;
"Which,
then,
of the bountees
of
your
Lord
will'ye
rcject
?
"
: Mauldu'i,
Illuhammacl
'Al'i,
l9l7)
is intorcalated, or
repeated
by
rvay
of burden,
throughout the
Chapter
of stanzas
no
leis
than
3I
times,
in imitation
of Psalm l3ti oI
t'he Biblical
King
David.
No.
86-19$l
M.(LDIVIAN
PROYERBS
Similes.
385
I
lr
ii
I
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(n)
(6)
(L).
@
(rl)
386
JouliNAr,,
n.a.s.
(crvroN)
[Vol.
XXX1L
Si,m'iles.
"
You
sing
the
same
(olcl)
song "
(Gt.).
Citharaetlrts
R'itletur
chord,o qu'i .sernper
oberuat eadem,
Occidi,t,
m.iseros
crambe
repetita
nmgistros
(I').
" To
harp
on
the
sarne
string " (E).
46.
trbilihu
kaivanfra(1).
"
(Like)
the
r-er'l.ding
of
Ibilis
(Satan)."
Si,mi"les.
(a,)
(lrcs
te
uictururn.
c,ra,s
ilices,
Pasturn,e,
sernper,
I)i,a m,ihi
cras
,i.stutl,
Pastu,ne
quctnd,o
aeni,t
(L)"
(b)
"
Derfer
not till
to-morrow
to be
v'ise,
To-morrorv's
sun
to
thee
may
neyer rise."
(c)
"
Frocra,stjna,l,ion
is the
thief of time
"
(E).
4'.1 .
Mekunu fumune kamaku
Gahaka(r) nufume
veneye.
"
Thcrrrgh
ihe
l[ek'unu, (springing
fish) leap, the
Gahaka
(limpet)
cannot,
leap."
Sim
ilps.
(er)
7)
kr:len
rne
kele.tcr,
penndrr,,a
m,uu:d,ge
tit melced,a
(S).
"
\trili
the cleer change
its spots,
albcit
it
leap from
that
iungie
to this
jungle?
"
(b) "
Can
the Fithiopirin
change
his
shirr or the Leoparrl
change
his spots
? "
(E).
48.
Mohana(1)
Dor.ri
din
hen.
"
Lihe
lhe
Drjni,
(sailing
l.essel)
gil'en to
llohan."
Sim,iles.
@)
Lrpadinta,
issara
,pekiniaeln
kopatelceyi (S).
"
Lil