"Fen way defar moo gena degg wuy yaq"
Translation: lies that build are better than truth that destroys.
"Xuro amul, nakk waxtaana am"
Translation: Incomprehension does not exist, just miscommunication.
"Eey rabbit, do not pee where mom prays. Eey mom, do not pray where the rabbit pees."
Already translated.
In many rural villages, children are brought up to memorize proverbs similar to these. The Fulaani people, for instance, expect that by age eight, their children will have the majority of these oral proverbs stored in their memory bank-- perfectly memorized, with no room for stuttering or error. Take the last proverb, for instance: to mix up the words would be a huge insult to one's mother-- at least, by Fulaani standards-- and thus, would bring great shame to the family. By age twelve, students are expected to be able to use the oratory skills thye have developed in order to formulate their own speeches. All this memorization of proverbs and speech practice is crucial to a saying they hold very seriously:
''Your speech is like water-- once you pour out your words, you can't take them back."
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