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Shona Definition
Kazhinji munhu asina chaanoziva ndiye anozvirumbidza nokuzuwa achiti ndiye anoziva zvizhinji. Vaya vanoziva ndivo vanoramba zvavo vanyerere.
English Translation
The truly knowledgeable make no display of themselves; it is those with little learning and little to their name who trumpet their own praises everywhere. Bragging is what the saying holds up against modesty and humility.
Cultural Context
“Quoted against a braggart, drawing on the fact that an animal killed for a ritual was not skinned, so its meat was eaten with the hide.”
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This is a variant of
Kutaura kwowadye ganda / kunokunda wadya mushunaThe person who got only the skin talks it up far more loudly than the one who was given the good meat. A modest portion is often praised more enthusiastically than a far better one.