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Shona Definition
Ishe haadyi hamba sokuti inosvoreka nokudaro kana hamba ikasangana namambo inorarama. Kana munhu ari mudunhu ravavengi vake akasanganawo nomumwe munhu asinei naye anoti ararama, achitenda midzimu yake.
English Translation
The tortoise stays alive by running into someone who has no axe. Likewise a person in hostile country survives by happening upon someone who has no interest in him, and counts it as the work of his ancestors.
Cultural Context
“Said of an escape owed to luck — meeting, in dangerous surroundings, a person with no reason or means to harm you.”
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This is a variant of
Kurarama kwehamba / kusangana nasheFor a tortoise, running into a chief amounts to a fresh lease on life.