Tsumo starting with S

Shona Proverbs

• Sadza huritamburira / hapana angaridya akatambararaFood comes only through effort and hardship; no one eats it by lying back with legs stretched out.
• Sadza naku ibvutidzanwaAnything of high quality sets people grabbing for it: well-cooked food has everyone fighting to eat it. The same happens with a beautiful girl, over whom young men compete.
• Samwoyochena / ndiye nyamutsvirwa nembaIt is the generous, good-hearted person whose house ends up burnt down. Kindness is often repaid with misfortune.
• Sanga harina rwendoRunning into someone by chance is not the same as making a journey to see him; an accidental encounter counts for nothing.
• Sango rinopa anetaThe bush hands over its game to the person who has worn himself out; the reward goes to the one who has spent himself in the effort.
• Savara harina matambo (mapfupa).
• Seka benzi waguma uraOnly laugh at a madman once your child-bearing days are over. While you can still have children, one of your own may turn out the same way.
• Seka urema wafaWait until you are dead before you mock another person's disability. As long as you are alive the same misfortune can still come to you.
• Shambakodzi yakarindwa / haiviriWhen you are watching and waiting for something to happen, it seems to take far longer than it really does. Eagerness makes the wait feel endless and people lose heart, thinking it has been delayed.
• Shavo imbonekwiGoods offered for sale must be put where people can see and handle them, and the seller cannot complain if they get soiled in the process.
• Shavo mesoTrading calls for eyes: buyer and seller should both be present and inspect the goods themselves so that neither can be cheated afterwards.
• Shiri huru haibatwi nehundiOffering something worthless will not land you anything of size — chaff is no lure for a bird of consequence.
• Shiri-ipinda haipedzi mhungaA bird that merely passes through cannot strip a field of millet; a brief visitor does no lasting damage.
• Shiri-nzvere inotamba yakaringa dendereKeeping its nest of new chicks in sight, the bird plays happily. Whoever is conscious of something in body or mind that needs watching adopts his own manner of going about things, and so escapes the laughter of others and failure in life.
• Shiri yomusaririra ndiyo yemhinaThe bird that lags behind the rest is the one that ends up hit by the blunt wooden-headed arrow.
• Shungu dzembwa dziri mumwoyo / kuhukura ndiko kududzaA dog keeps its feelings inside it, and barking is how those feelings come out.
• Shungu dzinomona kana musungo wapotsaWhen a person falls short of something they badly wanted, the heart is left churning with frustration. Deep disappointment follows a hope that fails.
• Shungu dzomuzvere / dzinodzikama musha wapararaThe anguish of a woman who has died just after giving birth settles only once the entire village has been laid waste.
• Shungu neganyu zvinodzimba wotandadza / asi chido chinomusimbisaFor a person already in anguish, bitterness and sighing only press harder on the wound; what gives him strength is being loved. So meet an angry companion with gentle, affectionate words that let him recover, not with words that feed his anger.
• Shure kweguva hakuna muteuroOnce a person has gone past the grave, no prayer or offering reaches him any more.
• Simba mate / haaperi mukanwaStrength is likened to saliva, which never runs out in the mouth; it keeps being replenished.
• Simba mukaka / rinosiniraStrength behaves like milk: it seeps back after being drawn off. What is spent is replenished in time.
• Simba rehove riri mumvuraA fish is strong only in the water. A person likewise feels bold and powerful when he is on his own home ground.