ka nouri yche li. (Avant qu’il y eût des avocados, les macaques nourissaient leurs petits.)
“The monkey could nourish its young, before there were any avocadoes.”[4]—[Martinique.]
[4] The Avocado was the name given by the Spanish conquistadores to the Persea gratissima, whose fruit is the “alligator pear.” But M. Turiault again traces the Spanish word back to the Carib word Aouacate.
6. Azourdi casse en fin; dimain tape langouti. (Aujourd’hui bien mis; demain en langouti.)
“Well dressed to-day; only a langouti[5] tomorrow.”—[Mauritius.]
[5] The langouti was the garment worn about the loins by male slaves in Mauritius—who were wont to labor otherwise naked. In Creole both caser and taper signify “to put on,” with the difference that caser generally refers to good clothes. In colloquial French tapé means “stylishly dressed,” “well-rigged-out,” etc.
7. Azourdi soûle bon temps, dimain pagayé. (Aujourd’hui soûl de plaisir, demain la pagaye.)
“To-day drunk with fun, to-morrow the paddle.” Allusion to slavery discipline.—[Mauritius.]
8. Azourdi tout marmites dibout làhaut difé. (Aujourd’hui toutes les marmites sont debout sur le feu.)
“All the cooking-pots are on the fire now.” One man is now as good as another:—this proverb evidently refers to the abolition of slavery.—[Mauritius.]
9. Azourdi tout femmes alle confesse, més lhére zautes tourne léglise dìabe zétte encore pécé av zautes. (Aujourd’hui toutes les femmes vont à confesse; mais quand elles reviennent de l’église le diable leur jette encore des péchés.)
“All the women go to confession now-a-days; but they no sooner return from church, than the devil piles more sins upon them.”—[Mauritius.]
10. Babe canmarade ou pris difé, rousé ta ou. (Quand la barbe de ton camarade brûle, arrose la tienne.)
“If you see your neighbor’s beard on fire, water your own.”[6]—[Martinique.]
[6] “Take example by the misfortune of others.” I much doubt the Creole origin of any proverb relating to the beard. This one, like many others in the collection, has probably been borrowed from a European source; but it furnishes a fine sample of patois. In Louisiana Creole we would say to quenne instead of ta ou. The Spanish origin of the Creole quenne is obvious.
11. Babiez mouche, babiez viande. (Grondez les mouches, grondez la viande.)
“Scold the flies, scold the meat.”—[Hayti.]
12. Badnèn bien èpis macaque; main pouèngâde manyèn lakhé li. (Badinez bien avec le macaque; mais prenez garde de ne pas manier sa queue.)
“Joke with the monkey as much as you please; but take good care not to handle his tail.”—[Trinidad.]
13. Baggïe qui fair ziex fair nez. (Les choses qui font [mal aux] yeux, font [mal au] nez.)
“What troubles the eyes affects the nose.”[7]—[Trinidad.]
[7] I believe there is an omission in Thomas’ version, and that the Creole ought to read: “Baggaie qui fair mal ziex fair mal nez.” Baggaie has a hundred meanings: “thing,” “affair,” “business,” “nonsense,” “stuff,” etc.
14. Bagasse boucoup, flangourin piti morceau. (Beaucoup de bagasse, peu de jus.)
“Much bagasse and little juice.” (The bagasse is the refuse of the cane, after the sap has been extracted.)—[Mauritius.]
15. Baignèn iches moune; main pas lavez dêïer zoreîes yeaux. (Baignez les enfants des autres [lit: du monde]; mais ne les lavez pas derrière les oreilles.)
“Bathe other people’s children; but don’t wash behind their ears.”—That is to say: Do not be servile in obsequiousness to others.—[Trinidad.]
16. Balié nef, balié prope. (Un balai neuf, un balai propre.)
“A new broom’s a clean broom.”—This is a Creolization of our household phrase: “A new broom sweeps clean.”—[Mauritius.]
17. Bardeaux[8] couvert tout. (Les bardeaux couvrent tout.)
“Shingles cover everything.”—Family roofs often cover a multitude of sins. [Mauritius.]
[8] The sarcasm of this proverb appears to be especially levelled at the rich. In other Mauritian proverbs the house of the rich man is always spoken of as the house covered with shingles, in contradistinction to the humble slave cabins, thatched with straw.
18. Báton pas fò passé[9] sabe. (Le bâton n’est pas plus fort que le sabre.)
“The stick is not stronger than the sabre.”—[Martinique.]
[9] Passé—lit: “past”—therefore synonymous with “beyond.” Word for word the translation would be:—“The stick is not strong beyond the sword.” But the Creole generally uses “plis … passé” instead of the French plus … que (“more than”). “Victorine li plis zolie passé Alphonsine”—Victorine is more pretty than Alphonsine. The Creole passé is really adverbial; bearing some semblance to the old English use of the word “passing,” as in “passing strange,” “passing fair.”
19. Batté rendé zamés fére mal. (Les coups rendus ne font jamais de mal.)
“Blows returned never hurt.”—Vengeance is sweet.—[Mauritius.]
20. Bef pas bousoin lakhê li yon sel fois pou chassé mouche. (Le bœuf n’a pas besoin de sa queue une fois seulement pour chasser les mouches.)
“It isn’t one time only that the ox needs his tail to drive the flies away.”—Ironical expression for “you will have need of me again.”[10]—[Martinique.]
[10] This proverb may be found in all the Creole dialects of the West Indies. We have in the South a proverb to the same effect in English: Flytime will come again, and the ox will want his tail.
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