☞ The selection of Haytian proverbs in this collection was made by
kindly permission of Messrs. Harper Bros., from the four articles
contributed by Hon. John Bigelow, to HARPER’S MAGAZINE, 1875. The
following list includes only those works consulted or quoted from in the
preparation of this dictionary, and comprises but a small portion of all
the curious books, essays, poems, etc., written upon, or in the Creole
patois of the Antilles and of Louisiana.--L. H.
BRUYÈRE (LOYS)--“Proverbes Créoles de la Guyane Française.” (In
l’Almanach des Traditions Populaires, 1883. Paris: Maisonneuve et
Cie.)
BAISSAC (M. C.)--“Étude sur le Patois Créole Mauricien.” Nancy:
Imprimerie Berger-Levrault & Cie., 1880.
MARBOT--“Les Bambous.” Fables de La Fontaine travesties en Patois
Créole par un Vieux Commandeur. Fort-de-France, Martinique: Librairie
de Frederic Thomas, 1869. (Second Edition. Both editions of this
admirable work are now unfortunately out of print.)
THOMAS (J. J.)--“The Theory and Practice of Creole Grammar.” Port of
Spain, Trinidad: The Chronicle Publishing Office, 1869.
TURIAULT (J.)--“Étude sur le Langage Créole de la Martinique.”
(Extrait du Bulletin de la Société Académique.) Brest: Lefournier,
1869.
DE ST.-QUENTIN (AUGUSTE)--Introduction à l’Histoire de Cayenne, suivie
d’un Recueil de Contes, Fables, et Chansons en Créole. Notes et
Commentaires par Alfred de St.-Quentin. Étude sur la Grammaire Créole
par Auguste de St.-Quentin. Antibes: J. Marchand, 1872.
BIGELOW (HON. JOHN)--“The Wit and Wisdom of the Haytians.” Being four
articles upon the Creole Proverbs of Hayti, respectively published in
the June, July, August and September numbers of HARPER’S MAGAZINE,
1875.
Little Dictionary of Creole Proverbs.
[_Most of the proverbs quoted in Martinique are current also in
Guadeloupe, only 90 miles distant. All proverbs recognized in Louisiana
are marked by an asterisk (*). The indications,_ MAURITIUS, GUYANA,
MARTINIQUE, HAYTI, _etc., do not necessarily imply origin; they refer
only to the dialects in which the proverbs are written, and to the works
from which they are selected._]
1. Acoma tombé toutt mounn di: C’est bois pourri. (Quand l’Acoma est
tombé, tout le monde dit: C’est du bois pourri.)
“When the Acoma has fallen everybody says: ‘It’s only rotten
wood.’”[1]--[_Mart._]
[1] The Acoma, says Turiault, is one of the grandest trees in the
forests of the Antilles. The meaning of the proverb appears to be,
that a powerful or wealthy person who meets with misfortune is at once
treated with contempt by those who formerly sought his favor or
affected to admire his qualities.
2. A fòce macaque caressé yche li ka touffé li. (À force de caresser son
petit le macaque l’étouffe.)
“The monkey smothers its young one by hugging it too much.”--[_Mart._]
3. Aspère[2] iéve dans marmite avant causé. (Attendez que le lièvre soit
dans la marmite avant de parler.)
“Wait till the hare’s in the pot before you talk.”--Don’t count your
chickens before they’re hatched.--[_Mauritius._]
[2] Evidently a creolization of the Spanish _esperar_.
4. Avant bois[3] d’Inde té pòté graine, macaque té nouri yche yo. (Avant
que l’arbre d’Inde portâit des graines, les macaques nourissaient leurs
petits.)
“Before the Indian tree (?) bore seed the monkeys were able to nourish
their young.”--[_Martinique._]
[3] The word bois (wood) is frequently used in Creole for the tree
itself; and pié-bois (“foot of the wood”) for the trunk or stump. “Yon
gouòs pié-bois plis facile déraciné qu’mauvais l’habitude” (A big
stump is easier to uproot than a bad habit), is a Martinique Creole
dictum, evidently borrowed from the language of the white masters. I
am sorry that I do not know which of the various trees to which the
name bois d’Inde has been given by the Creoles, is referred to in the
proverb--whether the mango, or China-berry. No tree is generally
recognized by that name in Louisiana.
5. Avant zabocat macaque 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._]