“Dogs do not eat dogs.”--[_Louisiana._]
91. Chien qui fé caca dans chimin li blié, mais ça qui tiré pas blié.
(Le chien qui fait caca sur le chemin, oublie; mais celui qui l’en ôte,
n’oublie pas.)
“The dog that dungs in the road forgets all about it, but the person
who has to remove it does not forget.”--[_Martinique._]
92. Chien tini guiole fòte à caïe maitè li. (Le chien a la gueule forte
dans la maison de son maître.)
“The dog is loud-mouthed in the house of his master.”--[_Martinique._]
93. Chien tini quate patte, mais li pas capabe prend quate chimin. (Le
chien a quatre pattes mais il ne peut pas [n’est pas capable de] prendre
quatre chemins.)
“The dog has four paws but is not able to go four different ways [at
one time].”--[_Martinique._]
94. Chouval rété nen zécurie, milett nen savane. (Le cheval reste dans
l’écurie, le mulet dans la savane.)
“The horse remains in the stable, the mule in the
field.”[36]--[_Martinique._]
[36] Each one must be content with his own station. Here the mule
seems to represent the slave; the horse, the master or overseer.
95. * Cila qui rit vendredi va pleuré dimanche. (Celui qui rit le
vendredi va pleurer le dimanche.)
“He who laughs on Friday will cry on Sunday.” There is an English
proverb, “Sing at your breakfast and you’ll cry at your
dinner.”--[_Louisiana._]
96. Ciramon[37] pas donne calabasse. (Le giraumon ne donne pas la
calebasse.)
“The pumpkin doesn’t yield the calabash.”--[_Hayti._]
[37] I give the spelling _Ciramon_ as I find it in Mr. Bigelow’s
contributions to _Harper’s Magazine_, 1875. (See BIBLIOGRAPHY.)
Nevertheless I suspect the spelling is wrong. In Louisiana Creole we
say _Giromon_. The French word is _Giraumon_.
97. * Cochon conné sir qui bois l’apé frotté. (Le cochon sait bien sur
quel arbre [bois] il va se frotter.)
“The hog knows well what sort of tree to rub himself
against.”[38]--[_Louisiana._]
[38] In most of the Creole dialects several different versions of a
popular proverb are current. A friend gives me this one of proverb 97:
_Cochon-marron conné enhaut qui bois li frotté._ (“The wild hog knows
what tree to rub himself upon.”) _Marron_ is applied in all forms of
the Creole patois to _wild_ things; _zhèbes marrons_ signifies “wild
plants.” The term, _couri-marron_, or _nègue-marron_ formerly
designated a runaway slave in Louisiana as it did in the Antilles.
There is an old New Orleans saying:
“_Après yé tiré canon
Nègue sans passe c’est nègue-marron._”
This referred to the old custom in New Orleans of firing a cannon at
eight P.M. in winter, and nine P.M. in summer, as a warning to all
slaves to retire. It was a species of modern curfew-signal. Any slave
found abroad after those hours, without a pass, was liable to arrest
and a whipping of twenty-five lashes. _Marron_, from which the English
word “Maroon” is derived, has a Spanish origin. “It is,” says Skeats,
“a clipt form of the Spanish _cimarron_, wild, unruly: literally,
“living in the mountain-tops.” _Cimarron_, from Span. _Cima_, a
mountain-summit. The original term for “Maroon” was _negro-cimarrón_,
as it still is in some parts of Cuba.
98. Coment to tale to natte faut to dourmi. (Comment tu étends ta natte
il faut que tu te couches.)
“As you spread your mat, so must you lie.”--[_Mauritius._]
99. * Compé Torti va doucement; mais li rivé coté bîte pendant Compé
Chivreil apé dormi. (Compère Tortue va doucement; mais il arrive au bût
pendant que Compère Chevreuil dort.)
“Daddy Tortoise goes slow; but he gets to the goal while Daddy Deer is
asleep.”[39]--[_Louisiana._]
[39] Based upon the Creole fable of _Compère Tortue_ and _Comperè
Chevreuil_, rather different from the primitive story of the Hare and
the Tortoise.
100. Complot plis fort passé ouanga.[40] (Le complot est plus fort que
l’ouanga.)
“Conspiracy is stronger than witchcraft.”--[_Hayti._]
[40]
Di moin si to gagnin nhomme!
Mo va fé ouanga pou li;
Mo fé li tourné fantôme
Si to vlé mo to mari....
“Tell me if thou hast a man [a lover]: I will make a _ouanga_ for
him--I will change him into a a ghost if thou wilt have me for thy
husband.”....This word, of African origin, is applied to all things
connected with the voudooism of the negroes. In the song, _Dipi mo
vouè, touè Adèle_, from which the above lines are taken, the wooer
threatens to get rid of a rival by _ouanga_--to “turn him into a
ghost.” The victims of voudooism are said to have gradually withered
away, probably through the influence of secret poison. The word
_grigri_, also of African origin, simply refers to a charm, which may
be used for an innocent or innocuous purpose. Thus, in a Louisiana
Creole song, we find a quadroon mother promising her daughter a charm
to prevent the white lover from forsaking her; _Pou tchombé li na fé
grigri_--“We shall make a _grigri_ to keep him.”
101. Conseillére napas payére. (Le donneur de conseil n’est pas le
payeur.)
“The adviser is not the payer.” That is to say, the one who gives
advice has nothing to lose.--[_Mauritius._]
102. Coq çanté divant la porte, doumounde vini. (Quand le coq chante
devant la porte quelqu’un vient.)
“When the cock crows before the door, somebody is
coming.”[41]--[_Mauritius._]
[41] This is also a proverb of European origin. The character of
Creole folklore is very different from European folklore in the matter
of superstition.
103. Cououì pas laide, temps lafôce pas là. (Ce n’est pas laid de
courir, quand on n’a pas de force.)
“It isn’t ugly to run, when one isn’t strong enough to
stay.”--[_Trin._]
104. Coup de langue pis mauvais piqú sèpent. (Un coup de langue est plus
mauvais qu’une piqûre de serpent.)
“A tongue-thrust is worse than a serpent’s sting.”--[_Martinique._]
105. Coudepìed napas empéçe coudecorne. (Les coups de pied n’empêchent
pas les coups de corne.)
“Kicking doesn’t hinder butting.” There is more than one way to
revenge oneself.--[_Mauritius._]
106. Coupé son nenez, volor so figuire. (Couper son nez, c’est voler sa
figure.)
“Cutting off one’s nose is robbing one’s face.”--[_Mauritius._]
107. * Coupé zoré milet fait pas choual. (Couper les oreilles au mulet,
n’en fait pas un cheval.)
“Cutting off a mule’s ears won’t make him a
horse.”[42]--[_Louisiana._]
[42] This seems to me much wittier than our old proverb: “You can’t
make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”
108. Couroupas dansé, zaco rìé. (Le couroupas [colimaçon] danse le singe
rit.)
“Monkey laughs when the snail dances.”[43]--[_Mauritius._]
[43] Probably had its origin in a Creole _conte_. Same applications as
Proverbs 236, 263, 315.
109. Çouval napas marce av bourique. (Le cheval ne marche pas avec
l’âne.)
“The horse doesn’t walk with the ass.”--Let each keep his proper
place.--[_Mauritius._]