Oníṣe kì í fi ìṣe ẹ̀ sílẹ̀ re ibi; ó ńre àjò ó mú ìṣe ẹ̀ lọ́wọ́ gírígírí.
Character as the ground of a person
Original
Oníṣe kì í fi ìṣe ẹ̀ sílẹ̀ re ibi; ó ńre àjò ó mú ìṣe ẹ̀ lọ́wọ́ gírígírí.
Word-for-word gloss
- Oníṣe the-owner-of-a-habit kì í fi ìṣe ẹ̀ sílẹ̀ does-not leave his habit behind re ibi going anywhere; ó ńre àjò he is-going on-a-journey ó mú ìṣe ẹ̀ lọ́wọ́ gírígírí he takes his habit in-hand firmly.
Idiomatic English
"The owner of a habit will not go on a journey and leave his habit at home; when he goes, he takes his habit along with him."
Di source no name any translator.
Wetin e mean
Habits are carried, not left.
When dem dey use am
Owomoyela: "One cannot escape from one's character"
Notes on di translation
Gírígírí is an ideophone conveying a firm grip, and the picture is of a traveller clutching a bundle. The proverb is funnier in Yorùbá than the translation allows, because the habit is being carried like luggage the man is anxious not to lose.