Ẹṣín dára ó ku aré; èèyán dára ó ku ìwà; ajá òyìnbó dára ó ku àtidẹ.
Character against beauty, wealth and destiny
Ìpilẹ̀
Ẹṣín dára ó ku aré; èèyán dára ó ku ìwà; ajá òyìnbó dára ó ku àtidẹ.
Ìtumọ̀ ọ̀rọ̀-sí-ọ̀rọ̀
- Ẹṣín dára the-horse is-fine ó ku aré there-remains running; èèyán dára the-person is-fine ó ku ìwà there-remains character; ajá òyìnbó dára the-European dog is-fine ó ku àtidẹ there-remains hunting.
Ìtumọ̀ Gẹ̀ẹ́sì
"The horse looks great but lacks speed; the man is handsome but lacks character; the European dog is good-looking but cannot hunt."
Orísun náà kò dárúkọ ẹni tí ó túmọ̀ rẹ̀.
Ohun tí ó túmọ̀ sí
In each case the thing has the appearance proper to its kind and lacks the function.
Ìgbà tí a ń lò ó
Owomoyela: "Looks are nothing compared to substance or utility"
Àkíyèsí lórí ìtumọ̀
Ajá òyìnbó, the European dog, is a historical marker in Owomoyela's sense: the proverb postdates the arrival of imported breeds, which were kept as pets and were useless for hunting compared with local dogs. That dates the proverb, or at least this version of it, to the colonial period or after.