Mú orí lọ, má mú ẹwà lọ; òòjọ́ lẹwà ńdẹ̀hìn, orí ní ńbá ni gbélé ọkọ.
Ìpilẹ̀
Mú orí lọ, má mú ẹwà lọ; òòjọ́ lẹwà ńdẹ̀hìn, orí ní ńbá ni gbélé ọkọ.
Ìtumọ̀ ọ̀rọ̀-sí-ọ̀rọ̀
- Mú orí lọ take orí along, má mú ẹwà lọ do-not take beauty along; òòjọ́ lẹwà ńdẹ̀hìn in-a-single-day beauty falls-behind, orí ní ńbá ni gbélé ọkọ orí is-what stays-with one in-the-husband's-house.
Ìtumọ̀ Gẹ̀ẹ́sì
"Go with your head, not with your beauty; beauty abandons one in a day, but one's head remains with one in the marital home."
Orísun náà kò dárúkọ ẹni tí ó túmọ̀ rẹ̀.
Ohun tí ó túmọ̀ sí
What sustains a marriage is the inner head, not appearance.
Ìgbà tí a ń lò ó
Owomoyela: "A woman should care more about good character than about beauty" Spoken to a young woman at marriage.
Àkíyèsí lórí ìtumọ̀
Orí is the inner head or destiny, and Owomoyela's usage note translates it into the register of character, which is a real slide: the proverb says orí and his gloss says character. In Yorùbá thought the two are linked but distinct, and this proverb is one of the places where ordinary speech runs them together. Confidence on the gloss: medium.