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Proverbs
Akiba Haiozi
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Savings don't rot
na Rose Mwanri 🇹🇿 
🏆 Shindano la Insha ya Methali 
🥈 Mshindi wa Pili 

Akiba Haiozi

Methali ni usemi wa kimafumbo unaotumika katika jamii. Maneno katika methali huwa na maana ya ziada na methali huwa na pande mbili. Upande wa kwanza hutoa wazo na upande wa pili humalizia wazo. Akiba haiozi ni miongoni mwa methali za kiswahili inayotumika sana katika jamii za kiafrika na kwa watumiaji wa lugha ya kiswahili duniani, ikiwa na lengo la kuwaasa watu juu ya umuhimu wa kujiwekea akiba.

 Dhima ya methali hii ni kutusisitiza sisi wanajamii kujianda vema na maisha ya leo pamoja na kesho huku tukiwa tayari kuzikabili changamoto mbalimbali za maisha.

 Methali hii hutuonyesha ni kawaida mwanadamu kupatwa na dharura mbalimbali katika maisha ya kila siku. Mfano kupatwa na maradhi, ajali, au hata kifo. Pale unapokuwa na akiba uliyojiwekea itakusaidia wakati umepatwa na changamoto ya ghafla ambayo hukuitarajia.

 Faida nyingine ya kuweka akiba ni kuboresha maisha. Cha kwanza nashauri tuwe na utaratibu wa kuweka akiba mara kwa mara ili kuweza kuboresha maisha yetu kwa ujumla. Tunavyozidi kuweka akiba ndivyo ambavyo akiba hiyo inaweza kutusaidia kuboresha makazi yetu na miundombinu kwa ujumla ndani ya jamii zetu. Mfano mzuri ni wazazi ambao akiba wanazoziweka huwasaidia kulipa karo za shule pamoja na kununua vifa mbalimbali vya shulena hata gharama zingine zinazojitokeza kwa wakati huo.

 Methali hii pia inatukumbusha kuwa kadri tunavyozidi kuweka akiba ndivyo tunavyokuza hazina yetu. Swa na ile methali inayosema “ Haba na haba hujaza kibaba” ukichambua methali hizi zinaendana maana na utagundua ni ukumbusho mkubwa kwetu kuhusu ujenzi wa hatma njema ya jamii yetu ya sasa na baadae. Kwa kuwa zinatuhimiza kuwekeza kwa kila chumo tulipatalo. Tunakuza hazina kwa kuwa kile tunachoweka akiba kipo kwaajili yetu.

 Chukua nafasi kujiuliza, ni mara ngapi umepatwa na changamoto na akiba ndiyo ikaokoa jahazi, ni mambo mangapi yametokea bila taarifa na akiba ndiyo imetumika kuweka mambo sawa. Naamini sote tunapaswa kuweka akiba bila kujali kipato ni kikubwa au kidogo. Mfano unaweza kuanza kuweka akiba kidogo kidogo kutokana na kile unachokipata na kufikia muda Fulani utakuwa na akiba kubwa.

 Vilevile methali hii inasaidia kukuza maarifa kwa mtu mmoja mmoja na jamii hasa pale ambapo pamekuwepo na tofauti ya uhifadhi wa akiba kutoka kizazi kimoja kwenda kingine. Hapo zamani tunaambiwa watu walikuwa wanahifadhi akiba zao kwa kuchimba chini ya ardhi, kuweka chini ya kitanda au hata sehemu zingine ambazo wao waliamini ni salama. Leo hii watu hawatumii sana njia za kienyeji kuweka akiba zao. Ukija kwenye fedha zipo benki zenye mifumo thabiti na salama katika kuhifadhi fedha. Kwa upande wa akiba ya mazao pia zipo njia salama za kuhifadhi tena hata kwa muda mrefu bila kuharibika. Kwa hakika akiba haiozi.

 Waswahili tunasema “akiba haiozi”, “haba na haba hujaza kibaba” ikimaanisha kwamba akiba yaweza kuonekana ndogo ila kadri inavyoongezeka ndivyo inavyokuwa kubwa. Kinyume chake tunaambiwa “Chovya chovya humaliza buyu la asali”, “Bandu bandu humaliza gogo”. Tukikumbushwa kuwa vile tunavyochukua akiba zetu kidogo kidogo bila sababu ya msingi ndivyo ambavyo iko siku tutahamaki na kuona akiba imeisha bila kuona kitu cha maana kilichofanyika. Tukumbuke “mali bila daftari huisha bila habari”, tuangalie mfano wa shairi hili linalotusisitiza kuhusu kuweka akiba.

Akiba kweli hazina, haijawahi saliti,
Kwetu ni muhimu sana, hutubeba kwa nyakati,
Kipindi kweli hatuna, inasimama kwa dhati,
Sote tuweke akiba, akiba ni mkombozi.

 Kwa hakika ni dhahiri yatupasa kutunza vitu vyetu vizuri na rasilimali tulizonazo kwa kuweka akiba ili tuweze kujinusuru pale ambapo tunapokumbwa na changamoto za kushtukiza kwa ajili ya maisha yetu ya sasa na ya baadae.

Sources

Juu ya Insha hii

Insha hii ilishinda nafasi ya pili 🥈 katika Shindano la Methali ya Insha la Maktaba.org 🏆 7/7/2023
Rose Mwanri ni mwalimu Mtanzania 🇹🇿 

Hakimiliki

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0)
na Rose Mwanri
Ilichapishwa na Maktaba.org
Mchoro/Image: CC BY Maktaba.org

Related on Maktaba.org 


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Meaning 


In this proverb, the sword signifies force and violence, and the pen stands for words. While the sword can conquer with force, the pen can persuade, inspire, enlighten and motivate people. Not everyone has weapons to force other people to do what they want, but everyone has the power to influence the world through what they think, say and write with words.

Silaha za siku hizi ni kalamu na karatasi.
Today's weapons are pen and paper.
 - Swahili proverb

Part of the reason this proverb is true is that words often motivate and regulate how people use violence and force. For example, through law, the words of leaders, judges and juries have the power to jail people or even kill them. Making a fiery speech to an angry mob might cause a violent riot (see Julius Caesar). 

You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war.
- William Randolph Hearst

The proverb also reminds us of the power of nonviolent resistance to bring about lasting political change, a principle advocated and demonstrated by figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela. (Check out Henry David Thoreau's classic Essay, "Civil Disobedience" and Sophocles famous play, "Antigone")

Origin


The phrase "the pen is mightier than the sword" became popular after Edward Bulwer-Lytton used it in his 1839 play "Richelieu: Or the Conspiracy" (page 47).  But the idea likely originated much earlier.

Some sources attribute the proverb to the Story of Ahikar (which is also the source of the proverb "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"). In this edition, the translator was unable to decipher the damaged manuscript and left the sentence unfinished. (Page 171/274
(FRAGMENTS)
Watch carefully over thy mouth ...... and make thy heart slow(?), for the word spoken is like a bird, and he who utters it is like a man without ...
... the craft of the mouth is mightier than the craft of ...... 
Could this be the original source of the proverb from over 2500 years ago? You be the judge...

A similar phrase also appears in the Old Testament: 
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.
Hebrews 4:12 (KJV)

And in Shakespeare:
 Many wearing rapiers are afraid of goosequills.
-William Shakespeare Hamlet Act 2, scene II (page 59)

Do you agree that the pen is mightier than the sword? Share your opinions below!

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Updated 5mo ago
by
Maana yake, afadhali kuridhika na ulicho nacho, badala ya kuiweka hatarini kwa ajili ya kupata kitu kubwa zaidi.

 Methali hii ni ya zamani sana. Chanzo cha methali hii ni kitabu cha kale kiitwacho  "Hadithi ya Ahikar." (Kinajulikana pia kama "Methali za Ahiqar.")
Mwanangu, mguu wa kondoo katika mkono wako mwenyewe ni bora kuliko bega zima katika mkono wa mwengine; Afadhali kondoo mdogo aliye karibu na wee kuliko ng'ombe aliye mbali; Afadhali shomoro aliyeshikwa mkononi kuliko ndege elfu warukao angani; vazi ulilo nalo ni afadhali kuliko vazi la zambarau usiloliona.
- Hadithi ya Ahikar (ukurasa wa 110)
Kitabu hiki kinasimulia hadithi ya mshauri wa wafalme wa kale wa Ashuru na Misri. Inadhaniwa kuwa hadithi hii ilitungwa takribani 600 KK, na kuna nakala iliyochapishwa mwaka wa 500 KK. 

Methali karibu na hii kutoka nchi mbalimbali:
French:
Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras
'Shika-hii-hapa" moja ina thamana kuliko 'nitakuletea-baadaye' mbili
Japanese
明日の百より今日の五十
Hamsini leo ni bora kuliko mia kesho
Italian
Meglio un uovo oggi che una gallina domani
Bora yai leo kuliko kuku kesho

Mnaonaje -- methali hii ni ushauri mzuri? Ni bora kuridhika na kitu kinachopatikana kwa hakika, ama kutafuta kitu bora zaidi kisicho na hakika?
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Updated 5mo ago
by
Compare this simple, humble basket of fruit with a bag of lollipops. The fruit is ripe, juicy, packed full of vitamins -- it just sells itself. The lollipops, on the other hand, scream for our attention with explosive slogans and neon colors. But underneath the shiny packaging, it's really just plain sugar with some food coloring and artificial flavors.

Like other primates, humans find fruit attractive because it gives us energy and nutrition. Candy gives us energy, but it doesn't give us real nutrition. It just does a very clever job pretending to be fruit. Don't fall for it!

A good thing doesn't need to advertise, because quality speaks for itself. As the economists would say, demand exceeds supply.  Many advertisements seems to promise us happiness, beauty, love, wealth or respect. But ask yourself, does the ad promise more than the product can really deliver? Coca-Cola isn't a love potion.

This proverb reminds us of the enduring value of true quality and competence over flashy appearances. It's often used to express skepticism about a person who brags or praises themselves excessively.

We should all strive to be more like the basket of fruit: simple, authentic and good. These qualities will draw other people to you — at least the kind of people who understand that “chema chajiuza, kibaya chajitembeza

Related proverbs:
Don't judge a book by its cover.
Appearances are deceiving.
All that glitters is not gold 
 高嶺の花  Hana yori dango - Dumplings over flowers

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Updated 5mo ago
by
Large tasks in life need to tackled in small steps, day by day. This proverb comes from Swahili:
Haba na haba hujaza kibaba
Little by little fills up the jar

Can you think of other similar proverbs that encourage the same way of thinking? 

This saying reminds be of a poem called "Little Things" by Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney:
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
     
Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity. 
Julia Carney composed this poem in 1845 as a student in class -- and she was given only 10 minutes to write it!
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Updated 5mo ago
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