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Fungua akaunti mpya

Makala / Methali Methali ya Leo
Jiandikishe upate habari na vitabu bure!
Brighid McCarthy
Scott M
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Taarifa
Majadiliano
Methali

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Jiunge
au ingia
Ili kupiga KURA kwa Methali ya Mwezi
Kura
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Iliharirishwa miezi 5 iliyopita
by
Brighid McCarthy
Meaning it's better to be satisfied with what you have, rather than risking it for a chance at a larger reward.

This proverb turns out to be very old indeed. It comes from an ancient book called "The Story of Ahikar" also known as the "Proverbs of Ahiqar." 
My son, a sheep's foot in thine own hand is better than the whole shoulder in the hand of a stranger; better is a lambkin near thee than an ox far away; better is a sparrow held tight in the hand than a thousand birds flying about in the air; better is a hempen robe, that thou hast, than a robe of purple, that thou hast not.
The Story of Ahikar (page 110)
The book tells the story of an advisor to the ancient Assyrian and Egyptian rulers. It was probably written about 600 BCE, with the earliest surviving fragments dating to about 500 CE. 

Similar proverbs from around the world...
French:
Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras
A here-you-go is worth more than two you-can-have-it-laters
Japanese
明日の百より今日の五十
Today's 50 over tomorrow's 100
Italian
Meglio un uovo oggi che una gallina domani
Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow

And one more for fun...
"A monkey on the back is worth two in the bush."
-ChatGPT

Do you think this proverb is good advice? When is it better to go with a sure thing now or take a chance and search for something better?
Marejeleo
The Story of Ahikar
French proverb (Wiktionary)
Japanese proverb (Wiktionary)
Italian proverb (Wiktionary) 

Image CC BY - Brighid for Maktaba.org
Remixed from:
Two Birds Perched on a Flowering Rose Bush by Ren Yi (Ren Bonian), Chinese, late 19th century  - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bird on Hand by Mahbub Hasan, Bangladesh (bird: common myna / Acridotheres tristis)  - Wikimedia
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Ingia akaunti yako ili kuona na kutoa maoni
Methali zaidi
To the victor go the spoils
The winner of a competition or conflict receives the majority or entirety of the rewards, and possibly additional benefits beyond what was being fought over. 

In war, the spoils could refer to land, gained power or other sought after resources. In other pursuits the spoils typically refer to accolades, money or opportunities.

The proverb is typically used to explain unequal outcomes or to remind others that the stakes of many conflicts are winner take all, zero sum, or at the very least, disproportionately favorable to the few winners.

Check out the sources section for a description of the context and information about the US politician who was credited with the phrase (in the 1830s).
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Iliharirishwa miezi 5 iliyopita
by
Scott M
Kalamu hushinda jambia

Ufafanuzi


Methali hii ya Kiingereza inatafsirika pia kama "Kalamu ina nguvu kuliko upanga au jambia" au " Kalamu ni kali kuliko upanga." Katika methali hii, jambia au upanga unaashiria nguvu na ukatili, na maana ya kalamu ni maneno. Ingawa upanga unaweza kushinda kwa nguvu, kalamu inaweza kuwashawishi, kuwahamasisha, na kuwaelimisha watu. Sio kila mtu ana silaha za kuwalazimisha watu wengine kufanya kile anachotaka, lakini kila mtu ana uwezo wa kubadilisha ulimwengu kupitia kile anachofikiria, kusema na kuandika kwa maneno. 

Silaha za siku hizi ni kalamu na karatasi.
 - Methali ya Kiswahili

Methali hii ni kweli kwa sababu mara nyingi maneno huchochea na kudhibiti jinsi watu wanavyotumia nguvu na silaha zao. Kwa mfano, kupitia sheria, maneno ya viongozi, mahakimu na majaji yana uwezo wa kuwafunga watu gerezani au hata kuwaua. Kutoa hotuba ya moto kwa umati wa watu wenye hasira kunaweza kuleta ghasia kali na madhara mengine (ona Juliasi Kaizari).

"Ukinipa picha, nitakupa vita."
- William Randolph Hearst
(Mwandishi wa habari na mchapishaji wa magazeti, Marekani)

Lakini pia, methali hiyo inatukumbusha nguvu ya upinzani usio na vurugu kwenye kuleta mabadiliko ya kudumu, kanuni iliyotetewa na kuonyeshwa na watu kama Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, na Nelson Mandela.  Angalia pia: Insha ya "Civil Disobedience"  na Henry David Thoreau, pamoja na Tamthilia mashuhuri ya "Antigone" na Sophocles.

Chimbuko


Nukuu hii ya "kalamu ina nguvu kuliko upanga" ilipata umaarufu kupitia tamthilia ya "Richelieu: au The Conspiracy"  na Edward Bulwer-Lytton (mwaka wa 1839, ukurasa wa 47). Lakini hakika wazo lilikuwepo kabla.

Wengine wanasema chimbuko halisi la methali hii ni Hadithi ya Ahikar. Kitabu hiki kiliandikwa takriban miaka 600 kabla ya kristu, na ni chimbuko la methali zingine kama "Ndege mkononi ana thamani ya wawili mtini"). Katika toleo letu, mfasiri hakuweza kusoma maandishi kutokana na hali ya karatasi, na maneno yalikatika. (Ukurasa 171/274) 
Dhibiti kinywa chako kwa uangalifu ...[ILIKATA]... na ufanye moyo wako kuwa mzito(?), kwa maana neno linalosemwa ni kama ndege, naye alitamkaye ni kama mtu asiye na  ...[ILIKATA]... ufundi wa maneno una nguvu zaidi kuliko ufundi wa  ...[ILIKATA]...
- Hadithi ya Ahikar, Ukurasa wa 171/274
Je, hili ndilo chimbuko halisi la methali hii, miaka zaidi ya 2,500 iliyopita? Muwe majaji...

Chanzo karibu na methali hii pia kinaonekana katika Agano la Kale:
Kwa maana neno la Mungu ni hai, tena lina nguvu, tena lina ukali kuliko upanga uwao wote ukatao kuwili.
Waebrania 4:12, Biblia

Na vilevile katika Shakespeare: 
Wengi wanaovaa panga huogopa kalamu.
-William Shakespeare
Tamthilia ya Hamlet, Sehemu ya 2, Onyesho la II (ukurasa wa 59)

 Je, unakubali kalamu hushinda jambia? Toa maoni yako hapo chini!
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CC BY Unaruhusiwa kunakili & kusambaza mchoro huu na makala hii bila idhini, ukitaja tu chanzo (www.maktaba.org)

Iliharirishwa miezi 5 iliyopita
by
Brighid McCarthy
Roma haikujengwa kwa siku moja

Je, una ndoto kubwa?

Ndoto ambayo huwezi kuitimiza peke yako? Labda hata ambayo haiwezi kukamilika katika kizazi kimoja?

Kuna makanisa ya kigothi barani Ulaya ambayo yalichukua zaidi ya miaka 600 -- zaidi ya vizazi 20 -- ili kukamilisha ujenzi!

Ingawa Piramidi kubwa zaidi ya Giza imejengwa kwa kasi (ndani ya kizazi kimoja), ila pia ilichukua makumi ya maelfu ya watu.

Nchini Tanzania, Msikiti Mkuu wa Kilwa Kisiwani ulijengwa katika karne za 11-14, ukajengwa upya baada ya tetemeko la ardhi, na uliendelea kufanyiwa ukarabati hadi karne ya 18. Ulitajwa pia miaka ya 1300 na msafiri Ibn Battuta. (Je ulijua unaweza kuona Kilwa Kisiwani kupitia "ziara ya mtandaoni" yaani 3D Virtual Tour? Ona kiungo chini kwenye "Rasilimali")

Maajabu ya dunia, ya kisasa na ya kale, yalianza kama ndoto kubwa, ndoto ambazo zilichukua vizazi vingi kutimiza. Kila kizazi kiliendeleza kazi ya zamani na pia walitoa mchango wao kwa kubadilisha mipango ya siku zijazo. 

Hivyo bhasi, kama unajaribu kufanya jambo kubwa -- jambo ambalo hakika litabadilisha ulimwengu - usitarajie litafanyika kwa siku moja. Na usijaribu kuijenga peke yako. 

Methali Zinazohusiana:


 Kiswahili:
Ukitaka kwenda haraka, nenda peke yako, ukitaka kwenda mbali, nenda na wenzako

Kifaransa:
Rome ne fu[t] pas faite toute en un jour
Kutoka kitabu cha Li Proverbe au Vilain kilichochapishwa takriban mwaka wa 1190
Kifaransa cha kisasa: Rome ne s'est pas faite en un jour
Maana yake: Roma haikujengwa kwa siku moja

Kichina:
冰凍三尺，非一日之寒
Mita ya barafu sio kwa sababu ya siku moja ya baridi

Kigaelic
Chan ann leis a’ chiad bhuille a thuiteas a’ chraobh
Sio pigo la kwanza linaloangusha mti
...

Picha: Shukran kwa Zamani Project waliounda ziara ya mtandaoni ya Kilwa Kisiwani!

Iliharirishwa miezi 5 iliyopita
by
Brighid McCarthy
What goes around comes around
This proverb means that we often get treated the same way we treat others. It is usually negatively, as a warning, or when a person who acted immorally gets their comeuppance. It could also be used as a promise of blessings to those who do good.  A third possible meaning is that Often compared to the Hindu doctrine of karma, the exact origin of the proverb is uncertain, but it seems to have emerged in the US in middle of the last century.

Related proverbs and quotes:
Shakespeare 
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice
To our own lips.  (Macbeth Act I, Scene 7) 
Bible:
As you sow, so shall you reap (Galatians 6:7)
Chinese:
善有善報，惡有惡報
Good is rewarded with good, and evil with evil.
German
Wie man in den Wald hineinruft, so schallt es heraus
What you shout into the forest, will echo out again

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Iliharirishwa miezi 5 iliyopita
by
Brighid McCarthy
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