Pashto Proverbs
پشتو متلونه

S. S. Thorburn

From "Bannu: Our Afghan Frontier"

Topic: Class & Local

The first named are the most numerous, and admirably represent the Bannuchis and Marwats, even when expressing their opinion on classes, distinct from themselves, who live amongst themselves, who live amongst them, or with whom they come into daily contact. As might be expected, Hindus and Hindkais are roundly abused, the former on account of their religion and money-acquiring propensity, and the latter  because of their superior thrift and energy in cultivation. The terms Hindkai, Awan, and Jatt cultivators are used in a wider sense to represent all who talk Hindi Punjabi, or some dialect derived from it. Making allowance for the natural antipathy of a Muslim towards a Hindu, there is a good deal of truth in what is said about him; but as far as I have observed, the Hindkais are most unjustly vilified. Probably motives of jealousy alone have warped the judgement of their former Pathan masters about them. The estimation in which hill men are held was, and is to some extend even now, correct enough, but owing to Wazirs and Bettanis having of late years taken to agricultural pursuits, it will probably not continue to be so much longer. The purely local sayings are very forcible, and contain much sound observation and advice in a few short pithy sentences.

• He is a Shia's tomb; white outwardly, but black inside.
  دي د شيعه قبر دي، څرګند سپين او په کښي تور دي
  Said of a plausible humbug, with a handsome exterior, and empty head. This is a Bannuchi metaphor. All Bannuchis are Sunnis and no Shia is found amongst them or the Marwats. Thus they never miss an opportunity of vilifying Shias.
• Though a Khattak is a good horseman, still he is a man of but one charge.
  خټک که ښه سوار دي، د يوه وار دي
  This is a Marwat proverb. It means that the Khattak's may be good at their work but they get disheartened quickly or their potential is not up to mark.
• Friendship is good with everyone, except a Khattak. May the devil seize the Khattak.
  ياري له هر چا سره ښه دي، بي خټکه پيټ خټکه
  A Khattak is here equivalent to a bad man. This saying is attributed to Khushal Khan Khattak, a celebrated Khattak chief, who lived in the reign of Aurangzeb, and who had reason to curse the faithlessness of his country-men.
• The Dharamsal's Pillar will not be without a Hindu's loin cloth.
  د دهرمسال مټه بي له چوتي نه وي
  The allusion is to the custom of Hindus, who, after bathing, go direct to their dharamsal, or house of worship, and, after changing their bathing drawers, perform their devotions. Pathans laugh at the tight fitting loin-cloths or drawers, worn by Hindus, as will be seen in Proverb number 18. Here the meaning is that a bad man has bad ways.
• Who marries not an Isaki woman, deserves an ass (donkey) for a spouse.
  چه نه کړي عيسکئي يا به خره کړي يا به سپئي
  The Isaki women are said to be very pretty. The tribe compose of one of the sections into which the Bannuchis are divided.
• The Mughal tyrannizes over the cultivator, and the cultivator over the earth.
  د مغل زور په دهقان، د دهقان په زمکه
• If a Hindkai cannot do you any harm, as he goes along the road, he will leave you a bad smell.
  د هندکي که نور د بدو لاس نه در رسي خو چه په لاري ځي پسکه به در وکي
  This is a Bannuchi saying. Hindkais settled amongst them are mostly Awans, and compose the 'Hamsaya' class. At first, they were entirely dependent on their Pathan masters and very submissive towards them, but being better labourers, and more thrifty, they gradually acquired land and increased in numbers, which, naturally enough, has prevented them from being popular amongst the Bannuchis, or rather Pathan Bannuchis, as 'Hindkais' are now, to all intents and purposes, Bannuchis themselves, having been settled from two to five or more generations in the valley. Their old masters are fond of ascribing to them all those vices which we know they themselves possess.
• Though you duck a Hindkai in the water, his seat will remain dry.
  هندکي که په اوبو ډوب کړي ، کونه به ئي وچه پاته شي
  So they say in Egypt, "Cast him into the Nile, and he will come up with a fish in his mouth." Means that, do what you may, Hindkais are always lucky.
• Kill not a black snake, but a black Jatt.
  تور مار مه وژنه، خو تور جټ مړ کړه
  In the word Jatt, the Hindkai in particular is meant, but after him all those cultivators who talk any dialect of Punjabi are included.
• Who says of 'Uba' as 'Pani', place his head under the stone.
  چه اوبو ته وائي پاني، سر ئي لاندي کړه تر کانړي
  Uba is the pashto word for water. The Hindi word for it is Pani. The Pathans detest those who include other languages in their sentences.
• What is the Hindu dance but to open and close the hands.
  د هندوانو ګډيدل څه دي، موټي موټي نيول، موټي ړنګول
  Said in derision of the slow measured movements of legs and arms in the 'Nach'. A Pathan dance being all life, hands and feet flying about in all directions like Catherine wheels.
• Fire and water are in common, but not so with the Hindu
  اور اوبو سره شريک دي خو نه له هندوانو سره
  The Hindu draws his own water, and cooks and eats his food alone, both of which proceedings are considered to be comically stupid by a Pathan, who does the reverse, and likes society at all times.
• When a Hindu becomes bankrupt, he looks up his old account books.
  هندو چه ديواليه شي، نو زړي پوټي را واخلي
  To see whether there is any little outstanding item, which, with interest added, would not assist him in his difficulty.
• The Hindus cooking circle is purified with dung.
  د هندو چوکه د لدو په اخيړ پاکيږي
  The dung itself is stinking and unclean, yet the Hindu uses it as a purifier. Means that an unclean man, attempt what he may, cannot cleans himself.
• A Sikh's origin is his hair
  د سيکه اصل په ويښتو دي
  Meaning that any low fellow can become a Sikh if he lets his hair grow long.
• If a Wazir makes an attack, he will expose his naked back.
  وزير که منډ که خپله کونه به بر منډ که
  This is a Bannuchi proverb. A Wazir fights behind entrenchments, but not in the open; should he attempt to charge he will, according to the proverb, have to run away defeated.
• The threads of the cloth have concealed sense from the weaver.
  له جولانه عقل د نانړئي تارو پټ کړي دي
  Owing to their occupation keeping them at home, and their minds fixed on their threads, weavers are considered little better than idiots, and are, as a matter of fact, as a class, remarkably unintelligent.
• The use of the Hindu's loin-cloth is for cutting his person.
  د هندو چوتي د کوني څيرول دي
• One hundred Dawarh's (are not equal to) one stick.
  سل دوړ، د يوه لوړ
  Means that a man armed with a good cudgel would defeat one hundred of them. Like the Bannuchis, the Dawarh's are looked down upon by Marwats and Wazirs.
• The Jadrans, (Zadran) the hill wolves, bring a fine on Bannu.
  جدران د غره ليوان، په بنو راوړي تاوان
  The Zadrans or Jadrans, inhabitants of Shamal west of Khost (said to be Karlanis, though often called by us Ghiljis) come down in the cold months from their mountains to Bannu, where they work as navvies, and return in May with their earnings. They are splendid workmen and inveterate beggars, and are said to bring a fine on the country, owing to the amount of money they carry away with them to their houses, money honestly earned or begged, for they seldom if ever steal or rob.
• A Shias ablution is not nullified by his passing of wind.
  د شيعه اودس په ټيز نه ماتيږي
  Such an accident renders a Sunni unclean, consequently, when it occurs, he has to perform his ablutions over again before he can pray. The meaning is that nothing will put a shameless man to blush.
• A hill man is no man
  د غره سړي، نه سړي
  By the dwellers in the plains he is looked on as a wild beast.
• Don't class 'Sargarai' as grass, nor a hill man as a human being.
  سر ګړي په وشکي مه ګنړه، د غره سړي په سړي مه ګنړه
• The drum was beating in the plain, and the Bettani was dancing on the hill.
  ډول په سمه واهه شه او بيټني په غره کښي ورته ګډيدل
  This is a Marwat saying, about the stupidity of their hill neighbours.
• The Pathan eats his enemy, the Hindu his friend.
  پښتون دښمن خوري او هندو سجنړ خوري
  A Pathan thinks a Hindus love of money is so great, that to gain a rupee he would cheat his own father or mother if he could.
• Peshawar flour won't be without 'Jwar', a Kabul woman won't be without a lover.
  د پيښور اوړه به بې جواره نه وي، او د کابل ښځه به بې ياره نه وي
  Peshawar flour is said to be generally adulterated, I do not know whether there is any truth in the assertion or not. The latter part of the proverb is well known to be true, and is mentioned in Burnes in his "Cabool"
• Don't trust the Moghul's letters. Of the Mughals first letters, than armies.
  باور مه کړه د مغل په کاغزونو، د مغل اول کاغز، بسې فوزونه
• What is in deposit with a Hindu, is in a grain safe
  چه په هندو شې، په کندو شې
  It is pleasant to find one proverb even in praise of a Hindu, and here the praise is well deserved.
• One hundred Bettanis eat one hundred sheep.
  سل بيټنو سل پسونه اوخړل
  Said of men or families whose domestic economy is badly regulated, the Bettanis being very bad managers in household concerns.
• Get round a Pathan by softy coaxing him, but take up a clod for a Hindkai.
  پښتون ورو ورو غولوه، هندکي ته لوټه څيروه
  That is, with a little reconciliation, not bullying, a Pathan will agree to anything, but a Hindkai requires the reverse treatment. If in Hindkais we include the degenerate Pathans settled in Isa Khel and Mianwali, as well as all the miscellaneous Jatt classes, the methods here laid down for working the two classes deserve attention, owing to their truth
• A dead Kundi is better than a live one
  له ژوندي کونډي نه مړ کونډي ښه دې
  Marwats look down on Kundis, though connected with them; both being Lohanis. The saying arose owing to a Kundi having been killed by a Marwat, and the murdered man's relations demanding an unusually large sum as blood money. The Marwat paid the money but consoled himself by saying this.
• A Khattak is a hen; if you seize him slowly he sits down, if  suddenly then he clucks
  خټک سړي چرګ دې. که ورو ئې نيسې کوړککيږي، که په زور ئې نيسې کړککيږي
  This is again a Marwat saying; and means the Khattaks are cowards. The two tribes were old enemies, until the increasing encroachments of the Wazirs in the 1820's gave them both full occupation, and partially stopped their feuds.
• Keep a Marwat to look after asses, his stomach well filled, and his feet well rubbed (from hard exercise)
  مروت خر به لره په ګيډو به ډک پښې ئي سوده لره
  This is of course a Khattak saying; tit for tat for the last saying. If a Marwat taunts a Khattak for being a coward, a Khattak returns the compliment by calling his enemy only fit to attend asses, little better than an ass himself.
• If you want to live in peace, don't weigh the cats
  که ګزران د په کار وي، پيشوګان مه تله
  The origin of the saying is as follows. A Bannuchi woman had a lover, to whom she gave all her husband's store of ghi, and, when asked about its disappearance, laid the blame on her cats, on which the unreasonably suspicious husband said he would weigh them. On that the indignant wife replied as above. The moral is, I fancy, that one ought to "live and let live" wink at small irregularities and not be too particular in testing the truth of explanations rendered by one's wife.
• Karai was a thief, and the Mirakhel was his companion
  کري غل ؤه، او ميره خيل ئې مل ؤو
  The Mira Khel was an honest man, but was thought as bad as Karai; a famous thief because he associated with him. The reason behind his association was, "Tell me with whom you go, and I'll tell you what you are."
• The Buran is proud by means of strange water
  برنړ په پردو اوبو شيوه کوي
  The Buran is a torrent bed in Bannu, which gets most of its supply of water, except on occasions of heavy rain in the hills, from springs and the Kurram river. The above is said of people who take credit to themselves for work done by others.
• There is death in the toil of the traveller, his arm becomes his pillow, his mouth gets full of dust. May you not have to travel my friend. When you become a traveller, no one will give you a place (that is, no one will help you)
  د مسافر په خواري مرګه، لاس ئې بالښت وي، خوله ئې ډکه وي له ګرده
  مسافر مه شې زما ياره، چه مسافر شي څوک به ځائ نه درکوينه
  Bannuchis and Marwats are great stay-at-homes.
• Though pleasures become many, none will equal milk
  که ډيرې شي شادي داسې به نه وي لکه پئي
  This is a Marwat saying, a draught of fresh milk being thought by such a simple people perfect nectar.
• From their not being men, Balo became a chief
  له نه وو ميړو، ملک شو بلو
  When a weak man is appointed a village or parish head man, the selection is criticized by the people at large. Who Balo was is now forgotten.
• Until he get over the small pox, parents do not count their child their own
  تر څو پورې چه څوي اولور په کوي تير نه وي مور او پلار ئي خپل نه بولي
  This proverb owes its origin to a time when small pox was much commoner than now.
• An abandoned Gomal is better than a dead brother
  له مړه وروره پريښي ګومل ښه دي
  This is a Powenda proverb. The Gomal is the pass or rather torrent bed, by which the Powendas enter British territory and in the spring return to their homes. During the passage, they have to defend themselves against the attacks of the Mahsuds and Suleiman Khels.
• Had rice (cultivation) been easy, Manja would have eaten it
  که شولي اسانه وي، نو مانجه به خوړلې
  This saying has roots way back to the 1830s. Manja; who was an enterprising Marwat dug a small canal from a stream called the Lorah and attempted rice cultivation. As his canal failed, he was ruined. The proverb is now said when friends wish to dissuade a man from any difficult undertaking.
• The waters of Seli, the wheaten cake of Marwat
  اوبه د سيلي، نغند د مروت
  Seli, or Soheli, is a torrent bed near the village of Kundi, in Dera Ismail Khan. Its water is said to be very sweet and wholesome, and the wheat of Marwat is considered very superior.
• The day of Bannu, the night of Marwat
  ورځ د بنو، شپه د مروت
  The former is cool by day, owing to the country being well irrigated, and the latter is cool by night, owing to its being an open sandy country, and subject to cooling southern breezes.
• A sun-stricken man recovers, a moon stricken man does not.
  د نمر تاوهلي رغيږي او د سپوږمئي تاو وهلي نه رغيږي
  This is a Marwat superstition. It is supposed that moonbeams cause sickness and calamity, consequently Marwats are averse to sleeping in them without covering their faces.
• Niazis like rows.
  نيازي په بد راضي
  This is Marwat saying and is targetting the Niazis. In old times, opponents would arrange their armies in ranks when at war. The Niazis, now settled in Isa Khel, were forcibly expelled from Marwat by the Marwats between two hundred fifty and three hundred years ago (The author writes this in 1870s so he is probably referring to period between 1570 - 1620). From the date of expulsion until ten or fifteen years before the annexation of the Punjab (NWFP was annexed from Punjab in 1901), they were constantly fighting with the Marwats.
• He won't be a Dawarh whose fringe is not greasy
  هغه به دوړ نه وي چه پلو ئي غوړ نه وي
  The inhabitants of the Dawarh valley, a fertile, independent tract in the hills, about two marches west of Bannu, are well off, and liberal in their expenditure of Ghee. They often anoint their guests with Ghee as well. At the Eid festival, their Maliks put roasted fowls on their turbans and let any one who can carry them off. When a plot of land becomes exhausted, they are said to sometimes kill a traveller on it - the holier the man is, the better - and convert the spot into a shrine, in the hopes that through it a blessing will accrue. The application of the proverb is that a man who has not the outward signs of wealth, will not be wealthy.
• Have you become Khan Mir Khan that you muzzle a young camels mouth ??
  څه خان نور خان شوې چه د جونګيو خولې تړې
  Khan Mir Khan was a tyrannical chief in Marwat, who carried his brutality so far that he used to muzzle young camels. No one since has ever done such a thing. Above is said of a weak man, who attempts to do something outrageous.
• Though a Hindkai be your right arm, cut it off.
  هندکي که دې ښي وزر وي، پريکوه ئي
• Go inside with a fan, outside with a blanket.
  متوزه له بوزي سره وزه له شيرک سره
  That is, being sleeping inside your house while it is still so hot that you require a Pakai (fan), i.e., about the end of August; and begin sleeping outside whilst you still require a blanket, i.e., early in May. These two rules embody the health code of all Marwats and Bannuchis, if not of Pathans generally.
• Jealousy ate up the mountain, taxes the plain
  غر ننګ اوخوړ، دامان قلنګ اوخوړ
  This is an old expressive saying. In the hills, rivalries and feuds ruined the people though they were free and independent; and in the plain, the heavy arbitrary taxation imposed by the Government ruined the people.
• Though the army be one's father, it is bad.
  لښکر که د پلار وي، هم بد دې
  Means that a number of men, be they a regiment on the march or a Deputy Commissioner's camp, wherever they stop, are a nuisance, as they eat up everything and do a lot of damage. This feeling is common everywhere.
• Bang won't become wood; and a Bangi Khel won't become a man.
  بنګ به لرګي نه شي، بنګي خيل به سړي نه شي
  Bang is the hemp plant. And Bangi Khels were formerly great thieves
• Though your father was a Jatt, you are a Jatikin
  که پلار دې جټ ؤه، ته جټکي يي
  Meaning your father was a fellow of the baser sort, but you - you are immeasurably more despicable. Pathans look on Jatts with the same lofty contempt with which some Englishmen regard many of the native races - say Bengalis.
• The full stomach speaks Persian.
  ډک نس فارسي وايي
  Those who spoke Persian were formerly either fat priests or Ulema (the religious clergy), or in Durrani times representatives of the ruling power who visited the valley. All such were, compared with the inhabitants, rich and well fed men, and consequently arrogant. The meaning now is, that good feeding makes a man proudful.
• The diminisher of faith is lies, of mulberries butter-milk.
  د ايمان زوال دروغ دي، د تو تو زوال دوغ دي
  Mulberries are ripe in Bannu in April or May, and as the tree is common on every road, the fruit is plentiful. During the season the Bannuchis and their village dogs even gorge their full, and drink butter-milk afterwards to promote digestion. The saying, as noted, is common but silly.
• Become a thief, may God be with you.
  ځه غل شه، رب دې مل شه
  Said by the Marwats, of what the Betani says to their children when they are born. The Marwats have always accused the Bettanis for grabbing land from them, for highway robberies, and of course kidnappings. These accusations are even touted in today's time. If the Betanis have a problem with the government, they block the roads passing through Marwat territories to show protest. Hence, the Marwat resentment.
• Big Eyed
  غوټ سترګي
  The Bettanis in turn laugh at the Marwats for having big eyes. Marwat lands seldom see any rain and are therefore mostly dry and sandy whereas its people searched all of the heavens but still didn't find any rain; hence they remained big eyed. The Bettanis reply saying since they don't have any thing of value in their fields, why complain about us grabbing them.