402. Eka kũaa mawa mwene e kĩtĩnĩ. Stop crushing honeycombs while the owner is up the tree.

This old proverb has deep cultural and historical meaning for honey harvesting. In Kamba apicultural norms no one tasted honey before the person up the tree came down safely. Therefore, the proverb tells us to stop making decisions over other people’s affairs.

403. Kĩthwĩĩ kya nzũkĩ vayĩ mũndũ ũtombũa. Anyone can disperse a bee colony.

While bees are fierce, attacking any creature approaching their colonies, the colony itself is easy to disperse. Boys used rocks and sticks to disperse bee colonies, hence this ancient proverb. It means that with tact and strategy anyone can overcome a formidable task.

404. Kyaumĩla mũthenya kĩvithawa maliũ. If it juts in daylight, it is not hidden from birds.

The objects jutting in broad daylight are the millet ears or flying ants coming out of the anthill and visible to birds. The axiom, which dates from the Vascon era, means that secrets that are too open are hard to conceal.

405. Kũweta ndĩngĩ ti kũkatha yalata kũma. Mentioning ndĩngĩ is not praising the hardness of the bare ground.

This axiom emerged from the 1940s as land was degraded, and bare areas emerged upon which a burrowing insect called ndĩngĩ made their homes. This axiom means exaggeration does not make something real.

406. Mũgii wa kĩvĩsĩ ndũkosaa ĩkundo. The honey-rope of a boy is always knotty.

The honey-rope (mũgii in Mwingi dialect) was a special rope used once or twice a year during honey harvesting. It needed to be stored and cared for, something a boy would often not do. When honey-harvesting time came such boys had to repair it with knots, but the rope had to be without knots to function properly.

407. Mwanĩki e vata na nzũkĩ. A beekeeper loves bees.

Beekeepers anticipate attracting bees and thus getting honey. But the bees also like the protection they get from the beehive. The beekeeper forms a symbiosis with the bees. Tracing from antiquity this proverb means people do things that benefit them.

408. Mwatũ ũla wĩ nzũkĩ syĩ kaũ nĩwo wĩthwaa na ũkĩ. The beehive with fierce bees is the one with honey.

Kamba beekeeping experts claim bees have different temperaments, some being polite and docile, others fierce and aggressive.