146. Andũ aa nĩmaua mũũngũ wasama ng’ombe. These people have cooked the quills to the taste of beef.

The ancient Kamba engaged with porcupines and cattle for complex social and economic purposes. Their reluctance to slaughter their cattle led them to prefer game meat over beef. Porcupine quills were not eaten despite the literal meaning of the proverb. It was a sarcastic criticism of a miser when visitors arrive. It means that these people have exaggerated the matter at hand, alluding to some extreme exaggerations of the miser.

147. Kĩrũngũ kĩsyaa kĩngĩ, kĩsera kyũsyaa kĩsera. A porcupine gives birth to a porcupine.

Of the various types of porcupine in Kitui the biggest and most common is the kĩrũngũ, or nzee. A smaller and rarer type is the kĩsera. They do not crossbreed, as the proverb makes clear. In politics this ancient maxim means a leader always gives rise to a leader. Other proverbs, to the contrary, say a guinea fowl bears a francolin and a porcupine a hedgehog, meaning great leaders do not always bring forth great leaders.

148. Kĩrũngũ kĩyĩsaa mũũnda wa mũtheo. A porcupine does not raid neighbouring farms.

This ancient axiom says one should not spoil their own neighbourhood. Local thieves should steal far from their villages, for example. It emerged towards the end of the first millennium.

149. Nzee ndĩsaa maanga ũtũinĩ. A porcupine does not eat cassava in its village.

While the previous entry dates to the Monsoon era, this proverb emerged during the Vascon era with the arrival of cassava from the New World. Cassava became a symbol of virginity, beauty, and romance. While cassava symbolizes village girls, porcupine stands for a boy, who had to leave the local village girls to date another further away. Do not commit crimes within your community.

150. Nzee ndĩsaa mĩingo ĩlĩ. A porcupine does not eat from both sides of the river.

Since porcupines cannot wade rivers they browse on one side, concentrating on only that side. One variation speaks of greed and excessive accumulation as a metaphor for romance among youth in polygamous households. Among youth, it warned against too many sexual partners in multiple villages. Stick to one in one area. For greed among large households it was a warning that one cannot use both his own and his children’s resources.