759. Chaemie ala me mbya no aa me mĩthũkũ? It defeated the horned, how much more the hornless?

This proverb originated in parts of Ũkamba and the Kamba diaspora where th letter /c/ is used in place of /k/ and /s/. As bullfighting emerged as a common pastime during the Vascon period, herdsmen believed that horned bulls were stronger than the hornless. The bigger, longer, and sharper the horns the better the bulls fought. If a horned bull beat other horned bulls, it was expected that the hornless would stand no chance against it. By extension, the poor cannot challenge wealthy people, and so on.

760. Eka kũmbovea kasaũ suanĩ. Stop tying my calf in the scorching sun.

This is another way of saying stop delaying my plans. Calves were tethered under shade while their mothers went to pasture. Family members who did not like each other tethered their opponents’ calves in the sun so that they might suffer or even die.

761. Ĩla ĩtindiĩte ndĩvataa ĩla yũngye kũya. The animal resting does not prevent one standing from browsing.

Kamba goats and sheep usually came to rest under shade trees around noon. The herdsmen observed that some animals continued grazing, paying little attention to those resting. In the past it dealt with freedom to make individual choices. Go ahead with your plans despite what others are doing.

762. Ĩla ĩkomete ĩtalawa ta ĩla ĩkũya. The resting animal is counted just as the browsing one.

As the herdsman counted his animals, both browsing and resting beasts were counted the same way. The proverb calls for fair sharing of resources even if a member of a given community, family, or group was absent. It was an abomination to eat all the food, for example, without sparing some for absent siblings.

763. Ĩketũũwa yambĩyaa na ũkolotya. Before diarrhoea, it farts and blows frequently.

This refers to cattle frequently constipated or with diarrhoea. The latter was preceded by loud releases of gas. Do not ignore small things: they can build to major things. Particular cattle will show signs of oncoming diarrhoea. The alert leads to treating the problem early.