Aywa | --Yes. | |
La | --No. | |
Maas salama | --Go with peace. | |
Saheeda | --Greetings. Hello. Also goodbye. | |
Kwayis | --Good. | |
Mish Kwayis | --Bad. (Mish negates whatever adjective precedes it.) | |
Mid fadlak | --Please. | |
Shukran | --Thank You. | |
Afwan | --You're Welcome. | |
Hatar | --Danger. | |
Samm | --Poison. | |
Ma | --Water. | |
Es salam alekum | --May peace be upon you. A general greeting. | |
Wa alekum es salam | --May peace be upon you also. Response to the preceding. | |
My liver! Ymmah! (Oh, mama!) Ybbah! (Oh, papa!) | --Kiresh Expressions of surprise. | |
May Fortune smile upon you. May Fate guide thee to salt and myrrh. She is to a man as rain is to the desert. |
--Compliments and good wishes. | |
You are the son of dried camel dung. You are the son of a dog's water. Not even fleas seek the hospitality of your tent May your daughters be ugly and your sons prefer goats |
--Examples of Ritual Insults used in the "Joking Feud" an alternative to combat used by clans not in a state of "kanli" with each other | |
May you sleep with a restless heart and know a thousand nights of misery. May even your tears lack salt, your camels lack milk and your manhood lack resolve |
--Ill wishes. | |
I conjure you to do it! | --I beseech or command you to do it. | |
The gods are merciful and all-knowing and I am but a humble slave before them. |
--Said by a Moor when receiving a compliment, as a matter of apparent humility and a defense against the evil eye. | |
You are the life-stuff of my liver! | --You are very dear to my heart. Said by a Kiresh of a spouse or of family. | |
I have a pain in my liver. | --I have a pain in my heart. Kiresh expression for "You have caused me pain, shame, or sorrow." | |
Your eyes are my eyes, your soul, my soul, your breath fills my lungs and your heart beats in my chest! | --You are my life. (Kiresh Lover's talk.) | |
You have given me an internal wound I hope will never heal. | --You are the love of my life. (Muerrin Lover's talk.) | |
Your countenance is not unpleasing to me You are the salt of my tears You are the cold sweet water after a long journey | --Zharzhanjah lover's talk | |
He makes coffee from dawn until the dead of night. | --Muerrin expression meaning "He is truly an outstanding host." | |
You have baked your bread; now you must eat it. | --You must live with the consequences of your actions. Kiresh version of "You've made your bed, now lie in it." | |
As the mind expands, the tongue grows quiet. | --Those who are wise do not chatter idly. (Zharzhanjan epression) | |
Though your companion may be honey, do not eat him completely. | --Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. | |
We opened our home to him, and he brought in his ass(donkey). | --He overstepped the bounds of good taste; he tested the limits of our hospitality. (Kiresh Expression) | |
Guests are like fish; after three days, both stink. | --Muerrin proverb. Refers to the three day-limit for a guest's stay, a custom observed throughout northern Gondwana. | |
When it begins to rain, he takes shelter in the fountain. | --Kiresh expression for "He leaps from the frying pan into the fire." | |
A man's head is like the desert; the hotter it gets, the emptier it gets. | --Foolish deeds are done in anger. Zharzhanjan expression | |
After the incense has come, the guest must go. | --A Muerrin expression in reference to the custom of passing a censer filled with frankincense following a coffee ceremony, after which the guests leave (or retire for the evening). | |
It was in this fashion that the tale was told to me, so it is in this fashion that I tell it to you now. |
--After "This is the tale of" and a brief explanation of the story, a common way for a Rawun to introduce a tale in Northern Gondwana. | |
Life without honor is the dung of camels. | --Zharzhanjah proverb. | |
A man without a family is like a eunuch. | --Zharzhanjan proverb. | |
The guest is lord of the salt. | -Zharzhanjan proverb illustrating the importance of hospitality. | |
There is no Fate but the Fate which we are steal from the chest of Time. | --Zharzhanjan proverb. |