French Guiana Proverbs (29)

Toti té ké volé si li té gen plim.

“The turtle would fly if it had feathers.”

People often claim they would achieve great things if only they had what they lack, an excuse for ambition that will never really be tested.

Tanbou lwen gen bèl son.

“A distant drum sounds beautiful.”

Things far away or belonging to others often seem more appealing than what a person already has.

Menm si chyen vandé so zouti, li pa bliyé so métyé.

“Even if the dog sells its tools, it does not forget its trade.”

A skill or piece of knowledge, once truly learned, stays with a person no matter what their circumstances become.

Woun lanmen ka lavé lòt.

“One hand washes the other.”

People who help each other accomplish far more together than either could alone.

Anlè kouri agouti, ou ké wè fòs chyen.

“It is when the agouti runs that you see the strength of the dog.”

True ability and character are revealed under pressure and testing, not in calm, easy moments.

Bèf douvan bwè bon dilo.

“The ox in front drinks the good water.”

Whoever arrives first gets the best of what is available.

Fô dronmi a poulayé poul, pou savé si li ka ronflé.

“One must sleep in the henhouse to know whether the hens snore.”

Do not claim certainty about something you have not personally experienced.

Tout manjé bon pou manjé, tout paròl pa bon pou di.

“Everything that can be eaten is good to eat, but not every word is good to say.”

Discretion matters in speech; not everything that is heard should be repeated.

Chak cochon ganyen yé sanmdi.

“Every pig gets its Saturday.”

Sooner or later, everyone faces their reckoning; nothing goes unanswered forever.

Rantré pa ayen, sé sòti ki met.

“Going in is nothing; it is coming out that counts.”

An action is judged by its outcome, not by how easily or confidently it began.

Jwé bien ké makak mé pa pilé so latjo.

“Play nicely with the monkey, but do not step on its tail.”

Every joke or friendly teasing has its limits, and crossing them brings trouble.

Foumi pa mouri anba barik siwo.

“The ant does not die under the barrel of syrup.”

The wise know their limits and do not overindulge, even surrounded by abundance or temptation.

Konté anlé chodjé ou vwazen ou ka dronmi san soupé.

“Count on your neighbor's cooking pot, and you will sleep without supper.”

Relying entirely on the help of others risks leaving a person with nothing at all.

A pa jwet ka touné, sé van.

“It is not the weathervane that turns, it is the wind.”

Look past the visible symptom to find the true underlying cause.

A ou menm ka bat ou tanbou, a ou menm ka dansé!

“You beat your own drum, you dance to it yourself.”

In the end a person must answer for, and act on, their own affairs.

Tanbou ka fè gran son pas so andidan vid.

“The drum makes a loud sound because it is empty inside.”

Loud boasting often hides a real lack of substance.

Divan tanbou, galman pa la.

“Before the drum, there is no pretending.”

In a true test or performance, false confidence has nowhere left to hide.

To ka dansé lò tanbou ka bat.

“You dance when the drum beats.”

An effect follows its true cause; act in response to what actually calls for it.

Gro gogo, a pa tanbou.

“A big backside is not a drum.”

Size or appearance alone does not determine real worth or skill.

Ou pa ka lésé djòl tanbou pou bat la so gogo.

“One does not leave the head of the drum to strike its base.”

Know where the real opportunity lies, and act there rather than elsewhere.

Dansé fini, tanbou toujou tro lou.

“When the dance is over, the drum always feels too heavy.”

Pleasure is often followed by an inconvenient cost or aftermath.

Tout tanbou pouvé chanjé di tibwa.

“Every drum can change its sticks.”

People and tools alike can be exchanged or replaced when needed.

Tout tanbou pa gen bèl son.

“Not every drum has a beautiful sound.”

Not everyone is equally gifted; appearance does not guarantee quality.

Tro présé pa fè jou louvri.

“Rushing does not make the day dawn any sooner.”

Haste cannot force events to happen before their proper time; patience is required.

Rendez-les moi mes poupées noires qu'elles dissipent l'image des catins blêmes marchands d'amour qui s'en vont viennent sur le boulevard de mon ennui.

“Give me back my black dolls, so that I may play with them the naive games of my instinct, and stay in the shadow of its laws, having recovered my courage and my daring, and become myself once more.”

A cry to reclaim an African identity and childhood suppressed by French colonial assimilation.

J'ai l'impression d'être ridicule dans leurs souliers dans leur smoking dans leur plastron dans leur faux-col dans leur monocle dans leur melon.

“I feel ridiculous in their shoes, in their tuxedos, in their starched shirt-fronts, in their detachable collars, in their monocles, in their bowler hats.”

Wearing a foreign colonial culture that does not fit one's own body or identity feels absurd and alienating.

Il ne s'agit pas d'un mariage au rabais, il ne s'agit pas d'une ruse, pas d'une entourloupe, il s'agit d'un mariage avec toute sa charge symbolique, et toutes ses règles d'ordre public.

“This is an act of equality; it is not a marriage on the cheap, it is not a ruse, it is a marriage with its full symbolic weight and all its rules of public order.”

Extending marriage to same-sex couples must carry the same full legal and symbolic standing as any other marriage, not a diminished version.

Meubles, selon le Code noir. Cheptel, selon le régisseur. Esclaves à merci selon le maître.

“Furniture, according to the Code Noir. Livestock, according to the overseer. Slaves at the mercy of the master.”

A stark reminder of how slavery reduced human beings to legal property, livestock, and possessions with no will of their own.

Pour un homme de ma race, comment prononcer ces mots sans une intense émotion.

“For a man of my race, how can one pronounce these words without profound emotion.”

Reflecting, as the grandson of a formerly enslaved man, on commemorating the abolition of slavery.