Fakataufata e mafiti he gutu mo e gahua he tau lima.
“When you speak with authority, make sure you follow through with actions.”
Words carry real weight only when they are backed by matching deeds — a call for integrity between what a person says and what they do.
— Traditional Niue Wisdom, Niue
Source: Traditional Niuean proverb shared by Dr Monica Nua-George during Niue Language Week, New Zealand Ministry for Pacific Peoples cultural materials, public-domain oral tradition
More Proverbs from Niue
The king who became food for the rats while he lay in hiding.
A cautionary historical saying recalling a Niuean king who reportedly hid from his people during a famine and died alone and forgotten — a warning that a leader who abandons duty and people in hard times will themselves be abandoned by history.
If you keep your bush knife sharp, you will clear yourself a bigger plantation.
Staying motivated and keeping your tools and skills ready leads to greater reward — steady effort expands what you can achieve.