ILU NENWE KETAA :Epeteke zegbo,ọ lahụwa l'éwa ya.By.Sai Nwaenya

"Epeteke zegbo, ọ lahụwa l'éwa ya"

EPETEKE ZEGBO... explained.

Epeteke is a kind of Nenwe onomatopoeia  that depicts plenty but tiny in nature; like ụmụ mperete.
In the proverb, it refers to tiny yam seedlings.
Epeteke éwaji - tiny and sickly yam seedlings
Mgbii éwa ji - sizeable and halthy yam seedlings (see attached pix.

So what the proverb is saying is that if one decides to cut tiny his yam seedlings, he may get very greeny yam leaves but after all, he will harvest tiny yams. Its Bible equivalent: if you sow sparingly, you reap sparingly while the computer people say garbage in, garbage out.  


Lesson: Give adequate measure of inputs to expect reasonable output.
BY:Sai Nwaenya (Prof)
FRIDAY ORIE (08th May 2020)

FURTHER DISCUSSIONS:

Proverbs are very narrow ways of saying wide variety of things. Their usage depends on what prompt(s) them.
I used it as a farmer here. If as a road safety officer, you are to work under a contractor boss from Europe who disturbs you too much; you may console another officer who is equally disturbed by the European character not to worry, after all ọ kwa epeteke zegbo....
So the two explanations can work. The only major difference is that the second voice approached the explanation Etymologically.  Ie, trying to dig into the root of its coinage.

As a student, if you see one who reads so much but fails his exams, you can still use the proverb to address someone who wants to show a feeling that that student is the best in the class: you can say; ya gụwalụ ya, afterall, ọ kwa epeteke zegbo... It has a synonym: "ụkwa megbo ọ danga l'ukwu ye.

II
BY:Sai Nwaenya (Prof)
FRIDAY ORIE (08th May 2020)