Mga Salawikain (Philippine Proverbs)
The Philippine oral history is not just full of riddles (bugtong). We also have a rich tradition of proverbs and sayings (salawikain). Here are just a few of them. I’ve tried my best to translate these into English, but I feel that I haven’t captured the exact sense of the some of the proverbs. If you have a better translation, please feel free to help us out.
* Ang isip ay parang itak, Sa hasa tumatalas. (The mind is like a knife, it is honed by sharpening.)
* Kuwarta na, naging bato pa. (It was already money, but it became a stone.)
* Bibig na natatakpan, hindi papasukin ng langaw. (A mouth that is covered will not be entered by flies.)
* Kung anong bukang bibig ay siyang nilalaman ng dibdib. (What is constantly talked about is what’s inside the heart.)
* Mabuti pa ang kubo, na nakatira ay tao kaysa mansiyon na nakatira ay kuwago. (A nipa hut where a person lives is better than an mansion lived in by an owl.)
* Aanhin pa ang damo, kung patay na ang kabayo. (What use is the grass if the horse is dead.)
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