Earlier this year I was working with the Enga translation team in the conference room of the Enga Cultural Center. This conference room is a beautiful environment with many Engan proverbs printed on the wall. In our February 2018 newsletter, I shared many of those proverbs with you, and I thought you might enjoy reading about a few more.
Carry both a short and a long shield.
The lesson of this proverb is to be prepared for whatever may come. Sometimes in battle you might need a short shield, and sometimes you might need a long shield, so carry both. In a wider sense it speaks to the importance of having both a short-term and a long-term plan and being ready for any possible contingencies that may arise. This proverb is similar to Miguel Cervantes’ quote: “To be prepared is half the victory.”
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| Carry both a short and a long shield |
Eagles seek high, open treetops.
This proverb offers a reflection on life. Unlike smaller birds that can perch just about anywhere, eagles can only perch on large tree tops that are clear of small branches and leaves. In the same way, those who are rich and famous seek high places to perch and associate only with others who are rich and famous. They do not seek lower branches where they would have to associate with lowly people. This seems to be an accurate description of life on this earth. (When was the last time a movie star stopped by your house for coffee?) The truth of this proverb makes what Jesus did all the more incredible. Philippians 2:5-8 says,
For let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of humans. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Thankfully God is not seeking to perch only on high, open treetops. Rather he humbles himself so that he can seek relationships with everyone, especially the lowly.
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| Eagles seek high, open treetops |
This proverb compares the fragility of life and the fragility of relationships to a drop of dew on a taro leaf. When there is a drop of dew on a taro leaf, the slightest movement will make it roll off. Taro leaves do not absorb water, and so a drop of dew that is sitting on a taro leaf is not in a stable condition. Life and relationships are the same way. Relationships are very fragile and one wrong word or one wrong action can destroy a relationship. Children are also fragile, and so parents must be careful in how they raise them. Life itself is also fragile and can be destroyed just as quickly as a drop of dew can slide off of a taro leaf. This proverb is reminiscent of James 4:14, which says, “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
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| A drop of dew on a taro leaf |
Do not wear fresh cordyline leaves when someone is mourning.
Cordyline is a woody, grass-like plant that has a strong, flexible stem and bright red leaves. In the past, people in many Papua New Guinean cultures wore cordyline leaves around their waist. But if a person were to wear fresh cordyline leaves during a time of mourning, it would be interpreted as a joyous act of celebration, which would be insensitive toward those who were mourning. Therefore, when people are mourning, fresh cordyline leaves should not be worn. This is reminiscent of the Apostle Paul’s injunction in Romans 12:15 to “weep with those who weep.” When someone is going through a period of mourning, we don’t want to be joyous around them. Rather we want to be sensitive to their pain and experience their sorrow together with them.
But this Engan proverb may have a darker meaning as well. In traditional Enga culture, the spirit of a recently deceased person is considered to be quite dangerous. So if you were to express joy at a person’s death by wearing fresh cordyline leaves, the spirit of that person might very well “bite” you and cause you to die. Not only that, but if you express joy when a person has died, you may be accused of having practiced magic or sorcery to bring about that person’s death.
I remember being in the village of Immi among the Dyuapini tribe when a person from that tribe had died. One day I was with a couple of men from the village, and we were nowhere near the place of mourning. While we were talking I happened to say something funny that made them laugh. They then told me not to say anything that might make them laugh because it was inappropriate to laugh during a time when one of the members of their tribe had died. I was inadvertently wearing fresh cordyline leaves!
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| Do not wear fresh cordyline leaves when someone is mourning |
A male pig cannot get pregnant.
The lesson of this proverb is to not waste time on fruitless efforts. There are certain activities that are doomed to failure, no matter how much effort you put forth. So focus your time and efforts on activities that are possible to achieve. This proverb reminds me a bit of Proverbs 1:17, which says, “In vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird.” If a bird sees you spreading a net, it is not going to get caught in your trap.
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| A male pig cannot get pregnant |
I am thankful for the conventional wisdom of the Enga people, which God gave them in times past as a tutor pointing them to Christ, much like God gave the Israelites the Law of Moses to point them to Christ. My prayer is that the people of Enga would embrace those aspects of their traditional culture that provide practical guidance as to what it means to follow Christ, while rejecting those aspects of their traditional culture that lead them away from Christ. In the same way, I pray that the people of Enga would embrace the aspects of Western culture that lead them to Christ, while rejecting the aspects of Western culture that lead them away from Christ.
