Ukpon era tue domo-it is the clothes that we respect.

Ta ye ekho rere egbe omwan- we deceive ourselves with our mind.

Ehun ovbie oguo ero wia vbi iko-it is the poor man`s fart that smells in a gathering.

Ta se eze ake sa amen-you get to a river before you fetch water.

Ai we ne nagbe ghe tu-you do not tell someone you beat(are beating)not to cry.

Eko gha ken oguomwandia to ye evbare to-when a servant refuses food it makes food last longer.

Agha khue ofen eva urukpa, aghi mue ihoi-when you pursue two rats at the same time, you catch nil.

Agan ma bie, ukpokpo fue oguega egbe-when a woman is barren,the oracle will not rest.

Ule no ma se ule ere okhuo na ye obo de ewen yi-it is the non important race that a woman hold her bosoms.

Ai ye akon gha emiowo na wua-you do not divide the meat you forbid with your teeth.

Ale egbo mie egbe ere ogho ye-there is respect in distance(familiarity breeds contempt).

Ese wi akhan wi- good is not lost, bad is not lost(everything has its reward).

Omo se ovban ruvban ihen-that a child is greater than one(parents)is not an insult/ curse.

Eko eyen ere eyen na rrie obi-the snake gets it venom from its mother(we are genetically tied to our parents).

Ai ye ikpian obo okpa mue irhu vbe eto-you cannot pick lice from the hair with one finger.

Ai sira okhuo vbiere-you(man)do not act lazy in the presence of a woman.

Ai ye obo de n`owu yi- you cannot stop somebody from dying(natural).

Ukpe iye okhokho gbe ovbiere-the mother hen beak does not kill its own chick.

Ifian yangbe ma vbe okpon owa-blowing up ones possessions or achievements is not good in the neighbourhood.

Ase de aramwen a ke de-you must be old enough to buy an animal before you buy one.

Iku gha bun gbe vbe uwonmwen ,arhu aro ghi beghe re-when there is too much dirt in a pot of soup,the blind will see it.

Ovbokhan ku miamian owa-a child does not play outside so much as to forget home.

Ode ma gia la aghi la weriegbe-when a road cannot be taken you turn back.

Vbe na gbe aghen aghen ye-it is the way you make(beat )a mat that it turns out.

Ese nu ru ne omwan ere akhue we khian rhi ehe re-the good you did for someone today you will be rewarded tomorrow.

E ne okhuo hanmwan na e ro mue eko ma-a woman shows her pregnancy to the one that made it.

Taba khue okhokho ghe runmwunda ama ren no owe khia vbo-you deliberately run after a chicken because you do not know which one has pain in its leg(You should compete/engage in many ventures because you do not know which one would bring you more success).

Agha we na mue ovban owe ,e no yaen owe khain ze owe obo-when you ask for the leg to be picked up ,the owner of the leg will not allow it.

Ifenmwen ye egbe rhie owe ti ren tin-an arrow is expiring but it says it is flying(showbiz/sports people to note).

Akon no rhie evbin uwe unu e ro ye- the teeth that eats is inside the mouth.

Eke ne edede na mien egui mu,e fo vbo-where the old woman finds tortoises to pick up,she does not stop going to.

Agha mue ugbo ke egbe ama ku,iku khian aria vbehe-if there is no friendship between neighbouring farmers,then the friendship is for another life. 

Okuta kaka ne oven ke rhe-the rock was already dry(formed)before the sun came.

Ovbie ogue vben evben no ta vbe uwe ebu-The poor man has nothing to say in a gathering.

Omwenigho kpe vbe igue-the person with money does not kneel(plead) for long.

Mmiri efi ra ora ye ehua------The water consumed by a cow is for its own good.

Andre Uweh:

Mmiri efi ra ora ye ehua------The water consumed by a cow is for its own good.

Isn't that Igbo?

Kudos to you, Bokohalal. I admire your devotion to the thread. . . . .Good job.

Missy ★ B:

Isn't that Igbo?

Kudos to you, Bokohalal. I admire your devotion to the thread. . . . .Good job.

You are right, it is Igbo. It is Igbo as spoken in Igbanke and other micro Igbo villages in Edo state.

Evban gbe okpia na yi` ma se `evban okpia na na de yo oha`-`the man died here` is better than `this is where the man ran into the bush`.

Ohanmwen gha gbe omwan gbe iroro n` owegbe omwan ghi ze-too much hunger make one to have strong thoughts.

Agha mie no guan ne omwan,oyenmwen gha se omwan-when you have someone to speak on your behalf,you will be filled with of joy.

Aro reran reran oma gie okhuo gue obo odo-a woman`s eyes( heart) is everywhere is why she cannot understand her husband.

Na murhia son-to spoil(destroy)does not take effort.

Ebe no rhienrhien ewe o gbe ewe-the leaves that is sweet to the goat,kills the goat.

Igan ma ima okhokho egbe,ogho vbo re-when a feather makes the chicken uncomfortable it plucks it out.

Ewe na ye aro yi bie ovbukho-the goat that one looked forward to has delivered a he-goat(do not count your chickens).

Udian no rhe akharha gia gbe-the tsetse fly inside thighs cannot be killed.

E no vben iyeke e ro zetin-It is the one with backing(strong support)that has power.

Ai kha me ovbokhan ne ghe rue akon zaghara sokpan no mien ekhara unu ne okhian ya gue re-you do not tell a child not to have big teeth as long as the child has upper lip to cover it.

Enoren igho evbe,e ra ye evbe na-it is those who know the value of kolanuts that you present it to(respect to whom due).

Na muru gha ren,no mue ovban ru ghi khien ogboi-if the person being cheated knows,the cheater becomes the ignorant one.

Ai mien ason oven yunhun-there cannot be night and the sun is shining.

Owa ma gbe ovban ,ore setin-if your home supports you,outsiders cannot harm you.

Obo na ya gbe ovbokhan,e ra vbe ya sie re ke egbe-the hand that you use to beat a child,you also use to draw the child close.

Agha lele adia,aghi dia.Agha lele ago,aghi go-if you follow straight(path of life),you will be straight. If you follow crooked,you will be crooked.

Why don't vultures fly over Bini land?What is the phenomenon behind it?or is it just a myth?

When i was growing up i use to hear the story that whenever vultures fly over Bini land,rain will cease to fall and there will epic catastrophes,how plausible is the story?

Evbuomwan e ra ho ne amen rho yi-every one wants the best for their country(place).

Uyinmwen omwan rhie omwan ma-a person`s character exposes one.

Amamie eson aimie uwa-without effort you do not find wealth.

Udin no gha mi igho,ovbie okhere a ke ronren-the palm tree that will make money,is known from its early stage.

Evba gue vbe owa, e ra ya se ore-it is what is learnt in the house that we bring outside.

redsun:

Why don't vultures fly over Bini land?What is the phenomenon behind it?or is it just a myth?

When i was growing up i use to hear the story that whenever vultures fly over Bini land,rain will cease to fall and there will epic catastrophes,how plausible is the story?

Very true. The vultures were told not to fly over Biniland.

Bokohalal

you have really unearth all the wise sayings, let me also add some from Esan.

Agbọn khi ese. (It is human beings that do disguise as supernatural forces.)

Ọnọ ii ribhi eni, ọle Aah ri enyan si ọle tọn bhi egbi era’ẹn. (It is the absent one whose yam would always be kept beside the fire.)

Eto kha rẹ re, Aah yẹ lẹn eji ukẹhae nae. (No matter how hairy the head becomes, the forehead remains distinct.)

Eji ọboh da gui otọ ọhle ọle da horiẹ. (A native doctor disappears only where he is used to.)

Aah ii di isira ọnọ khin eni khin ẹkpẹn. Or, Aah ii khin ẹkpẹn man ọnọ khin eni. (You don’t change to a tiger in the presence of one who can change to an elephant.)

Ẹwa’ẹn Aah rẹ gbi efẹn nọ ribhi ẹkẹ akhe. (Killing a rat that is holed up inside an earthen pot requires wisdom
Ure kha lo bhi ẹbọ, ọ’ ki khin ẹbọ. (When a snail inhabits a shrine, it becomes an idol.)

Irẹlobhegbe zzẹ ni ọkhọ bha da lli afiamhẹnh. (But for forbearance, the chicken would have taken into eating birds.)

Ọnọ gbi ọnọdeọde ọhle ọnọdeọde viẹ bhi itolimhin. (In a funeral each mourner mourns the fate that befalls him, not the deceased’s.)

Usẹn bi usẹn ko yi egbe ‘halo’. (It is age mates that greet each other with ‘hello’.)

Aah kha kha viẹ, Aah yẹ daghe. (Even in tears, it is not impossible to see.)

Ebi Aah miẹn ofẹn ii muin uki, ?bi ọhle ii da bha ọsi adamhẹn. (If not for fear, why doesn’t the moon shine in the daytime?)

Ọriọbhe giẹrẹn lumhin eman, ọle bha lẹn eji Aah ri ubhokọ gọ. (Although a stranger pounds pounded yam well, he lacks knowledge of where to keep the pestle.)
Ẹdẹ ni okhuo rẹ nyin eman ebe, ẹdẹni ọlle rẹ le nẹ. (It is on the day a woman cooks a bad meal that she eats best.)

Obhokhan kha ni isọn ebe, Aah ki ri ebe ugbolimhosaka gbo ọle uwedin a. (If a child defecates repulsive excreta, the leaf of a spiky plant will be used to wipe his buttocks.)

Aah bha min ebi Aah khin ọkhọmhọn yẹ, Aah ki zaghi ọle era’ẹn a. (If because of his illness you can’t hurt a sick person, you can at least extinguish the fire that keeps him warm.)

Aah ii ri afe nani umhẹn. (You don’t increase the amount of salt you consume simply because you are wealthy.)

Ẹwa’ẹn Aah rẹ gbi udia nọ timan bhi ikpẹkẹn. (Killing a tsetse fly that perches on one’s scrotum demands wisdom.)

Thank you,rabzy,for the Esan proverbs.I was on the verge of pleading for proverbs from other people in Edo state as it is not just the Binis that constitute its space. Hoping to see much more Esan wise sayings and from the Binis, Owans,Etsakos,Unemes,Otuos,Okpameris,Igarras ,too.
Orhunmwun okpa setin rue ehia-one person cannot do it all.

Owon gha se ekita,ogha mien ikianawa owe ovbehe vbe rhe-if a bee stings a dog,when it sees a bluebottle fly it thinks it is another one.

Agha kpe gbe vbe ohi isan,aghi mien ikian no ye ewu ematon-if you stay too long in a poo place,you will start to see flies in iron shirts.

Eke no ma eghele o re igiogbe-the place that is good to young adult becomes his/her residence.

Eno ne evbin obo re tanse-the one that is asking for something has a longer hand( reaches out more).

Omo nowe iye oghi ren vbie,iren vbe vbie-the child that says his/her mother will not sleep,will not sleep too.

Thanks for bringing this up,

I am quite good with Yoruba proverbs because i was bron in Lagos and i could speak the Yoruba language well, i came to appreciate and love the beauty of the language because it has really been developed and expanded.

I speak Esan to a reasonable degree, then i started also taking note of the proverbs my parents used at home, so i decided to look for more and it has been rewarding, so many beautiful tots expressed in elegant manner.

Altho the lack of a common lingua-franca has made it quite challenging to master the language, especially Esan that has myriads of dialects, Does Bini have different dialects too?

Also, what does a Bini man says he speaks, does he speak Edo or he speaks Bini. I recently argues with an Esan colleague that the language is Edo not Bini, i hope am right.

Aah ii ni ọnọ wuẹle gbi ugan si ebhohiẹ. (You don’t argue about a dream with its dreamer.)

Ọbhẹbhẹn yyọ ghe khi ena ọle rri era’ẹn fiọ, ghe ọnọ to khian ni ọle bha lẹn ẹlo bhọ. (A mad man says he only dropped his fire on this spot, but he knows nothing of fire ravaging the forest.)

Aah kha rẹkhan ẹkpẹn khian, Aah ki li elamhẹn; Aah kha rẹkhan ẹbhe khian, Aah ki li ebeh. (A companion of tiger will feed on meat but a companion of goat will eat leaves.)

Ebale kha sike ebgi unu gbe, ọ’ ii ji Aah le. (Food that is too close to the mouth is difficult to eat.)

Ọba ii de Esan, Ọzọloa ii ri Ẹdo. (No Benin monarch visits Esan land, just as Ọba Ọzọloa who was slain in Esan will never return to Benin.)

Ọgbihiagha bhi uhọmhọn nain ọka yyọ ghe ọhle lẹn otu si ọhle. (The dreadlocked maize insists it knows its age mates.)

Eni ediọn kha le, enai ẹlimhin ki khọn. (When the elders eat, the spirits are full.)

Ọnọ ii mhọn ọmọn ii mhọn oruan. (The one who has no child cannot have an in-law.)

rabzy:

Aah ii ni ọnọ wuẹle gbi ugan si ebhohiẹ. (You don’t argue about a dream with its dreamer.)

I like this one.

rabzy:

Thanks for bringing this up,

I am quite good with Yoruba proverbs because i was bron in Lagos and i could speak the Yoruba language well, i came to appreciate and love the beauty of the language because it has really been developed and expanded.

I speak Esan to a reasonable degree, then i started also taking note of the proverbs my parents used at home, so i decided to look for more and it has been rewarding, so many beautiful tots expressed in elegant manner.

Altho the lack of a common lingua-franca has made it quite challenging to master the language, especially Esan that has myriads of dialects, Does Bini have different dialects too?

Also, what does a Bini man says he speaks, does he speak Edo or he speaks Bini. I recently argues with an Esan colleague that the language is Edo not Bini, i hope am right.

The highly centralized nature of the Benin monarchy has ensured little or no difference in the Edo language by its speakers. Everyone that speak the Edo/Bini language says the same thing. You will however notice some Oza and Iyeke-Orhiomwon accent  and this to a very negligible extent.No dialect in Edo language.
Some years back,as undergraduates in a Nigerian university, my Esan friend and I were talking up two Esan girls of incredible beauty(Esan girls can be extremely beautiful)and they lapsed into Esan to talk to themselves(the girls). My friend said he did not understand what they were saying. I understood everything.They were speaking,as he said,Igueben. Maybe I can call Igueben a dialect of the Bini language!
The Biniman speaks Edo.The word`Benin`or `Bini`is unknown to Edos.The origin has been attributed to Omonoyan(Oranmiyan)to describe the land he sojourned. And some other people say it is Hausa from `Birnin`.No two or more Bini people having a conversation would ever use the words Benin city and Bini. The city is `Oredo`and the language is `Edo`.You were right.

Ubi e ra ya kha me ayenho ighe ulomwan rhe ore-it is slap that you use to tell a deaf person that there are executioners(traditional)outside.

Owa okhokho ma na se ihe-the chicken is not considered load in the house.

Agha ven ne oto gha vbe-when the wrestling starts the ground gets wider.

Ai ye unu khue adaze.Evbien oya e ra rue re-you do not verbally ask a gentleman to leave.You do things that will make him leave.

Igho e ro ma gie ovbokhan rue ebo-it is money that stops the child from making bad traditional medicine(voodoo).

Aserhie ihen ebo ai serhie erhunmwun-you revoke a curse you do not revoke a prayer.

Uhunmwun agbon agbon nare-It is on the world that the world eats(we outdo our competitors to get ahead).Said of 419ers,corrupt officials etc

Amaze uhunmwun no wegbe ai le odion rhe-if you do not have a strong head you do not come as the eldest child.

Erhen ye gbe egui no ye ewu ematon ama we okhokho no sukpekho-fire kills the tortoise that wears iron talk less of a chicken that is combustible.

Aramwen ne vben akon ka se isi ogui-It is the toothless animal that first get to the fruit place.

Igban no so atata obo magia rhie no rhe owe-the thorn that pierced the palm prevents one from taking out the thorn in the foot.

Eke ne oto ye ere na mua evben even-it is where there is no land that people argue about wrestling.

Agha mue okhokho vbe irhu evben oma ye ihien yen omwan-when taking a hen from its brood it will claw at you.

Ugbe na deghe gho de rhue omwan aro-the stone(missile)one sees coming cannot blind one.

Na setin gbe era mien amwen-it is the one you can beat(superior to)that you can take his wife.

Eken o de ne ovbie ewe mu hin-it is the fallen wall that allowed a little goat to climb on it.

Ovban ne egbe da rue evbin kho-the person who abhors pain,shame does not commit evil.

Egbe wenren ugboloko ru uwere-a skinny body has bones inside.

Eto gha son oren eke nugbe aro lai-the bushy hair knows where the forehead is.

Vbe na mien akuragha he e rana gbe ite ga re-it is how you find the jackal that you clear the bush around it.

Ai ye omon gbe azagha-you do not treat/handle children carelessly.

Noyaen akhe gbe akhe nona se ede ehi-it is the owner of the pot(clay)that determine the pot`s destiny.

Evbo na yinrin e ra kho-you imitate the place of your residence.

Ailele evbin no khien owon-we do not care about what turned into honey(the ends justify the means).

Evbagbe ma wu,ai mu fie ekpo-if the thing you are killing is not dead,you do not put it in a bag(only claim victory when it is certain).

Omeni Miri amani onye Igbo aghon aghirin---If rain does not beat an Igbo indigene, he never buys the mat for shielding off rain.