Explained: Poverty can make you dance naked at your in-laws’

This week Monday’s proverb of the day on our social media platforms was Poverty can make you dance at your in-laws, originally from the Bukusu proverb, kumutambo kukila wakhina ebukhwe.

This African proverb literally explained means that in times of extreme poverty, people may find themselves in situations where they have to do things that they would not normally do in order to survive, please others or just bear up with the situation because they have no other way out.

In this case, the proverb suggests that poverty can force someone to do embarrassing things in the presence of people who expect the highest form of respect.

In the African culture, one needs to present themselves with decorum and try as much to have there in-laws hold them in regard as possible. Therefore, someone, especially a man, dancing naked at their in-laws’ is the lowest form they can undergo.

Overall, this proverb, apart from requiring one to work hard and beat poverty, illustrates the importance of resilience and adaptability in the face of difficult circumstances.

WKT Reporter

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