Kupemberera gona nerinouraya amai; Kuchingamidza n’anga neinobata amai
To receive or entertain the witchdoctor including the one that ends up identifying your mother as the witch or to celebrate the expert who ends up killing your mother.
Tsanagudzo
Kufarira chinhu uchifunga kuti zvimwe chichaipira vamwe nyambisirwa chichaipira iwe muridzi.
What the Words Say
To receive or entertain the witchdoctor including the one that ends up identifying your mother as the witch or to celebrate the expert who ends up killing your mother.
What It Means
You must not celebrate something expecting misfortune for others because the misfortune might actually be yours.
Cultural Context
This proverb is expressed in two ways and uses the imagery of one who goes out of his way to attract a solution to a problem that they or the village is facing. The image is of one visiting a witchdoctor to sniff out a witch within the village. In doing so the person does not fully investigate their own home and family but already begins to celebrate that someone else will be caught as the troublemaker. Things turn when the troublemaker is found to be coming from his/her home.
How It's Used
The proverb is useful in two ways. The first is as a warning to not rejoice in with the expectations of other's misfortune. One should always wish well on others. The other use is to ensure one does not judge others without fully knowing themselves. It hence also becomes a warning that one must secure the home front before you make an attack abroad.