Pembera wabaya

Munhu ngaazvirumbidze kuti agona kushanda kana apedza basa racho.

Praise yourself after you have stabbed the prey or enemy with a spear.

One can only celebrate once they have completed the task.

In traditional times one of the key activities towards earning a living and providing for a family and village was hunting. This was done with a bow and arrow, a spear, traps of different kinds and in the case of birds, even sticks and stones would do. The best meat, in terms of size and ability to hunt down was antelope which required a spear in order to bring down. One would normally hunt with others or with dogs. Yet the best hunters could hunt on their own and were admired and respected by all. These hunting qualities could even be rewarded with a wife as families would all like to have a hunter amongst their midst so that they would never run out of meat. Such hunters or aspiring hunters could often get boastful before they even enter the forests. This was not encouraged as they could back empty handed and have to face up to their boastful ways. The same can be said of the warrior at war as they could not claim to have killed or conquered an enemy unless they have actually stabbed and killed the enemy. This proverb was developed particularly from this scenario as our ancestors warned that one must conquer first and then talk of themselves as a brave warrior or hunter once the prize has been secured.

The proverb is used to admonish people against boasting or celebrating an expectant result before they have completed the task required for the result to be secured. It can also be applied retrospectively to remind one who has lost or come back empty handed that they should have not taken the task for granted.