PROVERB 50

Except From   A discussion of 250 Deep Yoruba (African)  Proverbs
by
Alaba J. Babalola

Available for Sale at: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/9785946703

PROVERB 50
Whether it is the squirrel that owns the farm or the trap, the meeting (of both parties) will be at 'Ẹsẹ-ogbeji'.

TEASER THOUGHTS
Contest about ownership of a domain as far as right to power and authority is concerned.

YORUBA ROOTS
B'ikun lo l'oko ni, bi takute ni, ipade d'ẹsẹ-o-gbeji.

EXPLANATION/MEANING.
Ownership in this sense refers to right to control activities on the farm and to call the shots
The authority and power of the trap comes from the farmer or any person e.g. a hunter who has been given the opportunity to place a trap or set a snare in a farm in order to catch a game. The authority and power of the squirrel derives from its forebears' habitation of the farmland and their familiarity with it.
So, "ownership" must be determined and it must be done at the place of confrontation between the squirrel and the trap - At Ẹsẹ-ogbeji* - the proverbial footpath that can only accommodate only a pair of foot. Thus, here both the trap and the squirrel are personified or are seen as human beings with two feet each. 
At Ẹsẹ-ogbeji, the place of confrontation, the squirrel stands face to face with the trap. There the contest must be decided. One person must consume the other. The one who consumes the other is victorious and the "owner of the farm".
The battle begins. The trap comes ready with a bait, a few peanut or a palm fruit. The squirrel focuses on the peanuts. Sometimes it's lucky and walks away happy when the trap is not well set. But more often than not, it gets caught in the snare. The trap wins the battle. And it is really not the trap's victory, but that of the superior intelligence working for it.

MORE
This proverb can be used in a contest about authority and power or right of ownership or control, between two people or entity, which has not yet been determined or settled. One person would say the proverb to the other one in a way suggesting that they should both be ready to subject themselves to the test of ownership which in today's world may take the form of a legal battle in the court of law. It may also take the form of a less civil settlement, or more of a physical combat, as the case may be.

DEFINITIONS
Bi -If (CONJ) - as abbreviated in "b'ikun"
Ikun - A kind of squirrel noted for its deafness and which enjoys eating peanuts (N)
Oko - A Farm (N)
Takute - A snare or trap (N) - other names in Yoruba - Pakute, Ebiti)
Ipade - Meeting (V)
Di -Till (PREP), or until, or will be at - as abbreviated in "d'ese-ogbeji"
Ẹsẹ-ogbeji - A footpath that can only accommodate a pair of legs*

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