Counsel to a Bridegroom

^{translated from the Mandinka by Bala Saho}

Nderi oh. Nderi Kumba Mbayi! 
I am afraid of a fight between co-wives, 
Nderi oh. Nderi Kumba Mbayi! 
I am afraid of a fight between co-wives, 
Kumba Mbayi. 
You can harvest the bitter tomato, 
But do not uproot it. 
If you insult her, do not touch her parents, 
If you insult her, do not touch her roots.

Maañoo kee la Yaamaroo 

Nderi oo Nderi Kumba Mbayi! 
Nmaŋ hañi sinaayaa keloo le ñaa 
Nderi oo, Nderi Kumba Mbayi! 
Maŋ hañi sinayaa keloo le ñaa, 
Kumba Mbayi. 
Jaato kati, 
Kanaa a suloo wuri 
Niŋ I be a neŋ na, kanaa a kooma ma, 
Niŋ I be a neŋ na, kanaa a suloo ma. 

Copyright © 2024 by Bala Saho. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on February 1, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets. 

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“‘Counsel to a Bridegroom’ is a traditional Mandinka folk poem
that has been passed down through many generations, going back at least one hundred years. As an archivist and researcher, Dr. Bala Saho has collected poems, songs, folklore, and proverbs from the Mandinka people of The Gambia, West Africa, his ancestral homeland.”
—Honorée Fanonne Jeffers