At this point, there are few books that I know of and want that I do not have. Many of my new purchases are surprises where I did not know the book previously existed. One exception has been Proverbs and Sayings of the Oromo People of Ethiopia and Kenya with English Translations by John Cotter. The publisher’s website lists the book for $350 and often it shows up around that amount. Recently, I came across a much more reasonably priced copy.
Cotter also has a similarly titled Salt for Stew: Proverbs and Sayings of the Oromo People of Ethiopia and Kenya with English Translations. I did buy a copy of that book near Addis Ababa University a few years ago and my fear was always that they were the same. I was not ready to spend $350 to test the theory. When abroad, I also had not been able to find a copy to look at. Although my copy of Salt and Stew is not here, with this price I was willing to test it out.
This is the first proverb book I have looked at here but it is a relatively large genre. Whether it is through academic study in articles or simple collections of sayings it is not difficult to find them. t over 4,000 proverbs though, this is a substantial book to go through, and I have not finished it yet. Mammaaksa are an interesting set of things to learn. Like in any language there is the literal meaning of the words and the figurative language of what it means. Often these seem fairly straightforward but obviously a lot of cultural knowledge is necessary. I have a few books in this genre that will show up in the future. Still this is one of the most comprehensive in afaan Oromoo and English.