29 A Foot Has No Nose


A Foot Has No Nose

There is a thought-provoking tale of a mother and her son. The mother called her son and sent him down to the main road a short distance from his home. She instructed him to take with him a bucket and to collect some dry cow dung on his way, this would be used to make a fire. He was to invite a group of seasonal workers to share a meal he would cook for them.

The thought of making an open fire outside at midday, cooking in a large three-legged pot in that intense heat, was sufficient to upset even an angel. The son did not manage to conceal his feelings from his mother and, after serving the group, she called him to the veranda where she usually sat sewing and knitting.
Looking straight into the eyes of her son she said "Tsholofelo, why did you sulk when I requested you to prepare a meal for those poor destitute people?"

Despite his attempt to deny her allegation, or to make any excuses for his behaviour, his mother, gave him a firm look, and said "Lonao ga lo na nko" - "A foot has no nose". It means: you cannot detect what trouble may lie ahead of you.

Had he denied this group of people a meal, it may have happened that, in his future travels, he may have found himself at the mercy of those very individuals. As if that was not enough to shame him, his mother continued: "Motho ke motho ka motho yo mongwe".

The literal meaning: "A person is a person because of another person".

We are all what we are, and whom we are because of how we treat other people. Every action in our life plays a part in moulding the person you become in the days that lie ahead.


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