Spill the water, keep the calabash, and you can still fetch more.

Yoruba proverb, Ellis, The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples (1894), ch. XIII, no. 146

What it means

A loss is not the end as long as the thing that carries you is still whole. Health, skill and nerve are the calabash; results are only the water. Protect the vessel and go back to the well.

The source

"Spill the water, keep the calabash, and you can still fetch more." This Yoruba proverb is recorded in Ellis, The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples (1894), ch. XIII, no. 146. Translated by Ellis, 1894.

"If one is carrying water, and it gets spilt, so long as the calabash is not broken one can still get more."

Ellis, 1894, Ellis, The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples (1894), ch. XIII, no. 146. Text read at archive.org.

Who said it

Proverbs of the world (Every age). Sayings from the Latin, Greek, Norse, Japanese, Chinese and more, each traced to an old source in its own language.

Questions

What does "Spill the water, keep the calabash, and you can still fetch more." mean?: A loss is not the end as long as the thing that carries you is still whole. Health, skill and nerve are the calabash; results are only the water. Protect the vessel and go back to the well.
Who said "Spill the water, keep the calabash, and you can still fetch more."?: Yoruba proverb. Source: Ellis, The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples (1894), ch. XIII, no. 146.
What is the original wording?: If one is carrying water, and it gets spilt, so long as the calabash is not broken one can still get more (Ellis, 1894). Translated by Ellis, 1894.
Is "Spill the water, keep the calabash, and you can still fetch more." on a shirt?: Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.

Cite this line

"Spill the water, keep the calabash, and you can still fetch more." (Yoruba proverb, Ellis, The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples (1894), ch. XIII, no. 146, trans. Ellis, 1894). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/spill-the-water-keep-the-calabash-and-you