Kupa kuturika

Kupa kunoita kuti mangwana unzowana vanokupa.

To give is to hang up.

Giving, to help others, is a good investment. Generosity is always rewarded.

In traditional times the act of hanging something up was a means of preserving or keeping something for future use. This was done in processes that included persevering meat by drying it (kugadzira chimukuyu) which is still common today in the form of biltong. It was also possible for none food stuff like animal skin mats, which were salted and then hung up somewhere or placed on a flat suface on a high place to dry. Both items would then be usable at a later time. Hence in comparing the act of giving to this process of preserving something for future use, our elders were merely stating that the act of giving means that one will benefit at a later stage from that act. Hence it is encouraged to give and share with others.

The proverb is used to motivate people to give and to view giving and generosity generally as a form of investment which comes back to the giver in due course. It can also be used to discourage others from being stingy.