What does the proverb “A goose is not a friend to a pig” mean?
This is an expression of an arrogant, narcissistic person in relation to a person of lower status, position in society, education. It’s like putting everyone in their place without the right to appeal. And on the part of a person with a low status in relation to a higher one, it’s like hopelessness.
At a military school, the teacher demands a student's record book in order to give a bad grade. He begins to press for pity: Well, comrade teacher! Teacher, wanting to stop the discussion: A goose is not a friend to a pig. Cadet: And I, you know, am such a goose that I can get along with any pig!
Apparently the berries are of a different breed. The goose walks proudly, waddles, and can fly into the sky. The pig mostly looks at his feet, rolls around in the mud, and grunts under his breath. This means that they are different by nature.
They say this about people when they have different worldviews and ways of life. And they also say that a drunk is no relation to a sober one.
The proverb about two unfriendly animals tells us, of course, not about a goose and a pig. And the animals are just given as a suitable example.
Yes, we really don’t often see any kind of close friendship between the Pig and the Geese. These are different categories of inhabitants of the Earth.
But the proverb speaks about people. As a rule, the following happens in folklore:
Pig- this is not a very attractive person with his spiritual qualities and habits. He is shameless, dirty, sloppy and ungrateful.
Goose- This is a dignified bird. All the dirt comes off instantly. And the goose doesn’t like dirt.
The proverb reminds us that friendship between opposites is very rare.
This proverb, translated into a modern way, tells us about different social strata of individuals, and the pig is one of its layers, and the goose is another.
A pig is an animal, and a goose is a bird, and essentially they have nothing in common, and in real life can talk about different people that a goose and a pig cannot be comrades.
A pig means an animal that eats table scraps and doesn’t care what it eats; it’s not for nothing that there is an expression that it eats like a pig. This means that she can often dig in the dirt and even wallow in puddles.
But the goose is a clean bird that eats grain and will not dig in the dirt.
Since ancient times, it was believed that the goose is a proud, one might say proud, bird. The one who walks importantly, cackles meaningfully, and generally behaves in such a way that one should give way to her. It can hiss at a person, even rush. In general, he considers himself a being of high rank. Unlike a goose, a pig needs to eat a little tasty and satisfying food and roll in the mud. In general, these are living beings with completely different ways of life and ideas about the world. They have little in common. Although they live in the same peasant yard. This is what they say about people who do not resemble each other, according to the same categories. One is a sublime intellectual, while the other would like to eat and drink. What could they have in common? Then this proverb is appropriate.
The debate about whether people are equal or not is old. Even the Russian people knew a long time ago that there is no equality and there cannot be. To prove this glorious thesis, today we will talk about the wonderful saying “A goose is not a friend to a pig,” we will reveal its meaning and, we hope, give convincing examples.
Origin
People are not equal. Even, it would seem, members of the same community - the peasant one. There are rumors that the expression was invented by the poor part of the peasantry in order to somehow call the richer part. Those who have money immediately become important and look at people “outside their circle” as dirt. Hence there are only pigs: they swim in a puddle, they can get little from life - losers. And other geese: clean, important, feed exclusively on grain, saying modern language, "successful people".
And so you think that the poor were so prone to self-abasement? If yes, then you are very mistaken. The saying “A goose is not a friend to a pig” contains a rather serious ironic moment. Remember that in the Russian tradition the image of a goose does not carry any positive characteristics. The goose is a symbol of empty conceit and self-importance. For example, the phrase: “I also want a goose!” I wouldn't want to be in this bird's shoes.
There is, however, an alternative hypothesis that it was the rich peasants who came up with the saying. Maybe so. In any case, the phrase has a double bottom. The interpretation depends on who interprets the phrase “A goose is not a friend to a pig.”
Meaning
It's easy to open. The proverb captures the undoubted fact that people with different social status, different interests will not be able to find common language. Folk wisdom believes that class differences are higher than human affection. Is everything so fatal?
Unfortunately, despite some crude expression, it reflects reality. And all because habit will always take its toll. Let's look at an example.
Financial misalliance
Of course, everyone may already be tired of this topic, but money still plays a serious role in our lives, so it is difficult to avoid such debates.
He is poor, she is rich. But the young people fell in love with each other so much that they couldn’t stand it. Let's say the comrades in love finally made it to the wedding. The question is, can they overcome their differences?
The girl is accustomed to a certain standard of living, and her new husband does not have the financial resources of a father. The young lady has to lower the bar of claims. Not everyone passes this test. In fact, there are many options for the development of events, but we will focus on three.
- The girl is good, and she will oppose what the expression “A goose is not a friend to a pig” dictates (its meaning has already been revealed).
- The girl is capricious, and the marriage doesn’t have much life left. This will only confirm the common truth of the saying.
- The boy himself is not the best example of human nature, so he will calmly take money from rich relatives. His behavior will refute the meaning of the saying in a perverse way.
Conclusion
In general, the expression “A goose is no friend to a pig” is in some way a litmus test in the moral sphere. If a person uses such an expression, then he secretly or openly divides people into categories depending on various criteria, which already characterizes him in a certain way.
Of course, let's not say that good man does not divide people into categories, groups, subgroups. We all have this sin behind us. But people are unforgivably mistaken when they perceive each new acquaintance through the prism of social, racial, financial and other prejudices, draw the appropriate conclusions and arrogantly throw at him the phrase: “The goose is not a friend to the pig.”
The goose is not a friend to the pig. The pig of all domestic mammals is the most highly organized creature, as has been proven by numerous studies; It’s just a pity that the pigs’ not too neat appearance blurs the picture a little. The goose (which has also been proven) is the most highly organized species among domestic birds. This fact makes the goose and the pig akin, but the first gives a head start to the second only because it carefully monitors its appearance. And one more significant point: both geese and pigs are able to anticipate their... death. But the Slavs do not have a “pig holiday”. The Tatars have a “goose holiday”. It is called Kaz-emyase, which translated means: “Goose help.” The holiday is ancient and its very name contains many meanings. Firstly, the goose - and this is not a pretty metaphor - is the breadwinner in Tatar villages. Secondly, if one of the families is going to slaughter their flock of geese, neighbors and relatives help with the work and the accompanying rituals. There is also a third, deeper meaning. As in any matter, Allah helps a Muslim in breeding geese; That is why the goose holiday is filled with rituals. The three holidays were slightly different, because it is known that even weddings in neighboring villages have differences, but the general “outline” always remains the same. First of all, the owners are waiting for winter to finally come into its own and severe frosts to set in. In addition, the goose holiday should not coincide with the Muslim fast, and therefore geese are often given several weeks of life before the end of the fast. Like any undertaking, the goose holiday is preceded by a prayer, which is read either by the elders or the mullah. The killing is in no way ritualistic in nature (after all, in fact, just goose meat is being prepared, which will feed the family until spring!), but cleaning the feathers from goose carcasses is already a whole ritual. Birds are plucked by women and representatives of the stronger half of humanity are not allowed to participate in the ritual of processing goose carcasses. But there will almost certainly be a game: one young guy will dress up as women's clothing and will try to enter the room where the geese are being plucked. He risks being recognized, however, if a forgery is discovered, he is in no hurry to retreat. And that's why. If he is caught, according to custom, he is covered in down; it should bring happiness. In general, they try to scatter goose down everywhere, as it marks the coming harvest year. An object of special reverence and even collecting are the tips of goose wings, kaz-konete, and even a child wants to get the largest and most beautiful wing. There is another “valor”: to steal one of the goose carcasses from women. There is little meaning in this, but it will be fun!.. Next comes the most important ritual. The goose carcasses cling to the rockers and the women carry them to the river. “Gose carriers” have a nickname - kilener (daughters-in-law) - in the old days they could only be unmarried women, and by the way they walk (geese are not a light burden!), how they behave, potential suitors were identified with their future wife. First, the carcasses are burned on a fire, and then the killener washes them in a running water river water; It is believed that goose meat then becomes “clean”. After “cleaning” the meat, a ritual dish is prepared from it - belyash - a large pie with goose and potatoes, placed in the middle of the festive table. The bottom of the belyash, belyash -tebe, as its most delicious part, also becomes the object of the game. Young people compete to see who gets the “tidbit.” At parties, aulak, which will follow this main one at weekly intervals during the long winter, the table will definitely be decorated with goose dishes as the main dishes (and the Tatars are known to have a rare gastronomic talent). Here's everything about the goose holiday in a nutshell. By the way, in any Tatar village, the first thing they will tell you is that “geese saved Rome.” And in general, according to local concepts, after the geese “leave”, the Tatar house becomes empty. The goose is even considered the “king of the court.” Goslings have been nurturing since their birth. Immediately after the yellow fluffy lump gets out of the shell into the world, it must be given warm milk, strong tea and fed with white bread, because the first days of the gosling are the most important for its future life. The main joy of the gosling is green grass, because if it is not grazed in nature, it will die. But terrible enemies await here: crows, cats and dogs. Geese - especially males - are warlike creatures, they jealously protect their offspring, but they do not always manage to protect their babies, and therefore in villages there is such a duty: kaz-ketuchese, “goose shepherd,” which is assigned to the most diligent children. In terms of intelligence, domestic geese can give a head start to hatchery geese, but still, the smartest geese are wild ones. For example, when a migrating flock settles down for the night, one gander remains “on duty”; So, in order not to fall asleep, he takes... a stone in his beak. If a stone falls, the sedated sentry immediately wakes up. "Mind" wild geese They try to pass it on to the family in the following way: when a flock of “savages” flies over the village, the housewife takes fresh straw, reads a prayer over it and runs to lay it on the geese who are sitting on their eggs, and they sit, by the way, for a long 30 days. The goose is given life from spring until the moment of the goose holiday. For the future, the owners leave only one gander, which they choose according to “neck height,” and two or three geese. Next summer, the lucky gander will be considered the leader, and among his harem he will still choose one and only favorite, “love” if you like, with whom he will develop a special relationship, understandable only to geese, in which tenderness is not the last place. Geese sense the impending murder (as well as a fire, an earthquake, and an attack by enemies - as happened in the case of Rome), and from the early morning of the holiday they begin to cackle loudly and tragically. The entire village is filled with an alarming hum, into which numerous goose voices merge. It cannot be said that the owner enjoys cutting his pets, but what to do if “the law says to eat goose meat”? And yet, despite the Koran, on the day of Kaz-emyase, a barely noticeable “sadness” is mixed into the fun. I noticed this in the village of Four Dvors, in the Mingalimov family. The family is large, it consists of 15 people, and five generations are represented in it, among which the elders of the clan are highly respected: Minzakir-aba and Mahira-apa. Minzakir Mingalimovich is the most revered babai in the village and everyone listens to his opinion without exception. And in his opinion, the goose is the main decoration of the farm, which, by the way, also has three cows, calves, ducks and chickens. This year the Mingalimovs raised 25 geese. This number is enough to feed their large family. In general, Tatar families keep flocks of 20 to 60 heads, and those who keep a lot of geese usually sell them. Goose is not a pleasure for the poor; the local geese, and now there is a fashion for the “Hungarian” breed, “pull” 5-7 kilograms, or even more, and it turns out that one goose carcass costs at least 500 rubles. In a not very prosperous region, finding a buyer for such a product is a problem, and this means that geese are not able to improve the financial situation of the family, especially since the collective farm does not pay much wages. And this bird is troublesome to keep. And yet, according to Minzakir-aba, the goose is a blessing at home. After all, what other animal or bird in this world deserves its own holiday?
