
Yàgg du sabbu waaye dina fóot.
Le temps n’est pas le savon, mais il nettoie les vêtements (Proverbe Ouolof – Sénégal, Gambie). – Le temps guérit toutes les blessures.
Time isn’t soap, but it will clean clothes. (Wolof proverb – Senegal, Gambia). – Time heals all wounds.

Fascinating proverb and cleverly worded. I noticed that the word for soap in Wolof was similar to it in Swahili which is “Sabuni”.
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This is most likely an Africanization of the Arabic word for soap which is “sabun”. Senegal having been converted to Islam, and Arab traders being on the Eastern coast of Africa would corroborate that fact.
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I could see that making sense if it was a direct cognate from Arabic. I’m sure the Muslim-majority aspect and Arab traders in those respective parts of Africa could play a factor. Swahili has words directly based on Arabic like “kitabu”, “sheria”, and “magharibi” to name a few which are based on “kitab”, “sharia”, and “maghreb” (book, law, and west) respectively.
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