vae of wood-beetles (?); ɔxɔ-ehe
[ ˥ ˥ ˩ ˥ ] “menstruation worm”:
pains before menstruation.
ɔxɔʋ̃ɔ [ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] a sick person; cf.
xuɔʋ̃i [ ˩ ˥ ].
ɔxɔxɔ [ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] fowl; hen; ɔxɔxɔ ʋ-ibiɛ
[ ˩ ˥ ˩ ˥ ˦ ] “hen and chicken”: the
Pleiades (N.W.Th.).
ɔxuɛ̃ [ ˥ ˥ ] a tree, Brachystegia
eurycoma (? F.D. list has ok-
wen); very hardy, like oxixã [ ˥ ˥ ˩ ].
ɔxuɛ [ ˩ ˥ ] expensive food; “dandy-
chop”; uri‿ɔxuɛ gbe [ ˩ ˥ ˥ ˦ ˧ ] you
eat too much costly food!
ɔxuɛ̃niɛzɔ [ ˩ ˩ ˩ ˩ ] “law-suit-answer-
er”: defendant; cf. xuɛ̃niɛ [ ˩ ˥ ],
ɛzɔ [ ˥ ˥ ]; v. tie [ / ].
Ɔxwahɛ [ ˩ / ˩ ] (1) a river. (2) an
ihɛ̃ said to have been a great
hero and magician during the
reign of the Ɔba Ɛwuaɽe [ ˥ ˦ ˩ ].
He then transformed himself
into the river bearing the same
name. His cult is one of the
most important cults in Benin;
v. ahĩaʋ̃ɛ [ ˥ (4-1) ˩ ].
ɔxwɛ [ ˩ ˩ ] parrot; among parrots
there are believed to be some
that report anything they may
see in a house to witches; v.
eba [ ˩ ˥ ].
ɔxwɛ̃xwɛ̃ [ ˥ ˩ ˩ ] a thorny creeper.
ɔyara [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ] a man who is careless
in behaviour or untidy, e.g. with
remains of spilt food on his
garments. The reproach of being
an ɔyara is mostly made towards
poor people; ɔyara‿uxĩ, ɣe ʋ-uy-
unwɔʋ̃ɛ fũ-egbe hia [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˥ ˦ ˩ ˥ ˥ ˩ ˩ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˦ ]
“you are an untidy man, look
how you have taken (ya [ ˥ ])
soup smeared (fuɛ̃ [ ˥ ]) all (over)
the body!”: look how you have
smeared yourself all over with
soup!
