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Xitsonga proverb · Xitsonga
Literally: “The child of a snake is a snake.”
Meaning: Offspring take after their parents and their stock; expect a person to resemble the family or lineage they come from. Often carries a cautionary edge — the child of a dangerous or troublesome person is likely to be the same.
Background
A widely used Tsonga proverb drawing on the everyday observation that a snake's young is itself a snake. It belongs to a broad southern-African family of 'like begets like' sayings and reflects the strong Tsonga emphasis on lineage and inherited character.
How it is used
Said when someone's behaviour mirrors that of a parent or relative — often warningly, as when judging whether to trust a person on the strength of their family's reputation, or wryly when a child displays a parent's trait.