Language and society: El que no tiene de inga tiene de mandinga

Abstract

This article explores both linguistically and culturally the saying "Who does not have of Inga has of Mandinga". One of its purposes is to determine its origin and to establish when it was first employed in Peru. Aalso aims to demonstrate that the syntactic unity in question is not a saying, adagio, proverb or famous phrase, but a saying. Finally, it is demonstrated that the referred expression was not generated in circumstances linked to our cultural evolution and that Ricardo Palma was not its creator as it was supposed until today. This study uses materials from literature and history and works with cards that serve as support for the demonstration of its hypotheses.