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African Proverbs—A Collection of
My Favorites
These come from
West Africa—Thanks to Melissa who is teaching in Mali.
Talking doesn't
fill the basket in the farm (Success requires
planning and hard work.)
Don't insult the crocodile until you cross the water. (Be careful
about criticizing others.)
Only a knife knows what the inside of a coco-yam looks like. (Those
who investigate and research something understand the subject.)
A big blanket encourages sleeping in the morning. (Luxury encourages
Idleness. If you have worked hard and made wise choices, you will
find contentment.)
A bird that is eating guinea-corn keeps quiet. (Someone going about
his regular business will not create a disturbance. Dedicate yourself
to a task.)
Rats don't dance in the cat's doorway. (Don't invite trouble.)
A hippopotamus can be made invisible in dark water. (Ignorance can
lead to potential danger. It is important to be informed and alert.)
If your house is burning, there is not time to go hunting.
(Priorities are important in planning activities.)
This one was
made popular by Hillary Clinton:
It takes a village
to raise a child. (West Africa)
African Proverbs
Zaire – The Congo
Lower your head modestly while
passing, and you will harvest bananas.
No matter how full the river, it
still wants to grow.
Do not dispose of the monkey's tail
before he is dead.
Love is like a baby: it needs to be
treated tenderly.
What is said over the dead lion's
body could not be said to him alive.
Children are the reward of life.
The teeth are smiling, but is the
heart?
Great events may stem from words of
no importance.
Being well dressed does not prevent
one from being poor.
Little by little grow the bananas.
You do not teach the paths of the
forest to an old gorilla.
A little subtleness is better than a
lot of force.
A pretty basket does not prevent
worries.
Two birds disputed about a kernel,
when a third swooped down and carried it off.
The son shoots a leopard; the father
is proud.
Man is like palm-wine: when young,
sweet but without strength; in old age, strong but harsh.
When the bee comes to your house, let
her have beer; you may want to visit the bee's house some day.
No matter how long the night, the day
is sure to come.
He, who is free of faults, will never
die.
If you tell people to live together,
you tell them to quarrel.
Zaire—the Congo
A single bracelet does not jingle.
The friends of our friends are our
friends.
Wood may remain ten years in the
water, but it will never become a crocodile.
Let him speak who has seen with his
eyes.
Those who are absent are always
wrong.
Ashanti, Ghana
Rain beats a leopard's skin, but it
does not wash out the spots.
Wood already touched by fire is not
hard to set alight.
Only when you have crossed the river,
can you say the crocodile has a lump on his snout.
If you are in hiding, don't light a
fire.
One falsehood spoils a thousand
truths.
When a man is wealthy, he may wear an
old cloth.
Do not call the forest that shelters
you a jungle.
Hunger is felt by a slave and hunger
is felt by a king.
The moon moves slowly, but it crosses
the town.
The ruin of a nation begins in the
homes of its people.
The poor man and the rich man do not
play together.
There is no medicine to cure hatred.
It is the calm and silent water that
drowns a man.
It's a bad child who does not take
advice.
When you follow in the path of your
father, you learn to walk like him.
When a woman is hungry, she says,
Roast something for the children that they may eat."
Ashanti, Ghana
When you are rich, you are hated;
when you are poor, you are despised.
What is bad luck for one man is good
luck for another.
He who cannot dance will say:
"The drum is bad."
Fire and gunpowder do not sleep
together.
No one tests the depth of a river
with both feet
It is no shame at all to work for
money.
Money is sharper than a sword.
It is the fool's sheep that break
loose twice.
When a man is coming toward you, you
need not say: "Come here."
Even though the old man is strong and
hearty, he will not live forever.
When a king has good counselors, his
reign is peaceful.
By the time the fool has learned the
game, the players have dispersed.
Baguirmi
The humble pay for the mistakes of
their betters.
You are beautiful because of your
possessions.
A man with too much ambition cannot
sleep in peace.
Lesotho
It is best to bind up the finger
before it is cut.
If the palm of the hand itches it
signifies the coming of great luck.
Buganda
When the moon is not full, the stars
shine more brightly.
He who hunts two rats, catches none.
If you burn a house, can you conceal
the smoke?
A strawberry blossom will not sweeten
dry bread.
When the master is absent, the frogs
hop into the house.
He who is bitten by a snake fears a
lizard.
By trying often, the monkey learns to
jump from the tree.
The heart of the wise man lies quiet
like limpid water.
Cameroon
If you do not step on the dog's tail,
he will not bite you.
The cricket cries, the year changes.
When the vine entwines your roof, it
is time to cut it down.
Thought breaks the heart.
Knowledge is better than riches.
He who asks questions, cannot avoid
the answers
Rain does not fall on one roof alone.
The flood takes him in, and the ebb
takes him out.
A man's wealth may be superior to
him.
Ethiopia
What is inflated too much, will burst
into fragments.
Restless feet may walk into a snake
pit.
To one who does not know, a small
garden is a forest.
Ethiopia
Snake at your feet - a stick at your
hand!
The witness of a rat is another rat.
A fool looks for dung where the cow
never browsed.
He who learns, teaches.
The cattle is as good as the pasture
in which it grazes.
A fool will pair an ox with an
elephant.
Evil enters like a needle and spreads
like an oak tree.
One who runs alone cannot be outrun.
A close friend can become a close
enemy.
Cactus is bitter only to him who
tastes of it.
The frog wanted to be as big as the
elephant, and burst.
There is no one who became rich
because he broke a holiday, and no one who became fat because he broke a
fast.
One who recovers from sickness,
forgets about God.
When the heart overflows, it comes
out through the mouth.
A partner in the business will not
put an obstacle to it.
When spider webs unite, they can tie
up a lion.
If the heart is sad, tears will flow.
Unless you call out, who will open
the door?
He who digs too deep for a fish, may
come out with a snake.
Confiding a secret to an unworthy
person is like carrying grain in a bag with a hole.
Ethiopia
A loose tooth will not rest until
it's pulled out.
The dog I bought, bit me; the fire I
kindled, burned me.
A blade won't cut another blade; a
cheat won't cheat another cheat.
If relatives help each other, what
evil can hurt them?
A home without a woman is like a barn
without cattle.
The fool speaks, the wise man
listens.
A cat may go to a monastery, but she
still remains a cat!
Dine with a stranger but save your
love for your family.
A too modest man goes hungry.
If you offend, ask for pardon; if
offended, forgive.
He who conceals his disease cannot
expect to be cured.
A fool and water will go the way they
are diverted.
Where there is no shame, there is no
honor.
Advise and counsel him; if he does
not listen, let adversity teach him.
He who wants to barter, usually knows
what is best for him.
Anticipate the good so that you may
enjoy it.
She who does not yet know how to
walk, cannot climb a ladder.
Clothes put on while running come off
while running.
When a fool is cursed, he thinks he
is being praised.
A cow gave birth to a fire: she
wanted to lick it, but it burned; she wanted to leave it, but she could
not because it was her own child.
One scoops with a scoop.
Galla
What has been blown away, cannot be
found again.
The fool is thirsty in the midst of
water.
Even over cold pudding, the coward
says ~'It will burn my mouth."
What one hopes for is always better
than what one has.
A single stick may smoke, but it will
not burn.
As the wound inflames the finger, so
thought inflames the mind.
Ghana
If you find no fish, you have to eat
bread.
Guinea
He who does not cultivate his field,
will die of hunger.
A cow that has no tail should not try
to chase away flies.
One camel does not make fun of the
other camel's hump.
The man on his feet carries off the
share of the man sitting down.
Around a flowering tree, one finds
many insects.
The toad likes water, but not when
it's boiling.
Knowledge is like a garden: if it is
not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.
To make preparations does not spoil
the trip.
When a needle falls into a deep well,
many people will look into the well, but few will be ready to go down
after it.
A good deed is something one returns.
To have two eyes is cause for pride;
but to have one eye is better than to have none.
Ivory Coast
A little leaven smoothes away the
whole lump.
Ivory Coast
Too much discussion means a quarrel.
Mutual affection gives each his
share.
Mutual gifts cement friendship.
It takes two to make a quarrel.
He who talks incessantly talks
nonsense.
Kenya
After a foolish deed comes remorse.
He who receives a gift does not
measure.
He who does not know one thing knows
another.
Because a man has injured your goat,
do not go out and kill his bull.
Do not say the first thing that comes
to your mind
A man who continually laments is not
heeded.
Talking with one another is loving
one another.
Try this bracelet: if it fits you
wear it; but if it hurts you, throw it away no matter how shiny.
Absence makes the heart forget.
If a dead tree falls, it carries with
it a live one.
Virtue is better than wealth.
He who is unable to dance says that
the yard is stony.
One finger alone cannot kill even a
louse.
There is no phrase without a double
meaning.
Hearts do not meet one another like
roads.
Kenya
One does not slaughter a calf before
its mother's eyes.
There is no cure that does not cost.
Seeing is different from being told.
It is the duty of children to wait on
elders, and not the elders on children.
Thunder is not yet rain.
Soon found soon lost.
Home affairs are not talked about on
the public square.
Good millet is known at the harvest.
Liberia
Do not measure the timbers for your
house in the forest.
Though the palm tree in the jungle is
big, who knows how big its yield will be?
A little rain each day will fill the
rivers to overflowing.
Let your love be like the misty rain,
coming softly, but flooding the river.
The dog's bark is not might, but
fright.
If you try to cleanse others - like
soap, you will waste away in the process!
Madagascar
Indecision is like the stepchild: if
he doesn't wash his hands, he is called dirty; if he does, he is wasting
the water.
Life is a shadow and a mist; it
passes quickly by, and is no more.
Don't kick a sleeping dog.
Sorrow is like a precious treasure,
shown only to friends.
Love is like young rice:
transplanted, still it grows.
Madagascar
Don't take another mouthful before
you have swallowed what is in your mouth.
Cross the river in a crowd and the
crocodile won't eat you.
Mauritania
He who wears too fine clothes, shall
go about in rags.
Before eating, open thy mouth.
A cutting word is worse than a
bowstring; a cut may heal, but the cut of the tongue does not.
Too large a morsel chokes the child.
One must talk little, and listen
much.
Not all the flowers of a tree produce
fruit.
Two eyes see better than one.
He who loves money must labor.
He who begins a conversation, does
not foresee the end.
Nigeria
Familiarity breeds contempt; distance
breeds respect.
The dying man is not saved by
medicine.
Some birds avoid the water, ducks
seek it.
Niger
A proverb is the horse of
conversation: when the conversation lags, a proverb revives it.
If you watch your pot, your food will
not burn.
A wise man who knows proverbs can
reconcile difficulties.
Before one cooks, one must have the
meat.
African Proverbs (19th C.)
The languages of Africa are rich in
proverbs. These examples were collected in the 19th century and reflect
traditional values. They were collected and translated by various
Europeans and edited by the famous explorer Richard F. Burton in 1865 in
Wit and Wisdom from West Africa.
Wolof:
The house-roof fights with the rain,
but he who is sheltered ignores it.
To love the king is not bad, but a
king who loves you is better.
Allah does not destroy the men whom
one hates.
Oji (Ashanti):
If nothing touches the palm-leaves
they do not rustle. (Compare English "Where there's smoke there's
fire.")
He is a fool whose sheep runs away
twice.
Yoruba:
The man who has bread to eat does not
appreciate the severity of a famine.
Because friendship is pleasant, we
partake of our friend's entertainment; not because we have not enough to
eat in our own house.
When your neighbor's horse falls into
a pit, you should not rejoice at it, for your own child may fall into it
too.
The pot-lid is always badly off: the
pot gets all the sweet, the lid nothing but steam. (Said of slaves, who
work without pay.)
Efik:
His opinions are like water in the
bottom of a canoe, going from side to side.
You lament not the dead, but lament
the trouble of making a grave; the way of the ghost is longer than the
grave.
Some African Proverbs
1.
"The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on
those who kneel under them."
2.
"If a child washes his hands he could eat with kings."
3.
"When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a
walk."
4.
"A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his
own greatness."
5.
"An old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned
in a proverb."
6.
"The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the
ground said he would praise himself if no one else did."
7.
You can tell a ripe corn by its look."
8.
"A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a
failure does not prick its pride."
9.
"Those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a
benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble."
10.
"When a man says yes, his chi (personal god) says yes
also."
11.
"You must judge a man by the work of his hands."
12.
"The mouth which eats does not talk."
13.
"People should not talk while they are eating or pepper may
go down the wrong way."
14.
"A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very
day it hatches."
15.
"A child's fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam
which his mother puts into his palm."
16.
"As the dog said, 'If I fall down for you and you fall down
for me, it is playing.'"
17.
"If you don't stand for something, you will fall for
something."
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