Wisdom Of Africa
Proverbs are an integral part of African culture. Passed on from
generation to generation for centuries, they are still in use today and very much
part of everyday speech. Proverbs are used to illustrate ideas, reinforce
arguments, and deliver messages of inspiration, consolation and advice.
By: Jan Matti Mawunyo
By: Jan Matti Mawunyo
The great Nigerian author Chinua Achebe once wrote: “Proverbs are
the palm oil with which words are eaten”.
In need of inspiration? Lost for words? Let an African proverb say
it for you!
Every country on the continent is represented. We hope you will
enjoy these proverbs and find them very useful.
1. No matter how long and winding the road might
be, it will always lead you to your destination.
2. A leader is he who tells his people what they
must hear, not what they want to hear.
3. You may be disappointed if you fail but you are
Doomed if you do not try.
4. Life without battle is life without victory.
5. A cat in it house has the teeth of a lion.
6. He who does not know you, will not value you.
7. It is in the house of a coward that people
gather and point at the grave of yesterday’s warrior.
8. Do not turn away from the rain to hide in a
pond of water.
9. A person previously bitten by a snake dreads
the sight of a long rope or a worm.
10.
A determined hunter is never frightened in the
jungle.
11.
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a
single step.
12.
If you want to smear somebody’s face with mud,
be prepared to dirty your hands.
13.
Evil prospers because good men fail to act.
14.
It is better to eat mushroom in freedom than
to eat meat in slavery.
15.
It is the dead man who has everybody on his
side.
16.
Only a goat that is tired of life invites a
lion to a dinner.
17.
He who does not know where he is going will
never know whether he has arrived.
18.
A palm wine tapper does not stop tapping palm
wine because he once fell from the top of a palm wine tree.
19.
An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an
army of lions led by a sheep.
20.
It is a foolish fly that is buried with a
corpse.
21.
If you want to drink clear water from a well,
be there first.
22.
A man who does no hard work will never know
the value of rest.
23.
The sun will shine on those who are standing
before it shines on those who are sitting.
24.
A man is taller than every mountain he climbs.
25.
If you waste time, surely time will waste you.
26.
The dead man doses not know the value of his
coffin.
27.
There are no shortcuts o the top of a palm
tree
28.
Success is a ladder which cannot be climbed
with hands in your pocket.
29.
If you kill
time, you’ll bury opportunities.
30.
A man who’s putting on his armour for war,
should not boast like a man who’s taking it off.
31.
If you are digging a pit for your enemy, don’t
make it too deep, for you may fall into it.
32.
Before buying a house, see who your neighbors
will be.
33.
A person who sells eggs does not start a fight
in the market.
34.
When a tortoise embarks on a journey he
doesn’t ask for directions, because he doesn’t want his enemies to know where
he’s going.
35.
No matter blunt a machete, it should never be
held by a mad person.
36.
If you close your eyes to facts, you will
learn through accidents.
37.
Tell your friend a lie; if he keeps it secret,
and then tell him the truth.
38.
He who guards his lips guards his life.
39.
Move like a
chameleon: look in front, watch behind.
40.
If you have a poor father, that is destiny; if
you have a poor father-in-law, that is your mistake.
41.
Never dump your old pot just because you have
bought a new one.
42.
He who defecates along the way will surely
meet flies on the way back.
43.
One only realizes the importance of a well
when water dries up
44.
Until a crab finds itself in a very hot pot of
soup, it will never understand that water can be both cold and hot.
45.
Whether the egg crashes on the coconut or the
coconut crashes on the egg, it is the egg that suffers.
46.
If the throat can grant passage to a knife,
the aunts should wonder how to expel it.
47.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
48.
If you want to improve on your money, lend
someone money.
49.
The fall of a dead leaf is a warning to the
green ones.
50.
When a blind man tells you he is going to
throw a stone, know that his foot is on the stone.
51.
If you live by the river you can hear the crab
cough.
52.
When a cock invites a cockroach for a birthday
party, he has prepared a dinner for himself.
53.
Never let a handshake pass the elbow.
54.
The cockroach cannot be innocent in a court
where the hen is judge.
55.
The worm that exposes itself on the ground is
waiting for a lucky bird to devour it.
56.
Talking is cheap until you hire a lawyer to do
it for you.
57.
Be
careful when you are sharing a calabash of porridge with a toothless man.
58.
The old lady feels uneasy when dry bones are
mentioned in a proverb.
59.
When two elephants fight, it is the grass that
suffers.
60.
Travel makes one a stranger.
61.
Never underestimate the power of stupid people
in large groups.
62.
The man who defeats on the roadside often
forgets; the one who steps in the faeces never forgets.
63.
When they told the goat that the butcher was
dead, she asked: “really? And is the butcher’s knife dead too.
64.
Troubles are like babies: the more they are
nursed, the better they grow.
65.
Don not move an ancient boundary stone or
encroach on the fields of the fatherless.
66.
Don’t question a blind man for buying a
mirror; it must serve him some purpose.
67.
You do not verify from your mother the
authenticity of what your grandmother has told you.
68.
Despite not a snail for its slow and struggling
movement; it has a destination and with time it shall arrive.
69.
If you do not trouble trouble, trouble will
never trouble you.
70.
Even the biggest cock which crows the loudest
was once upon a time just an egg.
71.
It is only when you look down that you can see
your nose.
72.
He who talks to you about others, talks to
others about you.
73.
He who talks to you about others, talks to
others about you
74.
You will never appreciate what you have now
until you lose it.
75.
The tongue cannot claim to be ignorant of what
the teeth are doing.
76.
A conscience fears no accusation.
77.
Character is like pregnancy, you cannot hide
it.
78.
When lion cannot find the flesh to feed on; it
has no choice but to eat the grass.
79.
When bad luck chooses you as a companion, even
a ripe banana can remove your teeth.
80.
No matter how high the vulture may choose to
fly, the eagle will still remain the king of the sky.
81.
Someone who does not listen to others deserves
not to be listened to.
82. Too a man who only has a hammer in his tool
kit, every problem has a nail.
83.
Success in life largely depends on how you
handle your failures.
84.
When the head of a snake is cut off, the rest
is nothing but an ordinary rope.
85.
What the elders see while sitting, the young
ones standing on their toes won’t see.
86.
Almost everyone is mad, but some people can
control their madness.
87.
No matter how hungry the vulture, it will
never eat grass.
88. No matter how powerful a man, he cannot make
the rains fall on his farm alone.
89.
Looking at the king’s mouth, one would never
think he sucked his mother’s breast.
90.
Even the high and noble bow before the barber.
91.
He who tries to shake a tree stump shakes only
himself.
92.
If you’re filled with pride, you won’t have
room for wisdom.
93.
No matter how big a child is, he cannot deny
that he was once carried on the back of a woman.
94.
A woman who delivers a baby in the market
square has nothing to hide.
95.
What is in the yam that the knife does not
know?
96.
It is impossible to tie a knot without the
thumb.
97.
No matter how black a cow is, the milk is
always white.
98.
It is better to look for the black goat before
night falls.
99.
Wisdom is like a goatskin; every man carries
his own.
100.
The cat may
look like a lion, but that does not make it a lion.
END OF PART 1
Special thank to;
B.B.C World Service
Samson Gyau
Mary Swatson
Comments
Post a Comment