AFRICAN PROVERBS

•  A child knows the portion of foul that will reaches his hand if it is eventually killed. (Ochiemhen Joseph)

• A chicken eats corn, drinks water and swallows little pebbles, but still complains of having no teeth. If she had teeth would she eat steel? (Yoruba Nigeria)

•  A cockroach knows how to sing and dance, but it is the hen who prevents it from performing its art during the day. (Edo Nigeria)

•  A person who does not cultivate well his or her farm always says that it has been bewitched. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  An okra tree does not grow taller than its master. (Krio, Sierra Leone)

•  By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed.

•  Do not call the forest that shelters you a jungle. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  How easy it is to defeat people who do not kindle fire for themselves. (Tugen Kenya )

•  Hunger is felt by a slave and hunger is felt by a king. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  If an arrow has not entered deeply, then its removal is not hard. (Buli Ghana)

•  If God breaks your leg, He will teach you how to limp. (Dagbani Ghana)

•  If you are in hiding, don't light a fire. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  If you refuse the advice of an elder you will walk until sunset. Kuria (Kenya, Tanzania )

•  It is no shame at all to work for money. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  It is the calm and silent water that drowns a man. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  It takes a whole village to raise a child. (Yoruba Nigeria)

•  Money is sharper than a sword. (Ashanti Ghana)
•  No matter how long a log stays in the water, it doesn't become a crocodile. (Bambara Mali)

•  No one tests the depth of a river with both feet. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  One falsehood spoils a thousand truths. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  One who bathes willingly with cold water doesn't feel the cold. (Fipa Tanzania)

•  One who enters a forest does not listen to the breaking of the twigs in the brush. (Bemba(Zambia)

•  One who relates with a corrupt person likewise gets corrupted. (Gikuyu Kenya)

•  Only when you have crossed the river, can you say the crocodile has a lump on his snout. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  Rain beats a leopard's skin, but it does not wash out the spots. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  The brother or sister who does not respect the traditions of the elders will not be allowed to eat with the elders. (Ga Ghana)

•  The moon moves slowly, but it crosses the town. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  The old woman looks after the child to grow its teeth and the young one in turn looks after the old woman when she loses her teeth. (Akan Ghana)

•  The person who has not traveled widely thinks his or her mother is the only cook (the best cook). (Ganda Uganda)

•  The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  Two small antelopes can beat a big one. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  Water that has been begged for does not quench the thirst. (Soga, Uganda)

•  We start as fools and become wise through experience. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  When a fool is cursed, he thinks he is being praised. (Ashanti Ghana)

•  When a man is coming toward you, you need not say: "Come here." (Ashanti Ghana)

• A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place. (Ghana, Akan)

• A bird is in the air but its mind is on the ground (Mandinka)

* It is easier to catch flies with honey rather than vinegar!
Moses Zewedi, Kenya

• Anyone his father sends to go and steal, breaks his victim's door with left leg. (Igbo) Hiebson Totty, (Overcomers Magazine Lagos Nigeria.)