African Proverbs Quotations

The eye is a coward. - Kalenjin (Kenya)

One person is thin porridge or gruel; two or three people are a handful of stiff cooked corn meal. - Kuria, Kenya/Tanzania and Ngoreme, Tanzania

He flees from the roaring lion to the crouching lion. Sechuana

There is no bad patience. - (Knappert, p. 46, Swahili).

God's rain falls even on the . - Fipa, Tanzania

The rainmaker who doesn't know what he's doing will be found out by the lack of clouds. Luganda, Uganda

Rising early makes the road short. - Wolof proverb, Senegal

It is better to walk than curse the road. - Wolof proverb, Senegal

The pillar of the world is hope. - Kanuri proverb, Nigeria

When cutting, look at the age of the machete. - Fulfulde, Nigeria

We should talk while we are still alive. - Kalenjin (Kenya)

To be praised is to be lost. - Kikuyu, Kenya

You are sitting in peace (unharmed): as the nose of a cow that feeds among thorntrees and shows no scars. Luganda, Uganda

The orphan does not rejoice after a heavy breakfast. - Cape Coast, Ghana

Be on the alert, like the red ant that moves with its claws wide open. Uganda

A tree not taller than an ant cannot shade you. - Kanuri proverb, Nigeria

Even a friend can not rescue one from old age. - Kalenjin (Kenya)

A donkey knows no gratitude. - (Knappert, p. 138, Swahili)

A hyena cannot smell its own stench. - Kalenjin (Kenya)

You suffer from smoke produced by the firewood you fetched yourself. Luhya, Kenya

A man's wealth may be superior to him. Cameroon

The young can't teach traditions to the old. - Yoruba proverb

A stranger does not skin a sheep that is paid as a fine at a chief's court. - Cape Coast, Ghana

Do not follow a person who is running a way. - Kalenjin (Kenya)

Do not tell the man carrying you that he stinks. Sierra Leone

Dogs do not actually prefer bones to meat,it is just that no one ever gives them meat. Akan proverb, West Africa

The best of mankind is a farmer; the best food is fruit. - Ethiopia

If one is roasting two potatoes, one of them is bound to get charred. - Kikuyu, Kenya.

If there is cause to someone, the cause to love has just begun. - Wolof proverb, Senegal

If your buttocks burn, you know you have done wrong.

Instruction in youth is like engraving in stones. Berber, North Africa

Before the chicken carefully observe the character of your guest. Mandingo proverb

By coming and going, a bird weaves its nest. Ashanti, Ghana

Goodness gets a seat. - Igala, Nigeria. (Pachocinski, p. 224; explanation: good people will be shown favors and will live longer).

The elephant never gets tired of carrying its tusks. Vai, Liberia

The crows, the idle person grumbles. - Yoruba, Nigeria