African Proverbs

“A cat may go to a monastery but she still remains a cat”

Sent by Leake Salsawi, Ethiopia

“The shea butter laughs at the salt when it rains, forgetting that the sun will soon shine”

Sent by Emmanuel Fiamordzi, Accra, Ghana

“A cowardly hyena lives longer but it suffers the most”

Sent by Mario Tombe Lino Germiah in Juba, South Sudan

“A monkey doesn’t laugh at a burning bush”

Sent by Adam Zziwa Mbiringi and Ainomujuni Norman, both in Uganda

“One can only go round a pepper tree, but can never climb it”

An Igbo proverb sent by Emeka Obia and Ndudi Ateli, both from Nigeria, and Matamba, from Dakar, Senegal

“The rough skin of a crocodile is what makes it beautiful”

A Swahili proverb sent by Tosh Kasamba, Kenya

“The axe forgets, the tree does not forget”

A Swahili proverb sent by Israel Makaza, Zimbabwe

“The basket goes where it will be returned”

A Kinyarwanda proverb sent by Shyaka Ahmad Fababby, Kigali, Rwanda

“No matter how hot your anger is, it cannot cook yam”

Sent by Joyce Adhiambo in Nairobi, Kenya

“A dog destined to be lost does not hear the hunter's whistle”

A Yoruba proverb sent by Akande James, Ibadan, Nigeria

“Big melons fall upon those who have no pot”

An Ndebele proverb from Zimbabwe sent by Thoman Sikowelo, Johannesburg, South Africa

“Rats don't dance in the cat's doorway”

Sent by J Hendrix Fahnbulleh, Monrovia, Liberia

“A person who walks wisely can travel a long distance”

An Oromo proverb sent by Zerihun Tesfaye, Woliso, Ethiopia

“If the owner of the goat is not afraid to travel by night, the owner of a hyena certainly will not be”

A Hausa proverb sent by Salisu Ibrahim Mukhtar in Kano, Nigeria

“A dog that belongs to everyone will die of hunger”

Sent by Ibrahim Aboma, France

“Ash laughs at flour”

An Amharic proverb sent by Mekdes Gezahegn, Ethiopia

“A fierce buffalo has its hide made into a shield”

A Luo proverb sent by Owino Onyango Mak'Oburu in Kenya

“If you try to straighten a sweet potato, it breaks”

A Bemba proverb sent by James Chiwala, Ndola, Zambia
 “It is the head that disturbs the wasp that the wasp stings”
An Igbo proverb sent by Emeka Eze in Aba, Nigeria 

 “No matter how long they live, donkeys are meals for hyenas”

An Oromo proverb sent by Salah Ahmed in Minneapolis, US