African Proverbs

African Proverbs offer wisdom and poetry in just one sentence. Proverbs play an important part in all cultures where story telling and oral histories still manage to lure people away from the TV set. African proverbs, like all proverbs, are used to convey truth, ideas, as well as life lessons. African proverbs are great to delve into because they give a nice insight into many different African cultures, yet many of the lessons are universal and can be as meaningful to residents of New York as to those living in Kinshasa.

Here's a list of my current favorites. And as an Ashanti (Ghana) proverb says "When the fool is told a proverb, its meaning has to be explained to him".

• A man who has one finger pointing at another has three pointing towards himself (Nigeria)

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

• Wood already touched by fire is not hard to set alight (Ashanti)

• You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla (Congo)

• He who is bitten by a snake fears a lizard (Uganda)

• Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it (Akan and Ewe)

• He who asks questions, cannot avoid the answers (Cameroon)

• Because a man has injured your goat, do not go out and kill his bull (Kenya)

• The dog's bark is not might, but fright (Liberia)

• A tree is known by its fruit (Zulu)

Find out More About African Proverbs:

• Afriprov.org
• African proverbs
• Nigerian Proverbs
• One Proverb.net
• African proverbs - Wikiquote

_{Image of a Baobab Tree --© South Africa Tourism}