Every culture has its collection
of proverbs which give advice on life or state a general truth. African people
have a lot of proverbs which have been transmitted from generation to
generation.
Here is a list of ten famous
African proverbs, with their meanings, to inspire you:
1. Ears
that don’t listen, accompany the head when it’s chopped off
Meaning: A person
that doesn't give heed to advice will bear the consequences afterwards
2. The
best way to eat an elephant in your path is cut him up into little pieces
Meaning: The best
way to approach a huge problem is step by step or bit by bit
3. Not
everyone who chased the zebra caught it, but he who caught it, chased it.
Meaning: Trying
does not guarantee success but you can never achieve success if you don’t try.
4. He
who does not know one thing knows another
Meaning: No one
knows everything. But everyone knows something.
5. Rain
beats a leopard’s skin, but it does not wash out the spots
Meaning: No
matter how much you try you cannot change who you are
6. When
a lion becomes old, even flies attack him.
Meaning: When a
person loses his power even those who were below him attack him
7. The
fly that had no one to advise him, follows a corpse to the grave
Meaning: A
person that doesn't have someone to give him counsel will be dragged into
problems or bad situations
8. You
do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla
Meaning: Don’t
offer advice to someone who is wiser or more experienced than you are.
9. If
you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Meaning: When
you are on your own it’s easy to make decisions and take risks which helps you
cover a lot of ground quickly. But you can only get so far alone, there will
come a time when you get weary and need someone to support you. No one accomplishes
great things unless there are others by their side.
10. One
cannot both feast and become rich
Meaning: You cannot
accumulate wealth if you are not prudent
I hope you enjoyed reading these proverbs and
gained some insights. If you have different interpretations to these proverbs or
if you want to add other African proverbs feel free to comment below!
Thanks for
reading,
Lidia
