10 African proverbs and their meanings

in Steem Kids & Parents2 years ago (edited)

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Right from time, proverbs have always been used by man. It is said that proverbs were first used in Egypt dating back to 2500 Bc.
Proverbs have always been used, even in the holy scriptures a particular book is dedicated to proverbs.

In this post, I'm going to write about the following:

  • What are proverbs?
  • Importance and use of proverbs
  • 10 African proverbs and their meanings

What are proverbs?

A proverb is a traditional brief saying that offers advice based on practical experience often in the form of a metaphor.
Proverbs are popularly used in spoken language and it usually contains folklore of a culture which passes down through generations.

Importance and use of proverbs

There are many purposes in which proverbs can be used.

  • Proverbs acts to impart knowledge
  • It is used to offer advice to a person
  • It can be used to support an argument
  • To teach and reinforce morals
  • It can be used as an aid to understanding
  • It can also be used to inspire and to console others

10 African proverbs and their meanings

Coming from Africa, I have heard many proverbs being used by older ones. I also heard many of them in school and tried to read meanings to them.
Here below are 10 different African proverbs and their meanings for you:

African ProverbsMeanings
Knowledge is like a garden: If it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvestedEffort must be made to acquire knowledge, if you don't make the effort, you cannot expect to gain it, also if you do not put the knowledge you gained to use, there is no way you will expect it to work for you.
A restless feet may walk into a snake pitIt is easy for a person who is idle or who gets involved in what doesn't concern him to get into trouble
Do not look where you fell, but where you slippedDon't focus on your mistakes, try to see what caused the mistake, or you may end up repeating the same mistake again
Life is like a mist or a shadow; it quickly passes byLife is short. One lives today and dies one day
Rain does not fall on just one roofTrouble must come to everyone whether at one time or the other
If a child washes his hands he could eat with kingsIf you allow yourself to be trained well when the opportunity comes, you will have great achievements and be favoured in due time
Sugarcane is sweetest at its jointGood things in life may appear difficult at first but in the end is is worth it
Don’t set sail using someone else’s starDo not copy someone else. That someone did something and became successful in it doesn't mean that you will succeed if you do same.
The best way to eat an elephant in your path, is to cut him up into little piecesThe Best approach to solve a difficult problem is to take it bit by bit.
Only a fool tests the depth of a river with both feetOne needs to think before jumping into a situation.

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

We hear most of these proverbs everyday and from many especially the older ones, and when we think deeply about them we can be able to benefit from the lessons they teach.

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 2 years ago 

This is interesting. Those proverbs are still very much relevant today.

Sadly most youngones tends to forget them , perhaps they are ignorant or they know but doesnt wants to consider them important.

Sharing it brings more values to it and i hope it would be appreciated by others just like i do.

Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for appreciating, I wish everyone will follow the advuce that those wise proverbs provide.

 2 years ago 

Oh wow! This was so nice to read. I would love to know from which country the proverbs are😊
Such wise words!

I heard them all in Nigeria, in school and from people around. But I'm told they are African proverbs so I don't know from which particular country they all come from.
Can you tell me a proverb from south Africa..? 🤨

 2 years ago 

Umh… “aartjie na sy vaartjie”
This is in Afrikaans and when translated it means he is just like his dad. Words that all dads like to hear 😊

Ah ok, I got frightened with the sight of the language, hahaha. Thank you for translating it.
The proverb is nice, I think I've heard something like that here also in our local language, if you want I can write how it is in my language 🙃

 2 years ago 

Haha! For sure! I would love to see how it is written in your language :-)

Omé ka nna ya

That's how it is written in my language, Igbo.

OméTo do
KaLike
NnaFather
Yahis

It's amazing how we have varieties of languages 😍😍

 2 years ago (edited)

Oh wow! Thank you!
Best of all, they totally differ from each other :-)
I am so glad that I am not Chinese. How they get to learn all those "drawings" I don't know.
人人都爱喝可乐。

You know, I use to admire the Chinese language and I even started learning it, but I got discouraged because of those drawings 😃. Theirs is so different, but I guess they find it easy...

 2 years ago 

These are amazing proverbs. Proverbs are always full of wisdom and u always loved to hear it from the elders. They have a way of saying it that run deeps. Thank you for sharing.

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Thank you too for your review. Surely proverbs are important for us to learn.

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 2 years ago 

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 2 years ago 

Achebe in Things Fall Apart writes that among the Ibos, “the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten”

But I'll paraphrase that.

Among Africans, “the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten”.

That is so true, thank you for your visit. Proverbs are very important in the lives of we Africans

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