Here are some West African proverbs. We recently had a brown-bag lunch at work where we sat with our local colleagues and discussed traditional proverbs. Some of these are amusing, some don't make sense and some are very similar to American sayings.
West African Proverbs
1. You change your steps according to the rhythm of the drum.
2. Tasty soup draws seats to itself.
3. The person who goes to draw water does not drink mud.
4. The person who comes round to lick the soup pot will never be filled.
5. You stand on a crooked branch to cut a straight one.
6. The antelope does not wear the shoes of an elephant.
7. Knowledge is like a baobob tree; no one person can embrace it with both arms.
8. The knee does not wear a hat while the head is there.
9. What the eye has seen is what the hand goes after.
10. Love is like an egg; it breaks easily.
11. You do not set your yam barn on fire when you are hungry.
12. Every long journey has its destination.
13. The hand does not miss is its way to the mouth in the dark.
14. The person who is ever ready for war is never defeated.
15. The rainstorm indicates the position of the door of a house.
16. You do not bargain for a cat which is in a bag.
17. I am going to bathe, I am going bathe leads to not having your bath.
18. The antelope says size is not what matters, but the ability to make a tasty soup.
19. There is no quarrel between the eye and sleep.
20. Two calabashes on the same water are bound to touch each other at one time or another.
21. The chicken is never declared innocent in the court of hawks.
22. Dispute or any misdeed that is not checked leads to the disintegration of the family.
23. The goat places its white spot anywhere it likes on the body.
24. If you do not know how to escape, you must know how to hide yourself.
25. You pick up the tortoise where you find it.
26. The pig says that morning rain is the best.
27. Repetitive singing of one song makes it sour in the ear.
28. The new is woven onto the old.
29. The headgear comes from the home.
30. The cubs of leopards never lose their spots.
31. The antelope says you die a miserable death is your live only in one forest all your life.
32. The bird that is destined to live will grow feathers by all means.
33. One pole cannot build a house.
34. To be a mother of a delinquent child is better than to be barren.
35. You do not rejoice because the morning is good for you.
36. It is difficult to tell whether a swimmer is drowning or not.
37. It is a living tree that has vines around it.
38. Even is an okro plant is taller than a farmer, he bends it to pick its fruits.
39. The mouth must have enough to eat before it spills over into the beard.
40. The salt does not praise itself. It is difficult to wake up a person who is not sleeping/