100 African Proverbs I Always Keep With Myself

Abundance of nature has led Africans to spent more time in contemplation than fighting for survival. They became too passive for their own good!

Although knowledge is not always transmitted in written form in Africa, there is a widespread culture of opening the doors of perception for young people and fools with timely release of wisdom nuggets, also called proverbs.
Herodotus (Greek historian c. 484–425 BC) called Africans these  “wisemen occupying the Upper Nile, men of long life, whose manners and customs pertain to the Golden Age, those virtuous mortals whose feasts and banquets are honoured by Jupiter himself’.” – Sacred texts
There are thousands of proverbs and aphorisms around the continent, but the premiere of all is the following:
“The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat.” ~ African proverb
Now, here are my favorite 100+ African proverbs I always keep with myself.

African proverbs on Peace and Leadership

1. Peace is costly but it is worth the expense. ~Kenyan proverb

2. War has no eyes ~ Swahili saying

3. When a king has good counselors, his reign is peaceful. ~Ashanti proverb

4. Peace does not make a good ruler. ~Botswana proverb

5. There can be no peace without understanding. ~Senegalese proverb

6. Milk and honey have different colors, but they share the same house peacefully. ~ African proverb

7. If you can’t resolve your problems in peace, you can’t solve them with war. ~ Somalian proverb

8. When there is peace in the country, the chief does not carry a shield. ~Ugandan proverb

9. Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far. ~ West African proverb

10. He who thinks he is leading and has no one following him is only taking a walk. ~ Malawian proverb

11. An army of sheep led by a lion can defeat an army of lions led by a sheep. ~ Ghanaian proverb

12. He who refuses to obey cannot command. ~ Kenyan proverb

13. A large chair does not make a king. ~ Sudanese proverb

14. A leader who does not take advice is not a leader. ~ Kenyan proverb

15. If the cockroach wants to rule over the chicken, then it must hire the fox as a body-guard. ~ Sierra Leone proverb

African Proverbs on Beauty

16. Ugliness with a good character is better than beauty. ~Nigerian Proverb

17. If there is character, ugliness becomes beauty; if there is none, beauty becomes ugliness. ~Nigerian Proverb

18. You are beautiful because of your possessions. ~Baguirmi Proverb

19. Patience is the mother of a beautiful child. ~Bantu Proverb

20. Judge not your beauty by the number of people who look at you, but rather by the number of people who smile at you. ~African Proverb

21. The most beautiful fig may contain a worm. ~Zulu Proverb

22. It is only a stupid cow that rejoices at the prospect of being taken to a beautiful abattoir. ~African Proverb

23. There is always a winner even in a monkey’s beauty contest. ~African Proverb

24. An ugly child of your own is more to you than a beautiful one belonging to your neighbor. ~Ganda Proverb

25. Getting only a beautiful woman is like planting a vine on the roadside everyone feeds on it. ~African Proverb

26. If you find “Miss This Year” beautiful, then you’ll find “Miss Next Year” even more so. ~Nigerian Proverb

African Proverbs on Unity and Community

27. Unity is strength, division is weakness. ~ Swahili proverb

28. Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. ~ Bondei proverb

29. It takes a village to raise a child. ~ African proverb

30. Cross the river in a crowd and the crocodile won’t eat you. ~ African proverb

31. Two ants do not fail to pull one grasshopper. ~ Tanzanian proverb

32. A single bracelet does not jingle. ~ Congolese proverb

33. A single stick may smoke, but it will not burn. ~ African proverb

34. If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. ~ African proverb

African Proverbs on Wisdom

35. Wisdom is wealth. ~ Swahili

36. Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it. ~ Akan proverb

37. The fool speaks, the wise man listens. ~ Ethiopian proverb

38. Wisdom does not come overnight. ~ Somali proverb

39. The heart of the wise man lies quiet like limpid water. ~ Cameroon proverb

40. Wisdom is like fire. People take it from others. ~ Hema (DRC) proverb

41. Only a wise person can solve a difficult problem. ~ Akan proverb

42. Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb

43. In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams. ~ Nigerian proverb

44. If you are filled with pride, then you will have no room for wisdom. ~ African proverb

45. A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb

46. Nobody is born wise. ~ African proverb

47. A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb

48. Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan proverb

African Proverbs  on Learning

49. Learning expands great souls. ~ Namibian proverb

50. To get lost is to learn the way. ~ African proverb

51. By crawling a child learns to stand. ~ African proverb

52. If you close your eyes to facts, you will learn through accidents. ~ African proverb

53. Money, if you use it, comes to an end; learning, if you use it, increases. ~ Swahili proverb

54. You always learn a lot more when you lose than when you win. ~ African proverb

55. You learn how to cut down trees by cutting them down. ~ Bateke proverb

56. What you help a child to love can be more important than what you help him to learn. ~African proverb

57. By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed. ~Ashanti proverb

58. One who causes others misfortune also teaches them wisdom. ~ African proverb

59. Ears that do not listen to advice, accompany the head when it is chopped off. ~African Proverb

60. Advice is a stranger; if he’s welcome he stays for the night; if not, he leaves the same day. ~Malagasy Proverb

 

African Proverbs on Family

61. A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place. ~ African Proverb

62. A united family eats from the same plate. ~ Baganda proverb

63. If I am in harmony with my family, that’s success. ~ Ute proverb

64. Brothers love each other when they are equally rich. ~ African proverb

65. Dine with a stranger but save your love for your family. ~ Ethiopian proverb

66. There is no fool who is disowned by his family. ~ African proverb

67. Home affairs are not talked about on the public square. ~ African proverb

68. If relatives help each other, what evil can hurt them? ~ African proverb

69. He who earns calamity, eats it with his family. ~ African proverb

70. The old woman looks after the child to grow its teeth and the young one in turn looks after the old woman when she loses her teeth. ~ Akan (Ghana, Ivory Coast) proverb

71. When brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father’s estate. ~ Ibo proverb

African Proverbs on Friendship

72. To be without a friend is to be poor indeed. ~ Tanzanian proverb

73. Hold a true friend with both hands. ~ African proverb

74. The friends of our friends are our friends. ~ Congolese proverb

75. A friend is someone you share the path with. ~ African proverb

76. Show me your friend and I will show you your character. ~ African proverb

77. Between true friends even water drunk together is sweet enough. ~ African proverb

78. A small house will hold a hundred friends. ~ African proverb

79. Bad friends will prevent you from having good friends. ~ Gabon proverb

African Proverbs on Money, Wealth, Riches and Poverty

80. Make some money but don’t let money make you. ~ Tanzania

81. Poverty is slavery. ~Somalia

82. One cannot both feast and become rich. ~ Ashanti

83. The wealth which enslaves the owner isn’t wealth. ~ Yoruba

84. Lack of money is lack of friends; if you have money at your disposal, every dog and goat will claim to be related to you. ~ Yoruba

85. Dogs do not actually prefer bones to meat; it is just that no one ever gives them meat. ~ Akan

86. Money can’t talk, yet it can make lies look true. ~ South Africa

87. You become wise when you begin to run out of money. ~ Ghana

88. Having a good discussion is like having riches ~ Kenya

African Proverbs on Beauty

89. Ugliness with a good character is better than beauty. ~Nigerian Proverb

90. If there is character, ugliness becomes beauty; if there is none, beauty becomes ugliness. ~Nigerian Proverb

91. You are beautiful because of your possessions. ~Baguirmi Proverb

92. Patience is the mother of a beautiful child. ~Bantu Proverb

93. Judge not your beauty by the number of people who look at you, but rather by the number of people who smile at you. ~African Proverb

94. The most beautiful fig may contain a worm. ~Zulu Proverb

95. It is only a stupid cow that rejoices at the prospect of being taken to a beautiful abattoir. ~African Proverb

96. There is always a winner even in a monkey’s beauty contest. ~African Proverb

97. An ugly child of your own is more to you than a beautiful one belonging to your neighbor. ~Ganda Proverb

98. Getting only a beautiful woman is like planting a vine on the roadside everyone feeds on it. ~African Proverb

99. If you find “Miss This Year” beautiful, then you’ll find “Miss Next Year” even more so. ~Nigerian Proverb

African Proverbs on Love and Marriage Quotes

100. Where there is love there is no darkness. ~Burundian proverb

101. If you are ugly you must either learn to dance or make love. ~ Zimbabwean Proverb

102. To love the king is not bad, but a king who loves you is better. ~ Wolof proverb

103. A happy man marries the girl he loves, but a happier man loves the girl he marries. ~ African proverb

104. If you marry a monkey for his wealth, the money goes and the monkey remains as is. ~ Egyptian proverb

105. Love never gets lost it’s only kept. ~ African proverb

106. Love has to be shown by deeds not words. ~ Swahili proverb

107. Love is a despot who spares no one. ~Namibian proverb

African Proverbs on Patience

108. Patience is the key which solves all problems. ~ Sudanese proverb

109. To run is not necessarily to arrive. ~ Swahili proverb

110. Patience can cook a stone. ~ African proverb

111. A patient man will eat ripe fruit. ~ African proverb

112. At the bottom of patience one finds heaven. ~ African proverb

113. Patience attracts happiness; it brings near that which is far. ~ Swahili proverb

114. Always being in a hurry does not prevent death, neither does going slowly prevent living. ~ Ibo proverb

115. However long the night, the dawn will break. ~ African proverb

African Proverbs on Food

116. Don’t take another mouthful before you have swallowed what is in your mouth. ~Malagasy Proverb

117. A healthy person who begs for food is an insult to a generous farmer. ~Ghanaian Proverb

118. A dog knows the places he is thrown food. ~Acholi Proverb

119. One who eats alone cannot discuss the taste of the food with others. ~African Proverb

120. Man is like a pepper, till you have chewed it you do not know how hot it is. ~Haussa Proverb

121. No one gets a mouthful of food by picking between another person’s teeth. ~Igbo Proverb

122. If you watch your pot, your food will not burn. ~Mauritanian, Nigerian, and Niger Proverb

123. You cannot tell a hungry child that you gave him food yesterday. ~Zimbabwean Proverb

124. However little food we have, we’ll share it even if it’s only one locust. ~Malagasy Proverb

125. Good words are food, bad words poison. ~Malagasy Proverb