31 Dec. 2002                 

“Muthii ndaumbikaga ndigu.” Kimbeere — Embu Dialect (Kenya)
“Whoever walks out cannot leave a banana on the fire.”

30 Dec. 2002                 

“Cia muka mukari iricagwa muithenya wa wambura.” Kimbeere — Embu Dialect (Kenya)
“Those of the mean people are consumed on the celebration day.”

27 Dec. 2002                 

“Mucera na mukudu akundukaga wa take.” Kimbeere — Embu Dialect (Kenya)
“Whoever walks with unworthy people becomes unworthy.”

26 Dec. 2002                 

“Umoja ni nguvu, utengano ni udhaifu.” Kiha (Tanzania)
“Unity is strength, division is weakness.”

24 Dec. 2002                 

“Alalaye usimwamshe,ukimwamsha utalala wewe.” Kiha (Tanzania)
“Let dogs sleep, otherwise if anything done against them is a problem.”

23 Dec. 2002                 

“Akipenda chongo huona kengeza.” Kiha (Tanzania)
“The one who sees the beauty doesn’t see the difference.”

20 Dec. 2002                 

“Apandaye haba, huvuna haba.” Kiha (Tanzania)
“He/She who farm little harvest less.”

19 Dec. 2002                 

“Akufaaye kwa dhiki ndiye rafiki.” Kiha (Tanzania)
“A friend in need is a friend in deed.”12/18/02

18 Dec. 2002                 

“Ada ya mja hunena, mwugwana ni kitendo.” Kiha (Tanzania)
“A lazy person talks for so long, a determinant does.”

17 Dec. 2002                 

“Mtoto wa mfalme hutinga kwao ndani.” Kiha (Tanzania)
“The Prince/Princess has all rights in his/her home.”

16 Dec. 2002                 

“Kazana kulima, vyakupewa havitoshelezi.” Bena (Tanzania)
“Struggle to farm, gifts can’t satisfy your needs.”

13 Dec. 2002                 

“Mazishi ni yetu wote.” Bena (Tanzania)
“Funeral is for us all.”

12 Dec. 2002                 

“Usipokula huwezi kutoa baraka.” Bena (Tanzania)
“If you don’t eat, you can’t give blessing.”

11 Dec. 2002                 

“Mungu ni mkuu wa yote.” Bena (Tanzania)
“God is greater for everything.”

10 Dec. 2002                 

“Ukikataa wengi ni mchawi.” Bena (Tanzania)
“If you don’t agree with the majority, you are a wizard.”

09 Dec. 2002                 

“Usipotii wazazi ulilaniwa.” Bena (Tanzania)
“If you don’t respect your parents, you were cursed.”

29 Nov. 2002                 

“Mtoto wa nyoka ni nyoka.” – Bena (Tanzania) Proverb
The child of a snake is snake

27 Nov. 2002                 

Usilima hua huli.” – Bena (Tanzania) Proverb
If you don’t farm you are not eating.

26 Nov. 2002                 

“Kazana kulima, usione wanakula.” – Bena (Tanzania) Proverb
Struggle farming, don’t see them eating.

25 Nov. 2002                 

“Jembe la mundu ni baba na mama” – Bena (Tanzania) Proverb
Hoe and slash is your father and mother.

20 Nov. 2002                 

“The day a man taste the “sweetness” of a woman,that day he also taste the bitterness” – Igala (Nigeria) Proverb

19 Nov. 2002                 

“A boy who wish to grow into a full man must not waste his time trying to fill the hole his father died trying to fill.” – Igala (Nigeria) Proverb

18 Nov. 2002                 

“You don’t need pain killers for another man’s headache.” – Igala (Nigeria) Proverb

30 Sep. 2002                     

Proverbs on God, Humanity and God’s Creation
“God does not sleep.” Bette proverb
This proverb is taken from Proverbs of Africa: Human Nature in the Nigerian Oral Tradition by Ryszard Pachocinski, Professors World Peace Academy, Minnesota, 1996. All the proverbs are collected from Nigeria.

27 Sep. 2002               

Proverbs on God, Humanity and God’s Creation
“The world sees the mouth, God sees the stomach.” Igala proverb
This proverb is taken from Proverbs of Africa: Human Nature in the Nigerian Oral Tradition by Ryszard Pachocinski, Professors World Peace Academy, Minnesota, 1996. All the proverbs are collected from Nigeria.

27 Sep. 2002               

“Beauty is an empty calabash.” Kundu (Cameroon)
Source of All Evil: African Proverbs and Sayings on Women , by Mineke Schipper, Phoenix, Nairobi, 1991.

26 Sep. 2002               

“Beauty is an empty calabash.” Kundu (Cameroon)
Source of All Evil: African Proverbs and Sayings on Women , by Mineke Schipper, Phoenix, Nairobi, 1991.

25 Sep. 2002               

“Beauty is an empty calabash.” Kundu (Cameroon)
Source of All Evil: African Proverbs and Sayings on Women , by Mineke Schipper, Phoenix, Nairobi, 1991.

24 Sep. 2002               

“Don’t interrupt a woman fetching water.” Namibia
Source of All Evil: African Proverbs and Sayings on Women , by Mineke Schipper, Phoenix, Nairobi, 1991.

23 Sep. 2002               

“One who seeks a wife does not speak contemptuously of women.” Ashanti (Ghana)
This week the proverbs are all from Source of All Evil: African Proverbs and Sayings on Women, by Mineke Schipper, Phoenix, Nairobi, 1991. Provider is Joseph Kariuki.

20 Sep. 2002               

“The man may be the head of the home; the wife is the heart.” Gikuyu (Kenya)
proverb from Source of All Evil: African Proverbs and Sayings on Women by Mineke Schipper, Phoenix, Nairobi, 1991.

19 Sep. 2002               

“Mother is God number two.” Chewa (Malawi)
proverb from Source of All Evil: African Proverbs and Sayings on Women by Mineke Schipper, Phoenix, Nairobi, 1991.

18 Sep. 2002               

“Your mother is still your mother, though her legs be small.” Chewa,Malawi

17 Sep. 2002               

“Does a man set up a plantation without a wife?” Ganda,Uganda

16 Sep. 2002               

“Regular work tires a woman but totally wrecks a man.” Nairobi, Kenya

30 Aug. 2002                 

“All monkeys can not hung on the same branch.”
– Nairobi, Kenya

29 Aug. 2002

“Bow-legged person does not hunt antelopes.”
– Nairobi, Kenya

28 Aug. 2002     

“A tractor driver doesn’t fear dust.”
– Nairobi, Kenya

27 Aug. 2002     

“A stomach is not carried by a fool.”
– Nairobi,Kenya

26 Aug. 2002     

“Big talkers won’t be your in-laws long.”
– Nairobi, Kenya

23 Aug. 2002     

“An orphaned calf licks its own back.”
– Nairobi, Kenya

22 Aug. 2002     

“Only a medicine man gets rich by sleeping.”
– Nairobi, Kenya

21 Aug. 2002     

“No child should be babied while another is offered to the hyena to bite.”
– Nairobi, Kenya

17 Aug. 2002     

“The possessor may become dispossessed.”
– Nairobi, Kenya

15 Aug. 2002     

“One in the woodpile does not laugh at the one in the fire.”
– Nairobi, Kenya

14 Aug. 2002     

“A lone runner says he has legs (runs fast)”
– Nairobi, Kenya

13 Aug. 2002     

Two roads overcame the hyena.
Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve God and wealth
– Swahili, Eastern Africa Proverb and Luyia, Kenya:

12 Aug. 2002     

Gikuyu Ethnic Group, Kenya Proverb: In this world there is no rest.
Lamentations 1:3: “Where she [Judah] lives among the nations, she finds no place to rest.”

09 Aug. 2002     

A word in the heart does not win.
Proverbs 31:8: “Open your mouth in behalf of the dumb, and for the rights of the destitute.”
– Gikuyu Ethnic Group, Kenya Proverb

08 Aug. 2002     

Traveling is learning.
Sirach 39:5: “He travels among the peoples of foreign lands to learn what is good and evil.”
– Shona Ethnic Group, Zimbabwe and Gikuyu Ethnic Group, Kenya Proverb

07 Aug. 2002     

To be hated by a human being is not to be hated by God.
Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”
– Gikuyu Ethnic Group, Kenya Proverb

06 Aug. 2002     

He whose seeds have not germinated does not put down the seed container.
Philippians 2:12: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”
– Gikuyu Ethnic Group, Kenya Proverb

05 Aug. 2002     

Two guests cannot be entertained satisfactorily at the same time.
Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
– Gikuyu Ethnic Group, Kenya Proverb

02 Aug. 2002     

A child points out to you the direction and then you find your way.
Isaiah 11:6: “A little child shall lead them.”
– Luyia Ethnic Group, Kenya Proverb

01 Aug. 2002     

One person is thin porridge or gruel; two or three people are a handful of stiff cooked corn meal.
Ecclesiastes 4:9,12: “Two are better than one…A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
– Kuria Ethnic Group, Kenya/Tanzania and Ngoreme Ethnic Group, Tanzania Proverb

31 Jul. 2002         

To laugh at a person with a defective eye while you hide your own defects.
Matthew 7:3: “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?”
– Sukuma Ethnic Group, Tanzania Proverb

30 Jul. 2002

God’s rain falls even on the witch.
Matthew 5:45: “Your Father in heaven sends rain on the righteous
-Fipa Ethnic Group, Tanzania Proverb

29 Jul. 2002

“What goes into the stomach is not lasting.”
Mark 7:18-19: “Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer.”
– Sukuma Ethnic Group, Tanzania Proverb

28 Jun. 2002     

“Suppression of hunger leads to death.”
– Luyia proverbs , Western Kenya

26 Jun. 2002

“Only someone else can scratch your back.”
– Luyia proverbs , Western Kenya

25 Jun. 2002

“The eyes of the in-law belittle what they have seen.”
– Luyia proverbs , Western Kenya

24 Jun. 2002

“The broken plate cannot be rejoined.”
– Luyia proverbs , Western Kenya

21 Jun. 2002

“The blame of the antelope is on the hunter.”
– Luyia , Western Kenya

20 Jun. 2002

“The greedy one swells the stomach.”
– Luyia , Western Kenya

19 Jun. 2002

“The fire burns the fire maker.”
– Luyia , Western Kenya

18 Jun. 2002

“You only make a bridge where there is a river.”
– Luyia , Western Kenya

17 Jun. 2002

“We can’t depend on one brave man.”
– Luyia , Western Kenya

14 Jun. 2002

“Tongue is lightening.”
– Luyia, Western Kenya

13 Jun. 2002

“The lame knows how to fall.”
– Luyia , Western Kenya

12 Jun. 2002

“The fool hid what would eat him.”
– Luyia , Western Kenya

11 Jun. 2002

“The Devil turns against its friend.”
– Luyia, Western Kenya

10 Jun. 2002

“Misery loves company.”
– Luyia, Western Kenya – from various published and unpublished sources including Mirimo, Wako and Odaga.

07 Jun. 2002

“He who feeds you keeps an eye on you.”

06 Jun. 2002

“He who does not leave with a stone ( says) the stone is warm.”
– Luyia, Western Kenya – from various published and unpublished sources including Mirimo, Wako and Odaga.

05 Jun. 2002

“Every frog has its poison.”
– Luyia,Western Kenya

04 Jun. 2002

“Even an expert swimmer drowns.”
– Luyia,Western Kenya

03 Jun. 2002

“Competition exhausted the lungs.”
– Luyia,Western Kenya

31 May. 2002

“Blind belief is dangerous.”
– Luyia , Western Kenya

30 May. 2002

“Bad dancing does not brake an engagement.”
– Luyia , Western Kenya

29 May. 2002

“A messenger cannot be beaten .”
– Luyia proverbs , Western Kenya

28 May. 2002

“A Dog that steals sells its body.”
– Luyia proverbs , Western Kenya

27 May. 2002

“A Champion bull starts from birth.”
– Luyia.Western Kenya

24 May. 2002

“The pillar of the world is hope.”
– Kanuri proverb, Nigeria

23 May. 2002

“A tree not taller than an ant cannot shade you.”
– Kanuri proverb, Nigeria

22 May. 2002

“He who marries a real beauty is seeking trouble.”
– Accra proverb, Ghana.

21 May. 2002

“The young can’t teach traditions to the old.”
– Yoruba proverb

20 May. 2002

“There is no medicine against old age.”
– Accra proverb, Ghana

17 May. 2002

“That man’s a fool whose sheep flees twice.”
– Oji proverb.

16 May. 2002

“When your mouth stumbles, it’s worse than feet.”
– Oji proverb.

15 May. 2002

“Hold a true friend with both hands.”
– Kanuri proverb, Nigeria

14 May. 2002

“The pillar of the world is hope.”
– Kanuri proverb, Nigeria.

13 May. 2002

“One does not love if one does not accept from others.”
– Kanuri proverb, Nigeria.

10 May. 2002

“Rising early makes the road short.”
– Wolof proverb, Senegal.

09 May. 2002

“It is better to walk than curse the road.”
– Wolof proverb, Senegal

08 May. 2002

“If there is cause to hate someone, the cause to love has just begun.”
– Wolof proverb, Senegal.

07 May. 2002

“Children will hate all those who give all things to them.”
– Wolof proverb, Senegal.

06 May. 2002

“The teeth of a man serve as a fence.”
– Wolof proverb, Senegal.

03 May. 2002

“We add wisdom to knowledge.”
– Kalenjin (Kenya)

02 May. 2002

“A hyena cannot smell its own stench.”
– Kalenjin (Kenya)

01 May. 2002

“Do not follow a person who is running a way.”
– Kalenjin (Kenya)

30 Apr. 2002                        

“We should put out fire while it is still small.”
– Kalenjin (Kenya)

29 Apr. 2002

“Water can not be forced uphill.”
– Kalenjin (Kenya)

25 Apr. 2002

“The eye is a coward.”
– Kalenjin (Kenya) Proverbs from Oral literature of the Kalenjin by C.Chesaina published by Heinemann Kenya, 1991.

24 Apr. 2002

“We should talk while we are still alive.”
– Kalenjin (Kenya) Proverbs from Oral literature of the Kalenjin by C.Chesaina published by Heinemann Kenya, 1991.

23 Apr. 2002

“Even a friend can not rescue one from old age.”
– Kalenjin (Kenya) Proverbs from Oral literature of the Kalenjin by C.Chesaina published by Heinemann Kenya, 1991.

22 Apr. 2002

“You can not take away someone’s luck.”
– Kalenjin (Kenya) (Proverbs from Oral literature of the Kalenjin by C.Chesaina published by Heinemann Kenya, 1991.)

19 Apr. 2002

“There is no bad patience.”
– (Knappert, p. 46, Swahili).

18 Apr. 2002

“A low-class man will just talk; deeds are the hallmark of a gentleman.”
– (Knappert, p. 84, Swahili).

17 Apr. 2002

“God is our neighbour when our brother is absent.”
– (Knappert, p. 33, Swahili).

16 Apr. 2002

“A donkey knows no gratitude.”
– (Knappert, p. 138, Swahili).

15 Apr. 2002

“The climber of ladders will descend [the ambitious person will be brought back down].”
– (Knappert, p. 93, Swahili).

12 Apr. 2002

“The good looks of a moron do not stay that way for long.”
– Ethiopia (Ayele, p. 23, Amharic).

11 Apr. 2002

“The haughty blind person picks a fight with his guide.”
– Ethiopia (Ayele, p. 69, Amharic).

10 Apr. 2002

“The best of mankind is a farmer; the best food is fruit.”
– Ethiopia (Ayele, p. 110, Amharic).

09 Apr. 2002

“Do not vacillate or you will be left in between doing something, having something and being nothing.”
– Ethiopia (Ayele, p. 91, Amharic).

08 Apr. 2002

“It is foolhardy to climb two trees at once just because one has two feet.”
– Ethiopia (Ayele, p. 32, Amharic).

05 Apr. 2002

“Though the lion and the antelope happen to live in the same forest, the antelope still has time to grow up.” (Dzobo #174). (God allows some antelope to escape; they are not extinct.)
– Cape Coast, Ghana

04 Apr. 2002

“When you are at home, your troubles can never defeat you.” [because your relatives will come to your aid] (Dzobo #118).
– Cape Coast, Ghana

03 Apr. 2002

“A stranger does not skin a sheep that is paid as a fine at a chief’s court.”
– Cape Coast, Ghana (Dzobo #25).

02 Apr. 2002

“The orphan does not rejoice after a heavy breakfast.”
– Cape Coast, Ghana (Dzobo #191). (He knows that lunch, dinner and tomorrow are still in doubt.)

01 Apr. 2002

“The chicken is never declared innocent in the court of hawks.”
– Cape Coast, Ghana (Dzobo #137).

29 Mar. 2002                        

“He flees from the roaring lion to the crouching lion.” Sechuana (Plaatje, #568). Sechuana

28 Mar. 2002

“A crime eats its own child.” Sechuana (Plaatje, #415).

27 Mar. 2002

“A sorcerer has no distinctive colour.” Sechuana (Plaatje, #423).

26 Mar. 2002

“He has not married a woman; for she is [the equal of] a man.” Sechuana (Plaatje, #159).

25 Mar. 2002

“People know each other better on a journey.” (Plaatje, #37).

22 Mar. 2002

“Let rats shoot arrows at each other.” Sudan (Miller, p. 4).

21 Mar. 2002

“Do not tell the man carrying you that he stinks.” Sierra Leone (Miller, p. 34).

20 Mar. 2002

“You suffer from smoke produced by the firewood you fetched yourself.” Luhya, Kenya (Miller p. 22).

19 Mar. 2002

“A man who dictates separates himself from others.” Somalia (Miller, p. 9).

18 Mar. 2002

“Be on the alert, like the red ant that moves with its claws wide open.” Uganda (Miller, p. 27).

14 Mar. 2002

“Instruction in youth is like engraving in stones.” Berber, North Africa (Stewart, p. 150)

13 Mar. 2002

“To be happy in one’s home is better than to be a chief.” Yoruba, Nigeria (Stewart, p. 114).

12 Mar. 2002

“The elephant never gets tired of carrying its tusks”. Vai, Liberia (Stewart, p. 31)

11 Mar. 2002

“By coming and going, a bird weaves its nest.” Ashanti, Ghana (Stewart, p. 30).

08 Mar. 2002

“(It is better that) trials come to you in the beginning (and you find peace afterwards) than that they come to you at the end.” (Walser #5430).Luganda, Uganda

07 Mar. 2002

“You are sitting in peace (unharmed): as the nose of a cow that feeds among thorntrees and shows no scars.” (Walser, #4583).Luganda, Uganda

06 Mar. 2002

“The rainmaker who doesn’t know what he’s doing will be found out by the lack of clouds.” Luganda, Uganda (Walser, #796).

05 Mar. 2002

“One who is crazy for meat hunts buffalo.” [the most dangerous game animal] (Walser #524). Luganda, Uganda

04 Mar. 2002

The one who says, “My home is peaceful,” buys millet (for brewing beer). [Meaning: a foolish act — when the beer is drunk, the peace of the home will be upset] (Walser, #413).

28 Feb. 2002

“One person is thin porridge or gruel; two or three people are a handful of stiff cooked corn meal.”
– Kuria, Kenya/Tanzania and Ngoreme, Tanzania

27 Feb. 2002    

“God’s rain falls even on the witch.”
– Fipa, Tanzania

26 Feb. 2002    

“That which is good is never finished.”
– Sukuma, Tanzania

25 Feb. 2002    

“One who sees something good must narrate it.”
– Ganda, Uganda

22 Feb. 2002    

“To be praised is to be lost.”
– Kikuyu, Kenya. (Wanjohi, p. 136).

21 Feb. 2002    

“The one chased away with a club comes back, but the one chased away with kihooto [reason] does not.”
– Kikuyu, Kenya. (Wanjohi, p. 202).

20 Feb. 2002    

“He who refuses to obey cannot command.”
– Kikuyu, Kenya. (Wanjohi, p. 208).021902

19 Feb. 2002           

“He who refuses to obey cannot command.”
– Kikuyu, Kenya. (Wanjohi, p. 208).

18 Feb. 2002    

“If one is roasting two potatoes, one of them is bound to get charred.”
– Kikuyu, Kenya. (Wanjohi, p. 100).

15 Feb. 2002    

“Goodness gets a seat.”
– Igala, Nigeria. (Pachocinski, p. 224; explanation: good people will be shown favors and will live longer).

14 Feb. 2002    

“The frog does not run in the daytime for nothing.”
– Igbo, Nigeria. (Pachocinski, p. 273)

13 Feb. 2002    

“Do they prepare leather [for a battle shield] the day they fight?”
– Zar, Nigeria. (Pachocinski, p. 346)

12 Feb. 2002    

“The cock crows, the idle person grumbles.”
– Yoruba, Nigeria. (Pachocinski, p. 144).

11 Feb. 2002    

“When cutting, look at the age of the machete.”
– Fulfulde, Nigeria. (Pachocinski, p. 202)