What is an African Proverb

African Proverb Definition

 
An African proverb is life decoded in a few words. African proverbs communicate timeless insight about truth and sincerity, kindness and wickedness and wisdom and foolishness. African proverbs touch the place in our hearts where we are silent, listening to the wise words of our ancestors.

What is an African proverb? African proverbs define life in simple terms.

A proud warrior does not admit defeat before the battle - African proverb

Facts about African Proverbs.

African proverbs are short sayings of truth, a wise popular saying. African proverbs articulate the aged wisdom of African people. 

Proverbs are the means to the understanding life and African existence, survival and humor from ancient times to the present.

African people possess wisdom expressing the wisdom in an interesting way through use of wise short sayings. 

African proverbs express the timeless insight of African people. Wise sayings in the language of proverbs have been passed down for generations in African culture.

African proverbs bundle a lot of wisdom and emotion into so few words. African proverbs have a strong emotional impact, the proverb's conciseness in connection with emotion means that a sentence can be both simple and complex meaning proverbs can have multiple interpretations. 

Six most popular African Proverbs

Don't think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm.

Instruction in youth is like engraving in stone.

One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.

Laughter does not show friendship.

If the hen stops clucking, what will she use to train her children.

A wise person does not fall down on the same hill twice.

The eagle does not hunt flies. African proverb lesson.

Proverbs mean a great deal to the world, as they are a primary part of our speech patterns. African proverbs are the wisdom and the humor of eras of African ancestors to point to a moral lesson or embellish a story. 

 Proverbs of African people are the index of their lives. Proverbs from Africa contain the essence of moral truth and practical lesson; they are drawn from real life and are generally the fruit of philosophy grafted on the stem of experience. 

 The use of African proverbs help to see the people of Africa as they are and understand them better. The unique language of an African Proverb is embellished with figurative expressions, some of which are quickly understood, but others need explanation.  

Six more popular African proverbs.

Go borrowing go sorrowing. 

Heaven and earth fight in vain against a fool. 

It is a foolish sheep that makes the wolf her confessor. 

A bad bird has a bad egg. 

He that blows dust fills his own eyes. 

Wounds are engraved in stone, kindness, traced on sand.

 

Words can hurt for a lifetime African proverb

An African proverb is life decoded in a few words. African proverbs define life in simple but true understandable terms.

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