Proverbs
Thinking
and Talking Activity
 Discuss
the following proverbs with your class. You may want to give several
proverbs to small groups of students, and have them discuss and
present what they think it means and how it applies to their own
lives.
A feeble effort will
not fulfill the self (Dogon)
Between true friends
even water drunk together is sweet enough (Zimbabwe)
A ripe melon falls by
itself (Zimbabwe)
The dead say to each
other "Dead one" (Mandinka) i.e., "the pot calling the kettle black"
A student doesn't know
about masterhood but a master knows about studenthood (Mandinka)
Having a good discussion
is like having riches (Kenya)
A master drummer must
have seven eyes (West)
Every time an old man
dies it is as if a library has burnt down -Chiek Oumar Ba- (Mandinka
West Africa)
Words are spoken with
their shells, let the wise man come to shuck them (West African,
Mossi)
Lack of knowledge is
darker than night (Nigeria, Hausa)
When the drumbeat changes,
the Dance changes (Nigeria, Hausa)
He who rides the horse
of greed at a gallop will pull it up at the door of shame (West
Africa, Fulani)
Justice today, injustice
tomorrow, that is not good government (Ghana, Asante)
If you want someone
more knowledgeable than yourself to identify a bird you do not first
remove the feathers.
The bitter heart eats
it's owner (Tswana)
Until Lions have their
own historians tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter
(Igbo, Nigeria)
A Tiger does not have
to proclaim his Tigritude (Nigeria, Wole Soyinka)
A family is like a forest,
when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that
each tree has it's place (Ghana, Akan)
The hunter in pursuit
of an elephant does not stop to throw stones at birds (Uganda).
If all seeds that fall
were to grow, then no one could follow the path under the trees
(Akan).
Even the mightiest eagle
comes down to the tree tops to rest (Uganda).
A man does not wander
far from where his corn is roasting (Nigeria)
(Proverbs
compiled by and presented with permission from Kane Mathis.)
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