African Proverbs

What is a Proverb?? They take the place of ordinary words Carefully crafted with wisdom, moral and philosophical ideals What are some proverbs you have heard before? Emphasis on experience & behavior

“Name That Proverb” Game On the following slides will be American proverbs – use your African proverb handout to figure out which African proverb is parallel to the American proverb Ready? Set….GO!!

Parallel When the cat’s away, the mice will play When the master is absent, the frogs hop into the house.

Parallel People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Ashes fly back into the face of him who throws them.

Parallel The early bird catches the worm. The horse who arrives early gets good drinking water.

Parallel You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla.

Parallel Speech is silver but silence is golden The fool speaks, the wise man listens.

Parallel Out of sight, out of mind. Absence makes the heart forget.

Parallel Think before you speak. Do not say the first thing that comes to your mind.

Parallel If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again By trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree.

Parallel A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. He who hunts two rats, catches none.

Parallel Don’t wash your dirty linen in public. Home affairs are not talked about on the public square.

Parallel There is safety in numbers. Cross the river in a crowd and the crocodile won’t eat you.

“Name Than Proverb” Part II This time you will need to find the African proverb that is the OPPOSITE of the American sayings. Ready?? Set…..GO!!

Opposite A watched pot never boils. If you watch your pot, your food will not burn.

Opposite Clothes make the man. When a man is wealthy, he may wear an old cloth.

Opposite Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me. A cutting word is worse than a bowstring; a cut may heal, but the cut of the tongue does not.

Opposite Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise. Not to know is bad; not to wish to know is worse.

Your Turn!! Take 10 minutes to write a proverb of your own. It must be creative, contain a form of wisdom and emphasize a philosophical ideal.

“Osebo’s Drum” Proverbs are very often used as the underlying premise of Folk Tales. What do you think the premise of this story is? Display of superiority of wit over sheer strength or size. Does this sound familiar??