100+ African Proverbs with Hidden Meanings You Didn’t Know

Proverbs and wise sayings played an important and significant role in ancient African culture and traditional history. Their hidden meanings’ main function was to warn, teach, entertain and prevent a tragedy by using wise examples through oral literature, stories, and wise sayings.

This article presents 100+ Funny African Proverbs and hidden, deeper meanings you didn’t know in relation to the present.

Generally, ancient African proverbs talk about life, love, death, cheating, friendship, marriage, commitment, and other important social issues. They express intellectual and emotional attitudes: disappointment, sympathy, intention, and acceptance as well as moral attitudes: approval, disapproval, appreciation, apology, or regret.

Most of the best funny African proverbs were short, funny, and humorous. Because of their deep euphemism, they had the ability to wisely pass inspiring and important lessons or life teachings in serious situations.

Here is a list of 24 Funny Ancient African Proverbs with a hidden deeper meaning:

1. examine what is said not who is speaking
2. the axe forgets but the tree remembers
3. don’t set sail using someone else’s star
4. do not call a dog with a whip in your hand
5. once you carry your own water you’ll remember every drop
6. knowledge is a garden if it isn’t cultivated it can’t be harvested
7. a roaring lion kills no game
8. restless feet might walk into a snake bit
9. no shortcuts exist to the top of the palm tree
10. when two elephants fight it is the grass that gets hurt
11. tomorrow belongs to people who prepare for it today
12. no medicine exists that can cure hatred
13. all monkeys cannot hang from the same branch
14. he who digs a grave for his enemy might as well dig it for himself
15. even the lion protects himself against flies
16. however long the night the dawn will break
17. if you heal a person’s leg do not be surprised if they use it to run away
18. to try and to fail is not laziness
19. seeing is different than being told
20. no matter how beautiful and well crafted a coffin might be, it will not make anyone wish for death
21. wood already touched by fire is not hard to set a light
22. confining a secret to an unworthy person is like carrying grain in a bag with a hole in it
23. a feeble effort will not fulfill the self
24. having a good discussion is like having wealth
25. don’t think there are no crocodiles just because the water is calm
26. he who refuses to obey cannot command
27. one falsehood spoils a thousand truths
28. the earth is a beehive we all enter by the same door
29. rain does not fall on one roof alone
30. however far a stream flows it doesn’t forget its origin
31. if you think you’re too small to make a difference try spending the night with a mosquito
32. if there is no enemy within the enemy outside can do no harm
33. the eye never forgets what the heart has seen
34. no person is born great, great people become great when others are sleeping
35. when an old man dies a library is burned with him
36. truth should be in love and love in truth
37. when you marry a monkey for his wealth, the money goes but the monkey remains
38. where there is love there is no darkness
39. when one is in love a cliff becomes a medal
40. one who loves you loves you with your dirt
41. if love is a sickness patience is the remedy
42. to love someone who doesn’t love you is like shaking a tree to make the dewdrops fall
43. if the full moon loves you why worry about the stars
44. don’t be so in love that you can’t tell when it’s raining
45. do not treat your loved one like a swinging door, you are fond of it but you push it back and forth
46. love doesn’t listen to rumors
47. don’t try to make someone hate the person he loves, he will go on loving but he will hate you
48. love doesn’t rely on physical features
49. one who plants grapes by the roadside and one who marries a pretty woman share the same problem
50. true love means what’s mine is yours
51. a fish and a bird may fall in love but the two cannot build a home together
52. the heart of the wise man lights quiet like limpid water
53. only a wise person can solve a difficult problem
54. in a moment of crisis the wise build bridges but the foolish build dams
55. if you are filled with pride then you will have no room for wisdom
56. a man who uses force is afraid of reasoning
57. wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden
58. one who causes others misfortune also teaches them wisdom
59. a fool cannot untie the knot tied by a wise man
60. to get lost is to learn the way
61. if you close your eyes to facts you will learn through accidents
62. just because the lizard nods its head doesn’t mean he’s in agreement
63. a wise man fills his head before emptying his mouth
64. if you think education is expensive try ignorance
65. a fool has to say something, a wise person has something to say
66. a wise man never takes a step too long for his leg
67. give advice if people don’t listen let adversity teach them
68. when deeds speak words are meaningless
69. a wise person doesn’t fall down the same hill twice
70. a united family eats from the same plate
71. a family tie is like a tree, it can bend but it cannot break
72. we desire to bequeath two things to our children, the first is roots the second is wings
73. don’t meddle with a family feud
74. a husband with a good wife will never be on the road without supplies
75. a small house will hold a hundred friends
76. a woman is a flower in a garden, her husband is the fence around it
77. if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together
78. sticks in a bundle are unbreakable
79. if relatives help each other what evil can hurt them?
80. home affairs should not be talked about in the public square
81. a child does not laugh at the ugliness of his mother
82. a happy man marries the girl he loves, a happier man loves the girl he married
83. if a woman doesn’t love you she calls you brother
84. one who marries for love alone will have bad days but good nights
85. The only woman who knows where her man is every night is a widow. – Togolese Proverb
86. Before you go out with a widow, you must first ask her what killed the husband. – Traditional African Proverb
87. A child can play with the mother’s breasts but not with the father’s testicles. – Ghanaian Proverb
88. Without fools, there would be no wisdom. – Traditional African Proverb
89. When a fly perches on a man’s scrotum, he immediately learns humility. – Ghanaian Proverb.
90. The anger of a penis doesn’t destroy the vagina. – Zimbabwean Proverb
91. A person who sells eggs should not start a fight in the market. – Traditional African Proverb
92. A widow is the only woman who knows where her man is every night. – Togolese Proverb
93. If u go to sleep with an itching anus, u are sure to wake up with smelly fingers. – Kenyan Proverb
94. The man who marries a beautiful woman and the farmer who grows corn by the roadside have the same problem. – Ghanaian Proverb
95. However much the buttocks are in a hurry, they will always remain behind. – Traditional African Proverb
96. Swallowing a knife may be hard but once you do, the anus always finds a way to expel it. – Seychelles Proverb
97. The major reason why a tortoise will carry the weight of its house forever is fear. – Nigerian Proverb
98. An erected penis has no conscience. – Ugandan Proverb
99. No matter how far a man can urinate, the last drop will always land between his feet. – Kenyan Proverb
100. There’s no virgin in a maternity ward. – Cameroonian Proverb
101. When you see a woman sitting with her legs open, never tell her to close them, because you do not know her source of fresh air. – Ethiopian Proverb
102. It requires a lot of carefulness to kill the fly that perches on the scrotum. – Traditional African Proverb
103. Hot temper will never cook yams. – Nigerian Proverb
104. The frowning face of a goat cannot stop its owner to take it to the market. – Traditional African Proverb
105. A truthful man will soon find himself expelled from 9 villages. – Kenyan Proverb
106. A man with diarrhea will not require anyone to give them the direction to the door. Ugandan Proverb
107. The day a mosquito lands on your testicles is the day you will know there is a better way of resolving issues without using violence. – Senegalese Proverb
108. Human feces will always smell, no matter how small – Gambian Proverb
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