Common sense A hunter who has only one arrow does not shoot with careless aim. When a palm-branch reaches its height, it gives way for a fresh one to grow. One cannot go back to the farmer from whom one borrowed seed-yams to plant to say that the beetles have eaten up the seed-yams. If one were to remove every smoking wood from a fire and condemn it as bad, one would be killing the fire itself. It is the brutally outspoken man that earns enmity. The elephant and the tiger do not go hunting on the same pasture. A farmer does not boast that he has had a good harvest until his stock of yams lasts till the following harvest season. He who pursues an innocent chicken always stumbles. The fish that can see that its water is getting shallower cannot be stranded. Without knowing a way thoroughly at day time, never attempt to pass it at night. It is not enough to run, one must arrive and know when one has arrived. It is a lazy man who says "it is only because I have no time that my farm is overgrown with weeds". Every river knows where its water would not be soaked up into the earth, and that is where it flows past. Hard work A farmer does not conclude by the mere look of it that a corn is unripe; he tears it open for examination. It is little by little that a bird builds its nest. To do one's duty is to eat the prized fruit of honor. A farmer, who would not work inside the rain and would not work under the sun, would have nothing to harvest at the end of the farming year. An ant-hill that is destined to become a giant ant-hill will definitely become one, no matter how many times it is destroyed by elephants. He who is afraid of doing too much always does too little. Sleep and indolence are not cousins of a good harvest. Success is 10% ability, and 90% sweat. Not giving up One must row in whichever boat one finds one's self. When a person regrets endlessly, he gets to pay more for what he regrets. It is little by little that a bird builds its nest. It is not only the fox, even the snail arrives at its destination. However long the moon disappears, someday it must shine again. It is the same moon that wanes today that will be the full moon tomorrow. It is only the toad that gets up from its knees and falls back again on its knees. The spider that knows what it will gain sits waiting patiently in its web. The praying mantis is never tired waiting all day. One does not become a master diviner in a day. A forest is not made in a season. The swoop of an eagle has seen many seasons and floods... Who says the oasis in the desert is happy because of its hidden spring of water? The cricket is never blinded by the sand of its burrowing. An oil lamp feels proud to give light even though it wears itself away. A bird does not change its feathers because the weather is bad. Cooperation Common proverbs of cooperation are: A herbalist that refuses to ask laymen what leaves he looks for in the bush, must have difficulties getting what he wants. It is a pot of water that is already half full that the world would like to help in filling to the brim. A man can not sit down alone to plan for prosperity. A man who lives alone is either always overworked, or always overfed. A single tree can not make a forest. A single man can not build a house. If a child shoots and arrow that reaches the top of a tall palm tree, then it must be that an elderly person carved the arrow for him. When the right hand washes the left hand and the left hand washes the right hand, both hands become clean. It is by the strength of their number that the ants in the field are able to carry their prey to the nest. Two footsteps do not make a path. Two raindrops do not make a pool. Patience The calf shouldnt be in a hurry to grow horns; hell have them until he dies. A speedy wrestling and a bad fall go hand in hand. Patient people are patient to gain longevity. However long the moon disappears, someday it must shine again. It is little by little that a bird builds its nest. The thirsty fig sits waiting patiently, waiting for the arrival of the rains. One does not become a master diviner in a day. A forest is not made in a season. The swoop of an eagle has seen many seasons and floods... It is not only the hare, the tortoise arrives also at the destination. Kindness What good people witness should not become bad. Without knowing a person we must not hate him. He who digs a pit for others must invariably fall into it. By being grateful, a man makes himself deserving of yet another kindness. When the laborer is praised, his cutlass begins to cut more keenly. If the owner of a calabash calls it a worthless calabash, others will join him to use it to pack rubbish. Criticism is easy but it does not create. If one imitates the upright, one becomes upright; if one imitates the crooked, one becomes crooked. When a sickle is drawn, it in turn draws the tree to which it is hooked. If a person who curses another is not better than the person he curses, a request is never made of him to rescind the curse. Honesty Money does not announce how it is earned but whereas properly earned money appreciates, improperly earned money depreciates. The bottom of wealth is sometimes a dirty thing to behold. Rather than tell a lie to help a friend, it is better to assist him in paying the fine for his offense. Thoughtfulness A fowl does not forget where it lays it eggs. The habit of thinking is the habit of gaining strength. It is one word of advice that one needs to give to a wise man, and that word keeps multiplying in his mind. Does a man not know when he has pepper in his eyes? If we forget yesterday, how shall we remember tomorrow. Thoughts and dreams are the foundation of our being. We are what our thinking makes us. Sharing/Generosity Every little tree gives its little bit of shade. It is an unthinking man who achieves prosperity, and then finds with time, that his body can no longer pass through the door. When an only kolanut is presented with love, it carries with it more value than might otherwise be associated with a whole pod of several kolanuts. The man who remembers others, remembers also his creator. The bird that remembers its flockmates, never missed the way. When a dying man cries, it is not because of where he is going which he knows nothing about, but because of what he wishes he would have done in the world he is leaving behind. The head could not have got to where it is now if it did not give. Humility A performing masquerade who tries too hard to outclass his colleagues may expose his anus. It is from a small seed that the giant Iroko tree has its beginning. A family name is not cooked and eaten, one's life is the thing. A good name is better than gold. He who is courteous is not a fool. The fowl perspires, but the feathers do not allow us to see the perspiration. Greed A bag that says it will not take more, and a traditional doctor who says he would not leave anything behind are both sure to suffer. Good Behavior A man who is advised and he takes it, is still a man who acts from his own free will. When a ripe fruit sees an honest man, it drops. When a fowl gets to a new town, it stands on one leg until it knows that it is a town where people stand on their two legs. A man who has one finger pointing at another has three pointing towards himself. The man who is honored, has first honored himself. Greatness and beauty do not belong to the gods alone. Antagonism is not good for fowls, and it is not good for goats; worse still, it is not good for human beings. Our examples are like seeds on a windy day, they spread far and wide. A clay pot of water is never hot-tempered. A person who picks something and decides to make it his own, ought to think how he would feel if he was the person who lost the property he picked. He who is called a man must behave like a man. One must have to wait till the evening of one's life time to know what gratitude to pay to one's guardian spirit. Consequences A man who is advised and he takes it, is still a man who acts from his own free will. If hunger forces a farmer in a particular year to eat both his yam tubers and the seed-yams, the succeeding years would still be worse because hewould have no yams to eat and none to plant. Sometimes the rain might force a man more than once to seek shelter under the same tree. When the roots of a tree begin to decay, it spreads death to the branches. It is the fear of what tomorrow may bring that makes the tortoise to carry his house along with him wherever he goes. He who digs a pit for others must invariably fall into it. Peace Let's fight, let's fight, no one knows whom fighting would favor. Two men quarreling do not share the same seat on a canoe. To have no enemies is equivalent to wealth. If the owner of two adjacent farms cannot be friends, then they must wait till their next reincarnation to be able to make friends. Whoever says "let's fight" does not know who will be victorious. When a man finds that he was wrong to have refused to eat, he should leave his anger and play a harp to call for harmony. Without retaliation evils would one day become extinct from the world. A spacious ground is the right place to demonstrate one's skill in wrestling. Back to Categories Wisdom and age If you come to the village of the blind, close an eye until you leave. An old banana leaf was once young and green. Old age does not come in just one day. Courage The sun will not dry what it is not shown He who does not look ahead always remains behind. Courage is the father of success. Charms do not perform miracles on the shelf; they perform for those who are brave. Family Being a younger brother/sister can be worse than loosing a eye. A person who has children does not die. We can not choose who our relatives should be, even though we may come to like some better than others. When a man loses his prestige, he does not regain it by going to where he is not known. A good name is better than gold. A piece of iron can only become what the blacksmith says it should become. It is the habit that a child forms at home, that follows them to their marriage. It is an irresponsible adult that creates enmity because of a disagreement that arises between two children. A child is what you put into him. Talks that are considered to be important must be made to drag on for so long as to make even the deaf begin to hear it. Criticism is easy but it does not create. Love is better than a whip. A child who has no mother will not have scars to show on his back. Even as the archer loves the arrow that flies, so too he loves the bow that remains constant in his hands. Friendship The eyes can see what they dont like to see, but legs will go only to place they like to go. If a person returns to where he/she went yesterday, he/she liked where he/she went yesterday. To eat from the same pot with another man, is to take an oath of perpetual friendship with him. If one imitates the upright, one becomes upright; if one imitates the crooked, one becomes crooked. Rather than tell a lie to help a friend, it is better to assist him in paying the fine for his offense. Survival It is the toothless animal that arrives first at the base of the fruit tree, to eat his fill before others arrive. If the load is too heavy for someone to carry, one would be better off to give the load to the ground to carry. The tree that cannot shed its old leaves in the dry season, cannot survive the period of drought. Leadership When one is taking a chicken from its roost, the hen is bound to attack with at least its claws. A pad that breaks a pot of water does not remain on the head. A bush fowls' playground is never appreciably spacious. If the owner of a calabash calls it a worthless calabash, others will join him to use it to pack rubbish. What affects the nose must also affect the eyes that must weep for it. If a greedy eater is near a patient, such a patient can never survive. There is no elephant that complains about the weight of its trunk. No elephant is burdened by the weight of its tusks. When the elderly ones in a house travel, the younger ones quickly grow in experience. If a soup is sweet, it is money that cooks it. A glorious past is the work of a glorious man. The responsibility of power is like holding an egg. Grasp it too tightly and it will drip through your fingers; hold it too loosely and it will drop and break. Misceallaneous The need to create made sour milk, but fresh milk is not bitter The goat that cries the loudest is not the one that will eat the most. It is the self-love of the king parrot that made him become a talkative. The owl is the wisest of all birds because the more it sees, the less it talks. If gold rusts, what will iron do? A masquerade does not perform to an outside audience until he performs well at the home base. Our elders quote the cock as saying that "it would not be good if one becomes the only person in the world, and that is why they crow every morning to show their number". Beauty is not sold and eaten. A masquerade is not a spirit only because of its mask. When a woman prepares a dish which others find unpalatable, she says that she prepared it to suit her own taste. At a time a cockerel matures, it begins to crow to tell the world the time of day. A diviner cannot accurately divine his own future. Once a cock begins to crow, it never again becomes dumb. It is he who has no place to call at that moves fast through life. No frog is tied by a rope to a pond. Money has the capability of making people laugh; but when they laugh, the foolish ones sometimes forget to close their mouths. No one feels the pains that arise from unintended injury.