Ashanti Proverbs from Ghana
By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed.
Do not call the forest that shelters you a jungle.
Even though the old man is strong and hearty, he will not live forever.
Fire and gunpowder do not sleep together.
Hunger is felt by a slave and hunger is felt by a king.
If you are in hiding, don't light a fire.
It is Mr. Old-Man-Monkey who marries Mrs. Old-Woman-Monkey.
It is no shame at all to work for money.
It is the calm and silent water that drowns a man.
It is the fool's sheep that break loose twice.
It's a bad child who does not take advice.
Money is sharper than a sword.
No one tests the depth of a river with both feet.
One cannot both feast and become rich.
One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.
Only when you have crossed the river, can you say the crocodile has
a lump on his snout.
Rain beats a leopard's skin, but it does not wash out the spots. (Ashanti)
The moon moves slowly, but it crosses the town.
The poor man and the rich man do not play together.
The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people.
There is no medicine to cure hatred.
Two small antelopes can beat a big one.
What is bad luck for one man is good luck for another.
When a king has good counselors, his reign is peaceful.
When a man is coming toward you, you need not say: "Come here."
When a man is wealthy, he may wear an old cloth.
When a woman is hungry, she says, "Roast something for the children
that they might eat."
When the cock is drunk, he forgets about the hawk.
When the fool is told a proverb, its meaning has to be explained to
him.
When you are rich, you are hated; when you are poor, you are despised.
When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like
him.
Wood already touched by fire is not hard to set alight.
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