Proverbs From Liberia, Page 3

  357)In a family that is united, everyone eats from the same plate.

  358)A man and his wife who are in unison, sleep peacefully.

  359)A man who buys trouble, eats it with his family.

  360)A mother looks after her child to grow its teeth; in turn, the child looks after the mother when she loses her teeth. 

  361)A wise woman avoids marrying a drunk.

  362)Even the fool, is not disowned by his family.

  363)Family matters are not discussed in the village square.

  364)One who dines with a stranger but saves his/her love for his/her family is wise. 

  365)When families fight to the death, stranger inherit their properties.

  366)An old and wise woman is priceless in a small village full of young maidens.

  367)A man who marries for money, often never finds happiness.

  368)A good family knows how to recognize and reward the sacrifices of their dog.

  369)If a child washes his hands, he could eat with his father and mother.

  370)Family tree bends, but it doesn’t break.

  371)A red-headed lizard that is pumping tires is not doing so for entertainment, it’s looking for food.

  372)The honey bee family cannot get toothache.

  373)The mouth which eats does well if it did not talk at the same time.

  374)Although a family may be fighting, a stranger should know better than to jump in the middle.

  375)When a man says yes, and his wife says no, a stranger knows that it is time to leave.

  376)When the moon is shining the cripple family becomes hungry for a walk.

  377)You can just judge parents by looking at their child’s behavior alone.

  378)One person is not a family.

  379)A child that returns home often, misses home.

  380)A loving woman knows a thousand ways to make her husband run home.

  381)No one or nothing can make a man stay away from his home if he is happy with his wife.

  382)A man who does not like going home, is not happy

  383)A woman that always has food to share, is a mother to all the hungry children in the village.

  384)You can’t eat water, you only drink it.

  385)You learn how to cook by cooking.

  386)To be without a friend is to be poor indeed. 

   

  387)The friend of my friends are also my friends.

  388)A friend is someone who shares the path of life with.

  389)Show me your friend and I will show you your character.

  390)Between true friends even water drunk together is sweet enough.

  391)A small house will hold a hundred friends.

  392)It is difficult to have bad friends and expect to keep good friends.

  9

  Wealth &Poverty

 

  393)A family that respects the place of the mother, is always happy.

  394)A good discussion is like having riches.

  395)A man that makes his wife angry all the time, does not want to be happy.

  396)A poor man cannot both feast and become rich. 

  397)A single bracelet does not make noise unless it has a friend.

  398)A single stick is easy to break, but a bundle of sticks are unbreakable.

  399)A street down will eat even the bone thrown away by the home dog.

  400)Any wealth which enslaves the owner isn’t wealth.

  401)Behind every successful man, is a great woman.

  402)Even the small child knows the value of money.

  403)Great men know that their wives helped to make them

  404)If you have money, everyone will claim to be your relative, even the dogs and goats.

  405)If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together in a group.

  406)In the ants hill, there is nothing as selfishness.

  407)It is good to make some money, but don’t let money rule.

  408)Lack of money is lack of friends

  409)Money has its own spirit.

  410)One stick may catch fire, but it will not burn the forest until you add it to another.

  411)People tend to become wise when they begin to run out of money.

  412)Poverty is slavery.

  413)Street dogs do not actually prefer bones to meat; it is just that no one ever bothers to give them meat.

  414)The rich child that eats good food and the poor child that eats leftovers are not much different; both go to bed with full stomachs.

  415)The wealth of the ants belongs equally to the whole colony.

  416)The wealth of a village lies in its young people.

  417)The woman that places money over her pride, gets to suffer in the end.

  418)To prevent the crocodile from eating you, it is best to cross the river in a crowd.

  10

  Food

  419)A dog knows all the places where food is thrown in the village.

  420)A loving family shares whatever little food they have, even if it is only a bug.

  421)A person standing alone is like Lebanese bread, but two or three people are like a bowl of dumboy.

  422)A person who eats alone cannot discuss how the food tastes with others.

  423)A really hungry man does not ask his wife what he is eating.

  424)A roster does not scratch the ground in search of food for his girlfriend (hen).

  425)A spider’s cobweb isn’t just its sleeping place, but also its food trap.

  426)A spoon of soup when one is hungry, has more value than a pot of soup when one has an abundance of food.

  427)A well raised child benefits those who rear him/her as a porridge benefits those who cook and eat it.

  428)A who complains that there is not enough food in the market, does not really want to cook.

  429)A woman who cooks, keeps her man.

  430)A woman who pays attention to her pot, never burns her food.

  431)Cooked food is not sold to pigs.

  432)Don’t take a mouthful of food when you know you can’t swallow it.

  433)Even rich people eat bad food at times.

  434)Even the best cooking pot will not produce food by itself

  435)Food ill-gotten may taste sweet, until it starts to run your stomach.

  436)Good speech alone, does not produce food.

  437)He who doesn’t brush his mouth before breakfast, complains that the food is sour.

  438)He who eats another person’s food can expect to have his own food eaten by others.

  439)It is not advisable to take another mouthful before you have swallowed the one that is in your mouth.

  440)It is not the cook’s fault when the cassava turns out to be hard and tasteless.

  441)It is true that words are sweet, but they can never full the stomach.

  442)No one gets a mouthful of food by picking between another person’s teeth.

  443)Only a hungry child will put hot food in his mouth.

  444)Some women are like a pepper, until you chew it, you do not know how hot it is.

  445)The chicken that diligently digs for food does not sleep hungry.

  446)The food that is in the mouth is not yet in the belly.

  447)The forest not only holds food, but its full of medicine, and healing power.

  448)The grasshopper which is always near its mother eats the best food.

  449)The hyena with a cub does not consume all the available food.

  450)The impotent man does not eat spicy foods.

  451)The man who counts every grain of rice he swallows is never satisfied.

  452)The man who has food to eat, does not appreciate the severity of a famine.

  453)Those who agree regarding food, often agree on many other things.

  454)Too much sweet, gives toothaches.

  455)When a man is too weak to walk, maybe the stomach is empty.

  456)When the food is well cooked, there is no need to wait be
fore eating it.

  457)When you see the cook’s child begging for food, then something is wrong.

  458)Wine, women and food give gladness to the heart.

  459)You cannot eat your cake and have it.

  460)You cannot tell a hungry child that you gave him food yesterday.

  book by the author

  Liberian Public Administration System: An Introduction,

  The Liberian Administrative System: The Legislature,

  Famous Liberian Folklore

  Basis of Banking; The Liberian Financial System

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  The author is a Liberian, educator, folklorist and public speaker. He began writing poems at quite an early age. His love for Liberian literature increased as he grew and learned more about Liberian culture from his Grandmother.

  At the urging of his parents, he was encouraged to explore his passion, which has led him on a fascinating journey throughout Liberia. He is regarded amongst the foremost modern day Liberian literary writers.

  His works have been published widely in academic setting and numerous social media. He is also an active social commentator. He speaks at conferences and other academic fora and heads the Liberian Think Tank, Think Liberia- Everything Liberia. They are currently undertaking a project to create the largest free online Liberian database.

  He resides in Asia, with his family.