Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Bantu proverbs from Cameroon (1).

Source: Proverbs from West Africa by C. J. Bender, 1924. Online at the Internet Archive. The book includes only the English text, and nothing more specific than "Bantu" for the source (there are several Bantu peoples who live in Cameroon). See more proverbs from this collection.

Bender was a missionary in Cameroon, and you can find out more about the peoples of Cameroon at Wikipedia.

Below are the proverbs I chose from this book; when I've rephrased, I've included the book's version in parentheses. If there is no version in parentheses, that means I didn't make any changes. You can see the whole slideshow here: African Proverbs.


Many drops will fill the pot.


One person cannot paddle two canoes.

(No man can paddle two canoes at the same time.)


The fish envy the crab's claws.

(The fishes envy the crab on account of his shears.)


The young crocodile doesn't mind falling into the water.

(A young alligator will not mind falling into the water.)


A bird's foot never fails to grasp the branch.

(The foot of a bird will not miss the branch.)




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