Foreword Preface Acknowledgements About the Author 1. Proverbs That Teach Self-Responsibility Proverb #1: If Everyone Loves You, You Will Not Know Who Poisoned You Proverb #2: If You Tell a Tree that You Will Kill It... Proverb #3: The Rat That Joins the Lizard to Get Wet in the Rain... Proverb #4: What You're Looking for Is What You Will Get Proverb #5: What a Person Does Is in His Heart Proverb #6: If You've Not Reached Where You're Going, You Should Keep Going Proverb #7: Eneke the Bird Noted That Since Men Have Learned to... Proverb #8: Your Intelligence Is Your Handbag, and You Carry It... Proverb #9: When a Young Man Washes His Hands Properly... Proverb #10: The Lizard That Fell From the Iroko Tree Said That If... Proverb #11:The Person Who Blows the Flute Must Sometimes Wipe His Mouth Proverb #12:The Dog Does Not Chew the Bone That Is Hanging Around Its Neck Proverb #13: If You Do Not Allow People to Know What Your Size... Proverb #14: If You Pull a Tree and It Pulls You Back, You Should Leave it Alone Proverb #15: If One Is Not Careful, What Destroyed His Father Might Destroy Him Proverb #16: As You Make Your Bed so Will You Lie on It Proverb #17: If You Try to Wrestle Down Your Father, His Wrapper Will Cover Your Eyes Proverb #18: When You Chew the Dried Meat, it Fills Up Your Mouth Proverb #19: You Can Cry All You Want, But You Cannot Cry Out Blood Proverb #20: Where You Live Is Where You Protect Proverb #21: Money Is the Beauty of a Man Proverb #22: It Is Not the Load That Breaks Us Down; It Is the Way We Carry It Proverb #23: A Good Name Shines in the Dark Proverb #24: A Person Who Does Not Concede Defeat Is Not a Good Sport Proverb #25: A Person Who Praises the Rain Has Been Rained On 2. Proverbs That Teach Collaboration and Consultation Proverb #1: Life Is in the Ears Proverb #2: To Come and Eat Is Not to Come and Work! Proverb #3: A Tree Cannot Make a Forest Proverb #4: When Mother Cow Is Chewing Grass, the Younger Ones Look at Her Mouth Proverb #5: It Takes a Whole Village to Raise a Child Proverb #6: When You Wrestle Someone to the Ground, You Also... Proverb #7: A Fool Does Not Know That His Brother or Sister Is a Visitor Proverb #8: The Fly Without an Advisor Follows the Dead Body Into the Grave Proverb #9: A Gathering of Kinsmen and Kinswomen Is an... Proverb #10: When Two Elephants Fight, Grasses Suffer Proverb #11: Laughter Is Just a Matter of Moving Back the Cheek Proverb #12: A Good Friend Is Better Than a Bad Family Member Proverb #13: The Tiger's Cub Does Not Chew Grass Proverb #14: If You Give Your Mother a Counterfeit Money, You... Proverb #15: The Person Who Sits Next to Someone Can Easily Smell His Mouth Proverb #16: The Knife and the Axe Do Not Compete Proverb #17: You Cannot Climb a Tree Without Support Proverb #18: Let the Kite and the Eagle Perch and Whichever One... Proverb #19: The Crazy Person and His Mind Understand Proverb #20: In My Poverty, Let Not Poverty Befall the Person Who... Proverb #21: The Child's Home, Even If It Is Trashy, Is Always a Palace Away From Home Proverb #22: The Rooster Does Not Forget Who Plucked Its Feathers... Proverb #23: When the Moon Is Shining, a Person With a Physical... Proverb #24: When a Child Is Tired of Working, He Resorts to Fighting Proverb #25: When You Dig a Ditch for Others, You Might Fall in It 3: Proverbs That Teach Spirituality Proverb #1: If You're Eating With the Devil, You Must Use a Long Spoon Proverb #2: If You Fall Down and Do Not Stand Up, Evil Will Take Over Proverb #3: God Does Not Give You a Load That You Cannot Carry Proverb #4: Evildoers Are Usually Pursued By Their Own Shadows Proverb #5: Do Not Put Yourself Where Your Faith Will Fail You Proverb #6: I Am Holding My Staff and You Are Holding Your... Proverb #7: The Toughest Head Carries the Masquerade Proverb #8: Let's Continue to Sacrifice and Let the Blame Go to the Gods Proverb #9: God Gives and God Takes Proverb #10: If You Are Better Than Someone, You Might Be Better... Proverb #11: No Person Is God Proverb #12: God Knows the Heart of Everyone Proverb #13: The Same Mother Delivers the Children, but the Same... Proverb #14: When You Believe, Your God Will Believe Proverb #15: God's Time Is The Best Proverb #16: You Can Never Become Someone Else's God Proverb #17: The Opportunity That God Sends Does Not Wake Up... Proverb #18: Everyone Has His/Her Own God Proverb #19: There Is No Partnership Between Good and Evil Proverb #20: A Person Who Ridicules Good Will Become Overtaken by Evil Proverb #21: The Fear of God Is Not Based on What We Wear Proverb #22: A Person Who Trusts in God Lacks Nothing Proverb #23: A Witch Doctor Does Not Cure Himself Proverb #24: Where There Are Many People, There God Is Proverb #25: The Veil Spirit of a Person Is a Person 4. Proverbs That Teach Other Life Lessons Proverb #1: Nights Have Ears Proverb #2: As Much as You Love Your Husband, You Will Not Want to be Buried Alive With Him Proverb #3: When a Poor Person Is Told What It Takes to Be Rich... Proverb #4: The Frog Does Not Come Out in the Daytime for Nothing Proverb #5: A Traveler Is More Knowledgeable Than an Aged Person Proverb #6: The Dying Dog Does Not Smell the Bad Odor Proverb #7: We Never Go Back to Yesterday Proverb #8: Patience Is King Proverb #9: You Do Not Tell the Deaf Person That... Proverb #10: The Hot Soup Is Usually Licked Slowly Proverb #11: When the Wind Blows, You See the Chicken's Buttocks Proverb #12: Truth Is Life Proverb #13: Soiled Hands Lead to the Oily Mouth Proverb #14: The Patient Person Eats the Best Part of the Fish Proverb #15: All Lizards Are Lying on Their Stomachs, and... Proverb #16: When the Child's Sore Is Healed, He Tends to Forget the Pain Proverb #17: A Child Must Crawl Before Walking Proverb #18: The Look of a Child Determines If You Will Take Food From Him Proverb #19: It Does Not Matter How Bad the Yam Is; It Is Still... Proverb #20: When Dried Bones Are Mentioned, Old People Feel Uneasy Proverb #21: A Person Who Is Already on the Floor Does Not... Proverb #22: Tomorrow Is Pregnant; No One Knows What It Might Deliver Proverb #23: There Is No Use for a Dry Porridge Proverb #24: As the Cow Gets Older, Its Nostrils Get Bigger Proverb #25: Anything With a Beginning Must Have an End Afterword