Akan Proverbs

Akan Proverbs grew from matrilineal clans and the gold-rich Ashanti states of Ghana. They honor eloquence, elders, and communal duty, using forest and marketplace images to guide conduct and leadership.

The puff adder that cannot fly has caught the hornbill that flies. (Akan Proverb)
When a shield wears out, the framework still remains. View proverb
Akan Proverb
When the hen steps on the feet of her chicken, she does not mean to kill them. View proverb
Akan Proverb
You are the subject of he whose handcuffs you wear. View proverb
Akan Proverb
You do not need a big stick to break a cock's head. View proverb
Akan Proverb
Although the snake does not fly, it has caught the hornbill, whose home is in the sky. View proverb
Akan Proverb
Fowls will not spare a cockroach that falls in their midst. View proverb
Akan Proverb
If a horn deserves a jawbone, they attach one to it. View proverb
Akan Proverb
If an ass goes a-traveling, he'll not come home a horse. View proverb
Akan Proverb
If you do not have sandals, find some, if you do not have gun powder, find some for a score to settle with you on the battle grounds. View proverb
Akan Proverb
Only birds of the same clan or species play together on the same tree. (Akan Proverb)
The child is capable of splitting open the snail, not the tortoise. View proverb
Akan Proverb
The clever bird is easily trapped in the leaves at the edges. View proverb
Akan Proverb
The good mother knows what her children will eat. View proverb
Akan Proverb
The knot tied by a wiseman cannot be undone by a fool. View proverb
Akan Proverb
The gun catridge-belt of akowua has never been known to lack bullets. View proverb
Akan Proverb
The one who asks questions doesn't lose his way. View proverb
Akan Proverb
Death's ladder is there for everyone to climb. View proverb
Akan Proverb
The tsetse-fly is perched on the tortoise's back in vain. View proverb
Akan Proverb
One should never rub bottoms with a porcupine. View proverb
Akan Proverb
The crocodile does not die under the water so that we can call the monkey to celebrate its funeral. (Akan Proverb)