Madagascan Proverbs

Madagascan Proverbs draw wisdom from a vast island where Austronesian and African roots meet. Images of rice fields, zebu, and ancestor reverence teach patience, community duty, and survival through cyclones and dry seasons.

Life is a shadow and a mist; it passes quickly by, and is no more. (Madagascan Proverb)
An egg does not fight a rock. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
Debts make the thief. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
You may well have caught a bird, but have you a fire to roast it on? View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
Better to lose a little money than a little friendship. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
Friendship reminds us of fathers, love of mothers. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
Sadness is a valuable treasure -- only discovered in people you love. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
The barking dog gives you no power -- it gives you fear. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
The earth is a giant cooking pot and men are the meat therein. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
It is the softness of the lime that is fatal to the bird. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
Crows are black everywhere. (Madagascan Proverb)
Only thin dogs become wild. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
However little food we have, we'll share it even if it's only one locust. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
Disgraced like a man whose own pet bites him. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
Better to be guilty in the eyes of men than in the eyes of God. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
The end of an ox is beef, and the end of a lie is grief. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
You can catch a cricket in your hand but its song is all over the field. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
When you treat someone like a wild cat, he will steal your chickens. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
The earth is God's bride -- she feeds the living and cherishes the dead. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
A chicken that hatches a crocodile's eggs is looking for trouble. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
When the crocodiles leave, the caymans come. (Madagascan Proverb)
One can't give a grasshopper to a child if one has not caught it yet. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
Even the dead in their family vaults enjoy being in large company. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
Govern a country as you would roast a crocodile on a spit. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb
The dying person cannot wait for the shroud to be woven. View proverb
Madagascan Proverb