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.

An egg does not fight a rock.

Madagascan Proverb

Debts make the thief.

Madagascan Proverb

You may well have caught a bird, but have you a fire to roast it on?

Madagascan Proverb

Better to lose a little money than a little friendship.

Madagascan Proverb

Friendship reminds us of fathers, love of mothers.

Madagascan Proverb

Sadness is a valuable treasure -- only discovered in people you love.

Madagascan Proverb

The barking dog gives you no power -- it gives you fear.

Madagascan Proverb

The earth is a giant cooking pot and men are the meat therein.

Madagascan Proverb

It is the softness of the lime that is fatal to the bird.

Madagascan Proverb

Only thin dogs become wild.

Madagascan Proverb

However little food we have, we'll share it even if it's only one locust.

Madagascan Proverb

Disgraced like a man whose own pet bites him.

Madagascan Proverb

Better to be guilty in the eyes of men than in the eyes of God.

Madagascan Proverb

The end of an ox is beef, and the end of a lie is grief.

Madagascan Proverb

You can catch a cricket in your hand but its song is all over the field.

Madagascan Proverb

When you treat someone like a wild cat, he will steal your chickens.

Madagascan Proverb

The earth is God's bride -- she feeds the living and cherishes the dead.

Madagascan Proverb

A chicken that hatches a crocodile's eggs is looking for trouble.

Madagascan Proverb

One can't give a grasshopper to a child if one has not caught it yet.

Madagascan Proverb

Even the dead in their family vaults enjoy being in large company.

Madagascan Proverb

Govern a country as you would roast a crocodile on a spit.

Madagascan Proverb

The dying person cannot wait for the shroud to be woven.

Madagascan Proverb