Shona Proverbs

Shona Proverbs carry the voice of Zimbabwe’s builders of Great Zimbabwe. These sayings praise kinship and hard work, warn against envy, and honor ancestral guidance through droughts and harvests.

A hunter has no mysterious notions about the forest. (Shona Proverb)
A new thing does not come to she who sits, but to she who travels. View proverb
Shona Proverb
Green maize abounds at the houses of those without teeth. View proverb
Shona Proverb
It is mysterious if a baboon falls from a tree. View proverb
Shona Proverb
No matter how thoroughly a crow may wash, it remains ever black. View proverb
Shona Proverb
One who refused advice was later seen bleeding. View proverb
Shona Proverb
The chakata fruit on the ground belongs to all, but the one on the tree is for she who can climb. View proverb
Shona Proverb
The cook does not have to be a beautiful woman. View proverb
Shona Proverb