Yoruba Proverbs

Yoruba proverbs distill West Africa’s oral wisdom, shaped by the Oyo Empire and Ifa divination. They prize balanced speech, respect for elders, and vivid imagery that guides community life with humor and moral clarity.

If you don't sell your head, no one will buy it. (Yoruba Proverb)
It is a thief that can trace the footsteps of another thief on a rock. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
Medicine left in the bottle can't help. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
Only what you have combated for will last. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
The bell rings loudest in your own home. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
For no man could be blessed without the acceptance of his own head. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
He who eats well speaks well or it is a question of insanity. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
He who throws a stone in the market will hit his relative. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
If something that was going to chop off your head only knocked off your cap, you should be grateful. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
If we stand tall it is because we stand on the backs of those who came before us. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
Truth came to market but could not be sold; however, we buy lies with ready cash. (Yoruba Proverb)
When the door is closed, you must learn to slide across the crack of the sill. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
When you stand with the blessings of your mother and God, it matters not who stands against you. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
Work is the medicine for poverty. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
Stretch your hands as far as they reach, grab all you can grab. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
The butterfly that brushes against thorns will tear its wings. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
The man who has bread to eat does not appreciate the severity of a famine. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
‘I nearly killed the bird.' no one can eat ‘nearly' in a stew. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
We must blame the thief first before we say that where the owner put her property improper. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
When the white man is about to leave a garden for good, he wrecks it. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
No one can uproot the tree which God has planted. (Yoruba Proverb)
You must be willing to die in order to live. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
You can't stop a pig from wallowing in the mud. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
When wood breaks it can be repaired, but ivory breaks forever. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb
When the rain falls in the valley, the hill gets angry. View proverb
Yoruba Proverb