79 Igbo Proverbs
1.
A bad habit that lasts more than a year may turn into a custom.2.
A calm spirit will enable a man to survive even a six-month jail sentence.3.
A guest mourner does not wail as though his heart is broken.4.
A guest should not cause his host's demise. When the guest is ready to leave, his host should not have given him a hunch-back.5.
A man has the same last name as his brother.6.
A man who believes that he can do everything, let him dig a grave and bury himself.7.
A man who rushes into battle does not realize that battle entails death.8.
A man who shoots his arrows as he makes them does not realize when he has shot a whole sheaf.9.
A man with a missing tooth does not eat ugiri with relish.10.
A palm tree climber is not expected to tell everything he sees from up above.11.
A person can never run so fast as to run away from his backside.12.
A person who arrives at a feast when the cooked meat is being pulled out of the pot does not know what was endured by others to catch and cook it.13.
A person who chases a chicken is due a fall. The chicken is a master of the dodged escaped.14.
A person who happens by a neighbor's house at dinner time, and is invited to join the meal, does not swallow such large morsels as to break the string of pearls around his neck.15.
A person who is being carried to the market does not realize that the way is long.16.
A person who underneath the tall palm tree is best positioned to tell on which side the ripe head is.17.
A person who uses the world as his carrying pad will find himself carrying his load on his bare head.18.
A pot trader whose fortunes are all invested in her clay pots isn't much of a merchant.19.
A servant serves a king, he serves the king well; a servant serves two kings, he is true to one.20.
A slave boy is blamed no matter what he does: If he does not wash his hands, he is accused of being dirty. If he washes his hands, he is accused of wasting water.