The Elders' Wisdom

1.A bald man never aggravates bees. It is unwise to create a problem for which one has no solution.

  2.A big goat does not sneeze without good reason. A wise person has a reason for every action.

  3.A bird can be guarded, a wife cannot. It is impossible to keep any relationship devoid of trust.

  4.A black goat is hard to find at night. Some tasks are so foolish to even attempt.

  5.A child isn't sent to collect the honey. Do not send incompetent people to perform any task.

  6.A child who is fearless is likely to bring tears to his mother's eyes. People, who take unnecessary risk, tend to often cause pain to their loved ones and others around them.

  7.A child who listens is certain to be successful in life. People, who heed good counsel, are often rewarded with success.

  8.A dog without a tail can't greet its master. Dogs usually wiggle their tails when they are happy; hence, it is not easy to tell if a tailless dog is happy.

  9.A donkey always says thank you with a kick. Some people are just ungrateful, regardless of what help others give them, they end up paying back with ingratitude.

  10.A fly that has no one to advice it, follows the corpse into the grave. Some people end up in trouble because they (do not know any better) have only bad friends and or people of bad influence advising them.

  11.A frog has no teeth, but if you put your hand in his mouth, it will bite down. If you take advantage of the weak, one day they end up fighting back.

  12. A full stomach does not last overnight. Nothing lasts forever, be it good times or bad times, one-day it comes to an end.

  13. A girl doesn't turn into a woman overnight. We mature with time. It is a growth process.

  14. A good wife is easy to find, but suitable in-laws are rare. Some things are harder to get than others are, hence one has to work harder at getting them.

  15. A happy mouth can't blow a fire. Two thing can’t occupy a space at the same time.

  16.A hungry traveler will eat even a fig tree to keep him from starving. Some situations in life force/cause us to do things we would not normally do.

  17.A love from the heart can be read on the face. True love can be seen, felt from afar. It is in the actions and deeds of the person who loves.

  18.A log thrown into the water never turns into a crocodile. A person’s true nature is always there; no matter how hard they try to hide it, it shows eventually/one day.

  19.A man does not wander far from where his corn is roasting. We protect the things and people we love dearly at all cost, even if it means doing things we do not like.

  20.A man that does not provide food for his family does not really want to eat. A lazy man only starves his family.

  21.A man who doesn't know his or her roots is lost. It is often said that a person that is unawares of his or her history often ends up making some preventable mistakes. However, our elders believed that one who loses sight of one’s ‘roots’ forgets his/her culture and traditions.

  22.A man without a wife is like a vase without flowers. This saying comes with a backdrop that places high value of family; thus, a person without a partner won’t be able to make a family. In a typical traditional setting, this is a rather difficult situation, such a person has to fend and or do everything alone, from farming to fetching water. The tasks are too many;

  23.A married couple is neither enemies nor friends. Even married couples fuss and fight. At one point or another, they fight.

  24.A messenger never dies in the war. Messengers were normally afforded the right of free passage regardless of how bitter a news they bore. One practical way to view this is- those who fuel gossip, only ruin people whilst they are left out of the very trouble they cause.

  25.A monkey with no teeth never smiles. A person embarrassed about something, tries not to do that thing. Smiling in this case, would only reveal the something embarrassing, the lack of teeth.

  26.A monkey without teeth never chews. One who is unable to do something will not do it. The monkey is unable to chew, thus, it will find ways around

  27.A neck that isn't broken will wear a necklace. Only those that are prepared get to enjoy the benefits; they reap from the effort they made.

  28.A person already on the ground has nowhere to fall. There is no risk too big for a desperate person to take. Such a situation leaves a person with no choice but to do whatever they feel they must to do.

  29.A person cannot dance well on one leg only. When the cards life deals us are bad, we can only play them with our best efforts. One can only do as much as one can; when faced with a seemingly impossible situation you should do all you can.

  30.A person changing his clothing always hides while changing. People value their privacy, thus they try to protect it well. Self-respect is important in life.

  31.A promise is a debt. In an ideal situation, promises are not to be broken; hence, they are as good as owing a person. A simple lesson is not to make promises you have no intention of keeping.

  32.A stick, which is far away, cannot kill a snake. It is unwise to count on something one does not yet own or have. It is more like counting your eggs before the hen hatches. In this case, the stick is useless as a protection against the snake.

  33.A sweet taste does not remain forever in the mouth. Simply put, nothing lasts forever. With time, things change.

  34.A tiger does not have to proclaim its power to the prey. One who has power does not have to show it off.

  35.A waterside stone is not afraid of rain. Some things are just naturally the way they are. In this case, such a stone is nearly always wet; it can’t possibly expect not to be wet.

  36.A weak person may enable a strong one to succeed. Sometimes in life, we have to see the mistakes of others before we move ahead. We tend to learn from that situation and see first-hand what awaits us if we do the same. The ‘weakness’ in this case, makes us strong to press on.

  37.A woman is a flower in a garden; her husband is the fence around it. A man’s job is to protect his wife. Just as the fence guards the garden from intruders, a husband should value his wife and guard her again harm.

  38.A woman who has not been twice married cannot know what a perfect marriage is. Experience is often said to teach us better than anything else does. Sometimes, we master certain things only after we have had to experience them ourselves the hard way.

  39.A woman who is not successful in her own marriage has no advice to give to her younger generations. What good advice can one offer on an issue that one is failing at; except perhaps to not do things the same way? To teach something, one must know rather well.

  40.A word is (like) an egg. Words are extremely powerful. They can be potent or soothing. They have the ability to make or break people; hence, we should utter them with as much care as we would treat an egg.

  41.A word to the wise is quite sufficient. Some people only need a warning, a push of encouragement to go further along. In a typical Liberian fashion, this parable is meant to advice someone not to continue an action; it is most likely tempting and has the potential to cause trouble, hence, it is like a warning to stop or else things could get ugly.

  42.A young wife tends to cook too much at first. It takes time to master anything. An inexperience person grows to mastery with practice.

  43.After we fry the chicken, we don’t throw it away. No one wastes good food. Everyone wants something of value.

  44.All lizards lie on their bellies; hence, you can't tell which one has a stomachache. One has to take a closer look at some situations before they can truly understand them. The first look or the outward appearance is not enough to make an accurate decision.

  45.Although the snake does not fly, it has caught the bird whose home is in the sky. With proper planning, what appears impossible or seeming out of reach, tends to be attainable.

  46.Although the vulture is not edible, yet it nurses its eggs high up in the trees for it does not trust man. It is not easy to trust man. Even the animals distr
ust man. Trust is important to any relationship.

  47.An adult squatting sees farther than a child on top of tree. The experience of the elders transcends that of the youth. The young has arrogance or ignorance whereas the elders have been time tested and refined.

  48.An angel never disrespects God. The young should understand the importance of respecting their elders. They can only profit from such.

  49.An axe does not cut down a tree by itself. Nothing happens in life without one having to apply an effort. The level of success is often proportional to the amount of effort one puts in the task.

  50.An egg never sits on a hen. Respecting nature or the natural order of things is important. The egg will never hatch itself. It is unable to. However, the hen is the only one with the capability to hatch the egg.

  51.An elephant does not die of one broken rib. One should not give up just because one faces an obstacle. No matter how big it seems. We face many hindrances in life yet we do not allow them to break or kill us.

  52.An elephant never fails to carry its tusk. Regardless of the size of the elephant, it is still able to carry its tusk. We may have issues, but they are not bigger than us we have what it takes to solve them.

  53.An elephant's tusks are never too heavy for it. Regardless of what we think, our problems are not bigger than we are. If we look hard enough or be patient enough to see the alternatives, we often find solutions to them.

  54.An empty bag cannot stand. We need contents in life to move on. In the Liberian style, this is used in reference to food. A hungry person can’t work or be expected to do anything substantial.

  55.An empty can/tin makes a lot of noise. Those who are unable to perform, often overrate themselves. The less knowledgeable a person is about something, the more they tend to claim.

  56.An eye deceives its possessor. Our eyes easily mislead us. They see things in a manner than encourages us to lust after things that. The outward appearance cane be deceptive at times.

  57.As long as there are lice in the seams of the garment there must be bloodstains on the fingernails

  58.As one beats the drums, so does one dances. We will get what we invest. If one works hard, the chances of success are high, but if one does not, one can expect failure.

  59.Axes carried in the same bag cannot avoid rattling. If we mingle wrongly, we have to accept the consequences. We can’t be amongst the axe and be treated like a king. The treatment that fits one is the same we will receive.

  60.Because friendship is pleasant, we partake of our friend's entertainment; not because we have not enough to eat in our own house.

  61.Before good food goes to waste, the spoon will bend. If there is an opportunity and one does not take it, others will. They shall make use of it.

  62.One can’t be ashamed of one’s bath bucket. Our bath bucket is a private thing. Some have good ones, others have bad ones, yet they all do the same job, get us cleaned. They see us in our most vulnerable state. They see our true selves. In this case, we all have secrets, some big than others, but they are things we rather have others not knowing.

  63.

  Section II