The Elders' Wisdom

  212.A man of strategy is wiser than a man of strength. It pays to use one’s mind. One does not need physical strength to defeat an enemy, even a mighty, strong one. With the proper strategy, s/he can defeat giants without having to lift a finger. The mind is more potent than brute force.

  213.A man that says he won't marry a woman that has other admirers, won't marry at all. Every woman has admirers; every woman has value. If a man says he wants a woman without one, he actually does not want to marry. He can’t expect to be married, at least not to a woman.

  214.A person who plants cassava by the roadside, and the one who marries a beautiful woman, share the same problem. In many parts of Liberia, farms line up alongside the road, there is an unspoken rule, that strangers can eat from the farm provided they take only what they need and nothing more. This is not a system for greed; it is an act of kindness. Food is never considered something to mean others with. Therefore, one who is really hungry can eat and move along their journey. Taking anymore or some to carry is an abuse of the system. Now regarding the saying, a farm on the roadside attracts much attention especially if it is yielding well. In the same manner, a man with a pretty woman has to bear the countless tares and or advances others will give towards his woman. It is ‘trouble’ in a way.

  215.A thing stolen brings in misfortune. Our culture has always frown upon theft. It is even more so now after the crisis when people are trying hard to make ends meet. In addition, armed robbers make their effort go to waste when they come and take what they did not work for [other people’s hard labor]. This is a menace in society. The religious nature of our society has encouraged this kind of thinking of payback. People believe that life is a circle and what one does, one gets in return. Thus, stolen things are a sure way of getting misfortune.

  216.A woman who is kind always has a full calabash. The calabash [Lagenaria Siceraria – scientific name] is the bottle gourd or long melon plant. It is prominent in African culture. It has multiple uses, food, drink, art, and music. Once the food is eaten, it can then be used as an instrument for playing music, art-draw/design it but mostly, it is used as a utensil for holding food and drink. Depending on the culture and its food, it can hold mostly liquefied food. It is widely used for water and serving local drinks, in Liberia, that will be palm wine. A kind woman uses this to feed other people, hence, she does not lack. People repay her kindness and she always has more to share with others.

  217.Do not blow your own horn. It is considered boastful for one to sing one’s praises. The reason is obvious. We are not necessarily the best judges of ourselves. It is then moot to keep praising oneself. If one is as good as one thinks, then others would be the ones singing one’s praise.

  218.One mouth cannot drink from two calabashes at the same time. Greed can lead to our destruction. We should be mindful of what we want and what it takes to get them.

  219.One rotten bean is enough to spoil the entire sauce. It takes but one with bad influence to ruin a lot. Evil has the tendency to corrupt.

  220.One should never rub buttocks (butt) with a porcupine. The lesson here is applicable in many situations. It is about one knowing one’s limits. We should avoid situations that are above our ability to solve. In this case, the porcupine will certainly win; it is a master of that game.

  221.One should not defecate where one eats. For obvious health reasons, defecating where one eats is bad. We can apply this parable in a sense where one bites the hand that feeds them. This act of ingratitude does not bode well for the one who is doing it. It speaks to respect. Children are thought to respect their elders who provide for them.

  222.One who loves you, warns you. Love is caring. It protects.

  223.Only a fool runs from the rain by jumping into the river. The foolish person often creates more problem in attempting to solve one. They do not think things through thoroughly; they act prematurely. Their results of poor planning is not so good

  224.Only God knows what makes all our fingers different. In most of our traditions, the spirits or the deities are powerful, all knowing beings. Their pre-knowledge of events lends more power to them. People normally take it as a given that they have orchestrated things so that good will win over evil. Hence, they play an active part in our societies. This is in line with a notion that there is a creator, for some the Judeo-Christian one, for others, the traditional one. Regardless, it is believed that this creator knows why all things are not equal or seem fair in life.

  225.Our eyes taste before our mouths. We crave for things we see even if we do not know how they really taste. The outward appearance is misleading at times. Since we get to see things first, we crave them long before we lay hold of them. Thus, we normally get to want with our eyes before we taste.

  226.People get fed up even with honey. Even the sweetest thing loses its taste with overuse. There is an end to everything. This can be applied to respect as well. Some people take kind hearted people for a ride; they count on their generosity; but this goes to say that even the kindest person has feelings and could retaliate if you go too far.

  227.People helping one another can bring an elephant into the house. When a family works together, no task is too much for them. This goes for a group, community, a nation etc. togetherness has the power to conquer the world so to speak. People gain by joining forces in complete tasks.

  228.People who love one another don’t dwell on each other's mistakes. Love is a very powerful thing. It has the power to forgive the gravest of things. It is capable of seemingly impossible things.

  229.Rat does not born rabbit. A common way to use this verse is in regards to character. Parents are responsible for raising their children. Although the community plays a huge part, however, in the end, the parents have the final say. Thus, an ill-behaved child, whose parents displayed similar traits are no surprise. This is used to indicate that the child bears the fruits of its parents.

  230.Scratching won't make a kitten afraid of its mother. It is natural for a cat to scratch its kitten. It may be painful at times, but it is for a good reason. Despite the intensity, the kitten has more reasons to love its mother than the scratching alone. Our families are important to us. We love them in any situation.

  231.Sleep killed the lion. The lion is a symbol of might. It is considered the king of the jungle, yet, it can be slain. No matter how powerful one is, letting down one’s guard, is a sure way to be overcome. The sleep here is not necessarily the actual act of sleeping. It is about not being guarded against danger, being overconfident of one’s power and not taking the necessary precautions to protect oneself.

  232.Stretching your hands as far as they can reach, or grabbing all you can grab, will not finish the food in the forest. A greedy person is a selfish one. Such people think for themselves alone. In this case, they are foolish to think that they can take everything in life. The forest here is used as an abundance of supply. No one person can collect all the food it contains, only the greedy fool thinks s/he can.

  233.The bell rings loudest in your own home. Folks often ignore or are unawares of their own situations, however, they know all about other people’s situation. These are often judgmental people. This goes to say that the time one takes to ponder others situations, they could use it to review theirs. They would be surprised to notice how they are lacking in the very areas they criticize other people in.

  234.The blacksmith in one village becomes a blacksmith's apprentice in town. In the larger context of life, whatever we are good at; there is someone better at it. In this case, the village is smaller; hence, the blacksmith is the boss. However, when he moves to a town, which is bigger, he becomes an apprentice of another. When we move from the confines of our limitations and enter the large world, we get to see how little we know as compared to what all is out there.

  235.The buttocks are like a married couple though there is constant friction between them; they will still love and live together. The behind of a woman is an item of beauty in our setting. The
larger, the better for many men. It makes them more desirable. In this case, the focus is on unity. A married couple may fight and fuss, but they find ways to solve their issues and come back together because they are one together, not alone. They complement each other. This is why our elders warn against ‘standing between married people’. Such acts do not end well for you. They eventually make up and you are right in the mix of their combined anger. This is not a good place to want to be. Unity is priced over division.

  236.The creature is not greater than its Creator. This is like saying the student is no greater than its mater but only that may not always hold true. When we create a thing, we must know it well. The creator has knowledge and ability; hence, his/her creation should reflect this but not surpass it [that is ideally]. This is applicable to the order of seniority. Parents give birth to their children; this follows that children should respect their elders. When they mess with this order, life has a way of hitting them hard.

  237.The crocodile cannot win the monkey in a tree race. If one knows one’s abilities and limits, one will know which battles to fight and which battles not to fight. When it is obvious that one will lose, then the venture is not worth doing. This is a case of being true to oneself and not indulging in false hope.

  238.The day one has plenty to eat; they ignore the elders’ advice. When the food runs out, they seek the elders’ help. This is a typical situation of pride. Many people feel they do not need others when they are in a position of power or wealth. However, when they lose that position, they suddenly remember those people. Often at times, our elders will be the ones offering advice, but these people ignore these warnings and only need them when it is too late.

  239.The disobedient fowl obeys in a pot of soup. An unruly child finds himself/herself in trouble. If a child refuses good counsel, life teaches them, by such time, it is often too late to correct the situation.

  240.The earth is the mother of all things. Our traditionalists believe in the power of nature. They subscribe to the notion that nature gives birth to everything and as such, she is rightly the mother of all things.

  241.The family is like the forest, if you are outside it is dense, if you are inside you see that each tree has its own position. Families are the fabric of our society. If one sees a family from outside it may look strong and perfect, but when one enters that family, one gets to see what the individual members truly are. The collective may present a story, but the individual presents a different one. The power of the united family seems unbreakable from without but from within, one sees the weaknesses.

  242.The family tree may bend, but it never breaks. We have another saying that blood is thicker than water. A family has its differences. At times, these may cause bitter strains, but when push comes to shove, the family holds together. They rally around each other to fend off any threat because if they do not, they all risk being defeated.

  243.The fly does not jump in the water that has frogs without reason. If a fly decides it must jump into a water full of frogs, then it must have something more dangerous chasing it. It must fear that thing more than the frog. The situation must be dire for the fly to risk it. We take certain risks depending on what we stand to lose if we do not take them. The level of the threat is often correspondent to the level of risk we are willing to take.

  244.The fowl digs out the blade that kills it. The chicken is noted for digging; it digs all day long and just about anywhere, it can penetrate. Normally, inquisitive children are warned using this proverb. The lesson they try to teach them is that it is not good to dig into things that are not of one’s concern. Having an inquiring mind is good but to go poking in other people’s business is not. This could lead to one’s own demise.

  245.The friend of a fool is a fool. We say that birds of the same fly together. A foolish person keeps company with others that thinks like him. They think alike and are easily able to form a bond of friendship. It is then logical to see why a fool will befriend another foolish person. For one to think that all one’s friends are fools and one is not, is foolish.

  246.The friend of a wise person is another wise person. This is the quite opposite of the parable about a fool’s friends being fools. A wise person seeks otherwise people to befriend and learn from; this enriches their knowledge. It pays to be friends of wise people.

  247.The hand of the young does not reach to the high shelf; but that of the elder does. Again, we see experience and respect interplaying. There are many things the young may not know or be able to do but the elders can easily do because of their knowledge and experience. Thus, it serves us well to render them their respect.

  248.The heart has no bone in it. Our hearts are fragile and as such, we should treat it carefully. Some people do not care for others and they treat them like trash. They break their hearts, forgetting that it contains no literal bones to resist such fall/hurt.

  249.The hen comes from the egg and the egg comes from the hen. The intent here is not to solve the problem of which comes before the other-the hen or the egg. It serves to show a connection. If there is one, then there must be the other. It is a classic example of the circular nature of some things in life. Alternatively, it could mean that a hen lays an egg, which in turn, turns into a hen. When used in regards to behavior, it means one should expect a child to manifest characters of its mother.

  250.The house of a person we love is never far. We are not referring to literal distance here. When we love people, we find every time to spend it with them, thus, their home is never far from us. The frequency of our visits neglects the actual distance.

  251.The hunter does not rub himself in oil and lie by the fire to sleep. If a problem is so obvious, it is unwise to go looking for it. The smart thing to do would be to avoid it. The potential of causing a trouble is enough to dissuade a wise person. In this case, the hunter knows the risk of catching on fire is high if he went to sleep in the forest right next to a fire. Especially if he has rubbed oil on him.

  252.The hunter in pursuit of an elephant does not stop to throw stones at birds. A wise person knows how to keep his/her focus. There are many things in life to distract us but if we keep our minds set to our task, we shall succeed. Imagine the irony here. The possibility of catching a large elephant is closing in, and then one loses focus and starts hunting a bird. The gains of the first action are far in excess of the second. Only a fool would risk losing an elephant for a bird; no matter how big the bird is it will never be bigger than an even a baby elephant.

  253.The hyena does not forget where it has hidden its kill. The things that are important to us, we keep them close to our hearts. When the hyena hides its food, it must remember the location for when it needs it later otherwise it will starve. Similarly, a child does not forget its home. Its home is where food is.

  254.The important things are kept in the locker. We have a tendency to guard the things that matter to us. Because of their value, we can’t risk losing them. If we do not protect them and others take them, we would lose them.

  255.The law is like a biscuit (cracker).

  256.The leopard that visits you is the one that kills you. Betrayal is successful when people we let in our confidence turn on us. It is important not to allow dangerous people into our lives. In this case, the leopard represents danger, yet we allow it to pay a visit, which it uses to size up our weaknesses. The next time it comes back, it would be to finish the job.

  257.The man may head a home but the wife is the heart that runs the home. Liberian culture places high value on women. From the home to the national level women play key roles. They raise the children, run the home, manage the funds, the farm and so many aspects. Just as the heart is vital to life, so are women in the homes. If a woman is unhappy, that home is never in peace. It is true the man may run around saying he is the boss, but a wise man knows that his wife is the key to his success.

  258.The man who has bread to eat does not appreciate the severity of a famine. The rich and poor have different per
spectives in life. They appreciate things differently. During the time of famine, those with food do not feel the effects as those without food. In reality, when people have, they are easy to undervalue what they have. Those that lack are forced by circumstances to appreciate the little things of life.

  259.The man who says "I will do it” but does not, always loses to the one who says, “I did it”. Procrastination is not a friend of progress is another proverb that relates to the one above. Having good plans that never materialize are useless when compared to those that actually do. Of these two people, one is a dreamer and the other is an accomplished person. It is better to be the one who does than to be the one that plans to do but never gets around to doing it.

  260.The medicine tastes worse than the disease. The best way to fend off a problem is to find a solution, which is bigger than the problem. This is more like fight fire with fire, only this time, your fire has to be bigger than the one you are fighting. The bigger the problem the bigger the solution.

  261.The monkey does not need a bridge to cross a river surrounded by trees. There are many ways to live. A man does not need a flamboyant life style before he lives; as long as he has life, and can meet his basic needs, he will survive all right. We only need some things to live, the rest we can live without them.

  262.The monkeys also celebrate the crocodile’s funeral; but they do so from in the trees. They do not come in the water with the crocodile’s family. When an evil master dies, all his or her enemies and slaves rejoice. They are relieved and happy for their freedom.

  263.The most dangerous thing a man needs is a woman. No matter how powerful a man is, a woman can bring him down if she puts her mind to it. Nothing is more potent to a man than a woman out to get him. This is not to say women are wicked, it is just an observation that women have a way of getting into the heart of men.

  264.The mother of a great man has not horns. She is an ordinary woman. Our mothers may be ordinary looking, but they are our backbones. When we get great, people forget that it was not superwomen behind us, but ordinary women that did extraordinary things to get us raised right. In this case, the mothers are not having horns or some other supernatural characteristics; they are humans like anyone else. It is what they do that makes the difference.

  265.The mouth of a man is the cause of his success or failure. Some people’s mouths are the reason they fail. They say the wrong things at the wrong times. Whilst for others, it is the opposite. They say the right things at the right time.

  266.The one who asks questions doesn't lose his way. In life, it is better to ask questions. If we find that we lack something, we should asking. Asking is a way to learning. An inquiring mind makes progress. When in doubt, it is better to ask. This is not a sign of weakness but of strength.

  267.The one who loves an ugly person is the one who makes that person beautiful. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. If people think that something is not worthy, and one thinks otherwise, the one who differs has lend some value and beauty to that thing.

  268.The one whom God clothes will not go naked. If God blesses you, no one can stop it. This is a common way certain things are approached in our setting. In other words, what I destined for you, it shall be yours.

  269.The plant protected by God is never hurt by the wind. God’s protection is seen as the ultimate one can have. In this case, though there may be wind, this plant will not be damaged because of the protection it has. If one puts one’s trust in God, then one is safe.

  270.The poor man's main tool is his mouth with which he defends himself. The less fortunate may seem powerless but it is not so; such a person can still speak to injustice and make a change. They do not have to sell their soul. Their principles are in tack and they can use it potently if they need to do so.

  271.The roof of the house fights with the rain, but those it protects ignore it until it stats to leak. We tend to ignore the importance of some people or things in life. They seem so easy or they are so readily available that we do not consider the actual amount of work that goes into it. It is only when it loses the battle with the rain and starts leaking that we know how much value it had.

  272.The walls have ears. Our elders caution people to be careful of what they say and where they say it. If one thinks that the comfort of a room is enough, then one is mistaken. Anything that is said to another person, eventually finds its way out. The best way to avoid this is to say what one means. If you say something privately, be willing to defend it publicly. Do not spread lies. Although it may in secrecy, if it comes out, you will be embarrassed.

  273.When a group of people eat, the one who is too talkative leaves with his stomach empty. It is not good to eat and talk. Apart from the health reasons, the one who talks hardly has time to put food in his mouth, by the time he is finished talking, he realizes that the food is finished and he is hungry. There are times when we should focus on one thing and complete it before we do another.

  274.When the cock drinks water, it raises its head to God in thankfulness. Here again we see religion surfacing. The value of gratitude is priceless in our culture. If the cock can be grateful for its provision, what about you? This is a question for all to ponder. When people provide for us, we must endeavor to show appreciation for it. When they help us, we must be thankful and try to keep the circle going.

  275.When the pig is little, it asks its mother, why her mouth is long. The mother pig tells him to wait awhile and he will know. With time, life teaches us certain things. However, until such time reaches, we will never fully understand it.

  Section V