Proverbs are used to express emotions, convey ideas, and provide inspiring, celebratory, and advisory messages. The Akan peoples of Ghana use proverbs that are usually distorted to make intricate and complex expressions. Proverbs in Akan culture are as old as the language, which dates back to the 13th century.
Akan proverbs are philosophical reflections that show and explain the Akan people’s beliefs and culture. Themes such as intimate, platonic, positive, and negative relationships are very common and are still used today, especially in movies and theatre. Human relationships are so complicated that often times, they can only be expressed using similarly intricate language.
Here are 20 Akan Proverbs about Relationships:
20 Akan Proverbs about Relationships
1. Ayonkogoro nti na okoto annya tiri: It is because of friend-play that the crab does not have a head
2. Obi mmfa ne nsa nnto obi anomu na ɔmmpae n’atifi: Don’t bite the hand that feeds you
3. Bafan se oreyɛ oni, na onnim sɛ ne to na oresɛe no: Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face
4. Wamma wo yonko anntwa anko a, wonntwa nnuru: If you don’t let your friend cross and reach his destination, you will also not cross and reach yours
5. Onipa dɔ wo a, ɔdɔ wo ne wo nkwaseasεm: If a person loves you, he loves you with all your nonsense
6. Oyere te se kuntu: wode kata wo so a wo ho keka wo; wuyi gu ho nso a, awo de wo: A woman can be compared to a woolen blanket which if you use to cover yourself, you may feel irritated, and yet, if you remove it, you become cold
7. Atwee mmienu boro Oyuo: Two Maxwell duikers (antelopes) defeat one black one
8. Nsuo a edo wo na eko w’ahina mu: It is the water river that loves you that enters your pot
9. Hwɛ me so mma minni bi nti na atwe mmienu nam: It is because of ‘watch over me while I eat’ that two antelopes walk together
10. Wohunu ananse a, ku no, anyε saa a, ɔbεdane ɔkyεmfo a bεka wo: When you see a spider, kill it, if not it will change into a bird-spider and bite you
11. Dua a εbεbere ama yεn ate bi adi no, yεnsosɔ ogya ngu ase: The tree which will bear fruit for us to pick some and eat, we don’t light fire underneath it
12. Opanyin a otena ase ma nkwadaa ewe nanka no, sɛ yɛreka nanka wefooa, yɛ bu no ka ho: An elder that looks unconcerned for children to eat a python, he is regarded as taking part in the meal
13. Awareso ne awaregyae ne fa bi gyina nsewnom so: The success or failure of a marriage is partly determined by the in-laws
14. Funtumfunafu ne Dεnkyεmfunafu baanu yafunu yε yafunukoro; nanso sε wɔredidi na wɔreko a na efiri atwimnenemudε ntiara: Two-headed crocodiles’ stomachs mixed up, they both have one stomach but when they eat, they fight because of the sweetness of swallowing
15. Nsa baako nkura adesoa: A hand is never enough to lift a heavy load
16. Aboa bi beka wo a, ne ofiri wo ntoma mu: If an animal will bite you, it will be from your cloth
17. Afεkubɔ te sε asanom, w’anhwε wo ho so yie a, εma wosopa: Companionship is like drinking too much palm wine, if you are not careful, it leads to disgrace
18. Wonnim nipa a, wo ne no nsi koso: If you don’t know someone, you do not make a partnership with them
19. Agya bi wu a, agya bi te ase: When one father dies, another father lives
20. ɔdεnkyεm ne pitire na εda, nso ɔfom no a, ɔka no: The crocodile and the catfish sleep together, but when the latter offends the crocodile, it bites it