60 Powerful Congolese Proverbs

The Democratic Republic of Congo, known for its vast natural resources such as diamond, cobalt, and copper is home to the Congolese people. The country is one of the most populated countries in Africa with approximately 105,059,000 citizens. This article covers  60 powerful Congolese proverbs that unite the Congolese communities and keep their history and tradition alive.

60 Powerful Congolese Proverbs

After a strong fight for independence, the Congolese gained their independence in 1960 from Belgium. The Congolese people hold on to their traditional beliefs strongly. Some of the customs followed strictly by the Congolese people include: shaving a widow’s head, throwing a child’s baby teeth on the roof, sharing drinks with ancestors, Etc. Moving away from the cultural side, The Republic of Congo takes pride in its valuable mineral resources, large reserves of fresh water, and traverse rainforests. However, due to political instabilities occurring from time to time, the country’s economy is struggling.

Here are top 60 proverbs from Congo:

1. You are beautiful, but learn to work for you cannot eat your beauty.
2. When a bee comes to your house, let her have beer, you may want to visit the bee’s house someday.
3. A single bracelet does not jingle.
4. Great events may stem from words of no importance.
5. Lower you head modestly while you are passing and you’ll harvest the bananas.
6. Being well dresses does not prevent one from being poor.
7. No matter how full the river, it will still want to grow.
8. You do not teach the paths of a forest to an old gorilla.
9. Two birds disputed about a kernel; when a third swooped down and carried it off.
10. Death does not sound a trumpet.
11. To love someone who does not love you is like shaking a tree to make the dew drops fall.
12. The flesh of a young animal tastes flat.
13. If you tell people to live together, you tell them to quarrel.
14. Do not dispose the monkey’s tail before he is dead.
15. Little by little grow the bananas.
16. What is said over the dead’s body lion cannot be said to him alive.
17. Love is like a baby- it needs to be treated tenderly.
18. A little subtleness is better than a lot of force.
19. Mothers-in-law are hard of hearing.
20. The friends of our friends are our friends.
21. Man is like a palm-wine: when young, sweet but without strength; in old age, strong but harsh.
22. Wood may remain 10 years in the water but it will never become a crocodile.
23. The son shoots a leopard, the father is proud.
24. Sleep is the cousin of death.
25. Even without drumbeats, the banana leaves dance.
26. A pretty basket does not prevent worries.
27. He who is free of faults will never die.
28. Children are the reward of life.
29. Let him speak who has seen with his eyes.
30. The nuts from a palm tree don’t fall without dragging a few leaves with it.
31. The white man never forgets Europe.
32. Those who inherit fortunes are frequently more of a problem than those who made them.
33. He who doesn’t like chattering women must stay a bachelor.
34. Don’t buy a boat that is under water.
35. An idiot will cross an ox with an elephant.
36. Drink beer, think beer.
37. I own a cow in heaven; but I cannot drink her milk.
38. The impotent man does not eat spicy foods.
39. The snake and the crab don’t sleep in the same hole.
40. Prepare yourself for when the water comes up to your knees.
41. The fly has no pity for a thin man.
42. The iron never takes advice from the hammer.
43. Woe to the high spirited bride whose mother-in-law is still alive.
44. Without war they can never be peace.
45. Lovers do not hide their nakedness.
46. Friendship does not need pepper to cry.
47. Don’t buy salt if you haven’t licked it yet.
48. War ends nothing.
49. A house with two keys is worth nothing.
50. You inherit from the dead, not the sick.
51. An obedient child will never starve.
52. In every village, there is a white chicken.
53. All that glitters is not gold.
54. The eye always envies what is forbidden.
55. A child who elders always point the finger to will always be in trouble.
56. You don’t run away from the rains based on the winds.
57. If you spit in the air, it will always come back to you.
58. A child needs to know the price of bread whilst his parents are still alive.
59. A needle picked up during a game will be lost during a game.
60. A house you don’t live in, you won’t know where the water drips.