Pages

Jabo Proverbs

Jabo (Djabo) is the self-designation of an ethnic group located in the southeastern part of the Republic of Liberia in West Africa. They have also sometimes referred to themselves as Gweabo or Nimiah tribe.

One who cannot pick up an ant and wants to pick up an elephant
will some day see his folly.

A heedless dog is not fit for hunting.

Evil deeds are like perfume; difficult to hide.

By his deeds we know a man.

The pumpkin has no unripe parts.

The thief does not gossip about his accomplice.

One must touch a drum before it will speak.

No time is set for death.

If you can't spread my fame, don't besmirch my good name.

Dead tree does not yield dew.

There is no wealth where there are no children.

In a beloved wife there is no evil.

Baldness is a thing of dignity.

A person dies before we appreciate him.

If you are stingy, your bad reputation will spread.

Gossiping about the enemy brings war.

We decide our affairs, then we rest them with God.

A patient person has all the wealth that there is in this world.

A woman does not perish in marriage.

On the palm tree that yields nuts the birds will tarry.

If you grind damp rice, it sticks to the mortar.

Not all the people who weep over your corpse are your friends.

The water spreads and spreads but the canoe lands at last.

Eternity gives no answer.

The bird is not big until he spreads his wings.

What the sea has swallowed it does not vomit out again.

A person is not a palm nut which we cut open to see what it is inside.

Fear surrounds the place where a snake disappeared in the bush.

When it rains, the roof always drips the same way.

Every head must do its own thinking.

If one comes to a fork of the road in a strange country, he stops to think.

The dog's owner is the one who can take the bone from its mouth.

As we teach a child, so he learns.

The goat dwells among men for fear of the leopard.

One does not embrace hunger.

A person dies before we appreciate him.

One cannot fight on two roads.

A patient person has all the wealth that there is in this world.

A child does not speak while a grown-up is talking.

War does not look at the ground.

The one who listens is the one who understands.

The bird builds his nest, then he flies up the hill.

If the elephant were not in the wilderness,
buffalo would be the greatest.

One doesn't throw the stick after the snake has gone.

It is not only giants that do great things.

If you marry a beautiful woman, you marry trouble.

The leopard has no heart.

One does not embrace the leopard.

The butterfly that flies among the thorns will tear its wings.

The foot that travels the road is the one that is pricked by the thorn.

Rats never sleep on the mat of the cat.

The fruit must have a stem before it grows.

A heedless dog is not fit for hunting.

He does not kill the beast who only looks at it.

The beasts plan ahead before entering the fields.

Wealth is short-lived.

A man who has no house is like a bird
in the tree when a storm has broken.

A person is not a palm nut which we cut open to see what it is inside.

The stranger eats with care.

A gossiping woman is the root of trouble.

Daring talk is not strength.

❖❖❖