No Easier Road

Proverbs greatly enrich a language, and colourful and meaningful expressions as well as idiomatic sayings are particularly present in African languages, many of which have originated in, and evolved through folk tales, handed on from one generation toanother. Studying proverbs is therefore a gateway to the culture of a people. This is a collection of proverbs of an major language spoken in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa, Ndebele. The proverbs are organised into sections: warnings, commendable or not commendable behaviour, good and bad situations, gratitude, ingratitude, friendship, love and goodwill, exhortations, talk, action, children’s behaviour, factual statements and character descriptions. Some 425 proverbs are included in total, and notesare provided on their origins as well as their relationship to Zulu proverbs.