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African Wisdom in Image and Proverb

Cotonou, Benin 1991

Cotonou, Benin 1991

One's generation is like a different country to another's generation. African proverb
The streets of most African towns are lined with vendors doing business. Some of the more colorful ones are the barbershops. The young man who owned this shop let me take pictures of him cutting hair. Many of his street vendor friends stopped by to see what was going on. They agreed to pose for this portrait. Cotonou, Benin 1991

"I am because we are; we are because I am" South African proverb Life is a proverb of creation. African proverb All who live under the sun are plaited together like one big mat. African proverb Southern Kenya 1995 Life is the best gift; the rest is extra. Tanzanian proverb Massina, Mali 1994 Life is in community. African proverb Southern Sudan 1989 DiafarabŽ, Mali 1994 Life has two legs, male and female. African proverb Children are the reward of life. Congolese proverb Southern Sudan 1993 Lome, Togo Bamako, Mali 1992 Southern Sudan 1989 Missira-Wadne, Senegal 1988 Sokoto, Nigeria 1989 Knowledge is like a garden; if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested. Guinean proverb Cotonou, Benin 1991 The Gambia 1994 Nairobi, Kenya 1990 Narok, Kenya 1994 DiafarabŽ, Mali. 1994 DiafarabŽ, Mali. 1994 One does not live without working. Tanzanian proverb DjennŽ, Mali 1992 Mbao, Senegal 1988 Bamako, Mali 1992 If you can talk, you can sing; if you can walk, you can dance. Zimbabwean proverb Nairobi, Kenya 1995 Nairobi, Kenya 1995 God is the contemporary of everything. African proverb If you are going to ask from God, take a large basket. Nigerian proverb Southern Kenya, 1995 Asmara, Eritrea 1993