Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts...

The word of a friend makes you cry. The word of an enemy makes you laugh. = But profuse are the kisses of the enemy.

Advice given by someone who has your best interests at heart is sometimes unpleasant and even painful. But the person who seeks your downfall may deliberately encourage you toward hidden danger with advice that seems pleasant and good. There is a similar proverb…Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts. But profuse are the kisses of the enemy.


Many times in our life we come to a situation where we ask some advice from a friend about something and our friend’s view may go against our view. We may not like this but in due course of time we see that our friend has been right and following his advice would have saved ourselves. But people who don’t like to watch our progress will try to encourage our views especially when it is wrong. They would like us to make mistakes. This proverb is used in two ways…either as an encouragement to take harsh advice from a friend in the spirit it is intended or as a warning not to follow the deceptively attractive advice of someone who doesn’t have our interests at his heart.


Two ants do not fail to pull one grasshopper. = Many hands make light work.

When any insect dies the ants comes over and pick them up for food. A grasshopper is a very large insect and one ant cannot pull it. But being a social insect the ant signals to other ants from its group and they join him in pulling the grasshopper to the anthill where they feast upon the dead grasshopper. The ants work united to search and gather food and defend their anthill from their predators. Such a social structure is also present in wasps and bees.


One of the best cultural values of the African people is unity. The Haya Ethnic Group was a well organized big extended family. They were very close in everyday life. For example, when the men were hunting together, collecting firewood in forest together and even when visiting friends from one village to the next they usually were in twos or threes. Women also were together when fetching water from a river, collecting grass, cultivating in the fields and celebrating feasts like weddings. They believed in the fact that collective strength is always powerful however little it may be and that when two or more people decide upon something they cannot be mistaken or go astray. The proverb MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK also indicates the importance of working collectively.