African proverbs about death are always deep and call for a sober reflection on life and what it truly means. Referred to as the motherland, Africa is known for its deep-rooted wisdom and the use of poetry, quotes, proverbs, and riddles to pass very important messages that will force you to think a little deeper.
The depth of the African culture, which is also seen in the proverbs that are passed down from the elderly to the younger generations, is not only significant to their people or the African society. They apply to every society across the world.
African Proverbs About Death Everyone Should Know
1. No matter how beautiful and well-crafted a coffin might look, it will never make anyone wish for death.
2. Death does not sound a Trumpet.
3. Where the fire goes out is where one throws away the torches. Where a person dies, there his journey ends. When a man tires of the work he is doing, that is when he stops.
4. Death does not knock on the door.
5. If you do not sleep because you do not want to die, you will die because you do not sleep.
6. If the rich could hire someone else to die for them, the poor would make a wonderful living.
7. If you are a good person, even after death, your grave is loved.
8. The only truly dead are those who have been forgotten.
9. As long as man lives, the entire world is too small for him; after death, the grave is big enough.
10. Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names.
11. Death is not the opposite of life but a part of it.
12. There is no rich person in a grave.
13. Death is like a robe everyone has to wear.
14. No one can jump so high as to escape death.
15. Only one thing in life is certain: death.
16. If you start thinking of death, you are no longer sure of life.
17. You will not live forever, so leave a legacy.
18. There is a cure for everything except death.
19. Everybody will undergo the sentence of the grave.
20. When brothers fight to the death. A stranger inherits their father’s estate.
21. When the roots of a tree begin to decay, it spreads death to the branches.
22. Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them.
23. To the wise with a well–organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
24. Live your own life, for you will die your death.
25. Death is always news.
Here are some more African proverbs about death
26. Death is like a dress that, at some point or another, everyone has to wear.
27. Death is a thief who steals from everyone.
28. A ruined people are as miserable as a dog in the house of death.
29. Life is the beginning of death.
30. If you hide a sick person, your lamentation alarm will only announce his death.
31. When death finds you, may it find you alive( Alive means living your own damned life not the life that others choose for you).
32. When a dying man cries, it is not because of where he is going, which he knows nothing about, but because of what he wishes he would have done in the world he is leaving behind.
33. Sleep is the cousin of death.
34. There are two kinds of perfect people: dead and those who have not been born yet.
35. The ugliest life is better than the nicest death.
36. Death leaves a heartache no one can heal.
37. Where a person dies, there his journey ends.
38. The length of a frog is only known after its death.
39. The death of an elderly man is like a burning library.
40. All who have died are equal.
41. The whole world is a dream, and death the interpreter.
42. All things grow with time, except grief.
43. Death doesn’t just look through the book of the old.
44. Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people want it.
SEE ALSO: 50 African Proverbs About Hard Work
45. What you give for the cause of charity in health is gold; what you give in sickness is silver; what you give after death is lead.
46. He who comes for the inheritance is often made to pay for the funeral.
47. Live that people may speak well of thee at thy grave. The just need no memorial, for their deeds are their monuments.
48. Who is old and doesn’t believe it, will trip into his grave without seeing it.
49. No matter how long a life is, death is sure to come
50. Death is a hunter with one arrow, but when he shoots, he never misses.
Apart from the above, there are many other African proverbs about death and other aspects of life out there. While some consider these proverbs as a means of amusement at the creativity of the African mind, they also serve as a moral compass to society.
