LUISAH TEISH grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, and spent many hours along the banks of the Mississippi River. As you know this area is rich in folklore, music and mystery. As a child, She was surrounded by a community of elders who maintained centuries old stories and traditions. She also found that any question she posed was met with a proverbial answer. "Don't be like the bulldog in the hay!" she was told.
She soon learned that her intelligence was measured by her ability to decipher proverbs and to glean life-guidance from the content of stories.
This influence awakened a creativity that led to Luisah gathering materials (both oral and written). She has since become a professional storyteller, writer, and community activist for more than forty years now.
On this page she offer's you some of her favorite proverbs, jokes and sayings. They are drawn from cultures all over the world. Read them, consider them, and respond if you like.
But most importantly enjoy them.
A List of Proverbs
A world begins with One. Can you be The One who makes this place a better world?
Rocks on the path may be picked up or kicked off. If you kick them aside, you create obstacles for others. If you pick up the stones, you can use them to build a fortress. What will you do?
The earlly bird catches the worm and the night owl feasts on mouse. Everyone has their turn in Time. How do you use your time?
Do you argue vigorously with a fool. This endeavor makes a wise person foolish.
Open your eyes wide! Look! See the world before you. Close your eyes. Breathe! And see the light within you.
Flies cannot enter a closed mouth. Curses are accrued by a wagging tongue.
Bush and Dick give genitalia a bad name.
Cure illness with stillness. Meditate daily.
You can't throw sugar on shit and call it ice cream.
A cow need her tail more than once to fan a fly.
Two racehorses can have a conversation. But what can a jackass say?
Water drank from a clean cup does not sting the tongue.
The tightrope walker is nervous. What if they ask her to dance?
When head, heart, and hands agree wonderful things can be done.
Nobody knows what's at the bottom of the Ocean.
The One who is the head must never be the tail.
A hard head makes a soft behind.
A bell rings loudest on its own front porch.
If you push you luck, it might push back.
The bigger they come the harder they fall.
The bigger the family, the bigger the funeral.
Beware the height of the pedestal. It matches the speed of the fall.
A burnt child fears fire.
When a king falls, a prince rises to the throne.
He who knows does not die like he who does not know.
Lessons can be learned in this life or the next.
A dog has four legs but can only run one way. Where are you going human?
The ears cannot grow above the head.
Don't let your ass overload your underwear.
Can two rams drink from the same stream?
No one succeeds alone.
The ancestors and the womb live in the same place.
Two long nosed people cannot kiss each other.
Though eyes decieve, the mirror never lies.
After the fat is fried, we will taste the grease.
Bit by bit we eat the head of the rat.
The parrot sings in the jungle and the pigeon in the city.
The needle carries the thread.
Pretending to be crazy is crazy in itself.
Your best friend may be your worst enemy.
The cheap is expensive in the end.
He who rests under a strong tree benefits from the shadow.
A new broom sweeps clean.
When there is war, the warrior does not sleep.
When it rains, the toad goes underneath the stone to take shelter.
Always practice what your heart says.
Do not destroy with your tongue what you built with your head.
The bandage in front of your eyes does not let you see in front of your nose.
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