Sayings of Sudanese origin
Enter houses through their doors.
When you live with Arabs, either do as they do or move away.
Love for something makes a man blind and deaf.
When Allah made Sudan, he laughed.
Punish him if he lies and teach him good manners.
He who taught me one letter, I became his slave.
Hot water is not a playground for frogs.
If telling the truth does not save you, lying will not.
Not all the trees in the forest make good firewood.
It is not difficult to give birth to a baby, but it is difficult to raise him. His flesh is for you and his bones are for us.
When the monkey can’t reach the ripe banana with his hand, he says it is not sweet.
When a hen is brooding, another hen cannot sit on her eggs.
If a dog bites you and you don’t bite him back, it will say that you have no teeth.
Beware of evil from him to whom you have done a favour.
Be accustomed to hardship, for God’s endowment never lasts.
If our feet leave the earth we no longer live in peace.
Empty stomachs have no ears.
If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.
A dog cannot carry its puppies on its back.
A woman will not be given a leash.
Worries about girls last to death.
The owner is satisfied, what is bothering the Judge!
A woman is like hair that follows the neck.
If Nakedness promises you a piece of cloth, ask him his name.
The one whom you dislike, fear God in your behaviour towards him.
Speak about the good qualities of your dead people.
No one likes to eat crumbs from a feast; everyone likes to sit at the table.
The water bag drips on its carrier’s flank.
Eat as brothers, but settle your accounts as merchants.
Let your son choose his wife by himself but choose a husband for your daughter.
He who tells you about others will tell others about you.
No one likes to eat crumbs from a feast; everyone likes to sit at the table.
Follow a secure road even if it is winding.
Your origin is your behavior.
Appearance is the sign of what is inside.
The Republic of the Sudan
Sudan, is an African country in the Nile Valley of North Africa, bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest. It is the third largest country in Africa. The River Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves. Its predominant religion is Islam.
Sudanese Arabic is the most widely spoken language in the country. It is the variety of Arabic, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Semitic branch, that is spoken throughout Sudan.
Khartoum is the capital and second largest city of the Republic of Sudan and of the Sudanese state of Khartoum. It is
located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile, flowing west from
Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as the “al-Mogran”, meaning the Confluence. The main Nile continues to flow north towards Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. (An excerpt from Wikipedia)
More Sudanese Proverbs & Sayings
If you are wearing shoes, you don’t fear the thorns.
A termite can do nothing to a stone but lick it.
Relatives are a dense forest.
Eggs and iron must not be in the same bag.
A naked man will often laugh at someone with torn clothes.
Lying stops livelihood.
The poor are excused from washing with soap.
The soup would be none the worse for more meat.
Teach them, do not bequeath them.
Even the sharpest ear cannot hear an ant singing.
Respect the one who saw the sun before you.
A little shrub may grow into a tree.
Do not keep your stick away from these three: a woman, a drum and a female donkey.
I and my brother are against my cousin and I and my cousin are against the stranger.
Learning at young age is like sculpturing a stone.
He who is not ashamed does what he wants.
You can’t feed your donkey only when you need to ride it.
He whose mother is naked will not clothe his aunt.
Make your words true to your actions.
It is sad when the elephant dies, but the whole tribe can feed on it.
Parents’ anger is connected to God’s anger.
Truth is light.
Lying’s rope is short.
Let rats shoot arrows at each other.
Whoever is praised in his presence has been offended
Seek the neighbor before the house.
The hand suffers at work, but the mouth still must eat.
A young crocodile does not cry when he falls in the water.
Men are measured by their tribes and women by their deeds.
Feed your son properly and discipline him.
Return trust to the person who trusts you and do not betray the person who betrays you.
A child is a child of everyone.
Someone who is pointing his finger to another person is not always aware that the four remaining fingers are pointing in his direction.
He who intervenes in matters that do not concern him hears what does not please him.
When the eagle falls, too much fluttering is shameful.
That which does the cultivating is in the stomach.
Do not talk publicly about it or take pride in it.
Avoid the anger of the tolerant.
If you can walk, you can dance; If you can talk, you can sing.
Our wasted days are the days we never laugh.
Let rats fight with each other.
You who dig a hole for evil, make your space wider in it.
Don’t cough in a hiding place.
Live your life as though you may live for ever; and be ready for the Hereafter as though you will die tomorrow.
Even if a log lies in the water for a long time, it does not become a crocodile.
What is with your father will stick to you.
Not all the trees in the forest make good firewood.
A stranger does not share the monkey.
A friend who visits you when you are suffering is your best friend.
Mockery is for the enemy.
He who says I do not know has given a judgement.
A big chair does not make a king.
Playing with someone that is not your size hurts your chest.
Listen to the one whose advice makes you cry, not to the one whose advice makes you laugh.
He who grows with a thing, grows old with it.
They have taken the cow by the horns in order to milk it better.
Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fatted ox where there is hatred.
The mother of boys has peace of mind.
We are the soldiers of God and of our home-land”Nahnu Jund Allah Jund Al-watan”, is the national anthem of Sudan.
Sudanese National Anthem ( English Lyrics):
We are the soldiers of God, the soldiers of our homeland,
We never betray the call for sacrifice.
Death, we defy at adversity.
Glory, we buy with the highest price.
This land is ours.
May, our Sudan, live long among the nations ,
showing the way as a banner.
O Sons of the Sudan, this is your symbol,
It shoulders the burden and shields ye land.
