Meaning: People understand through speech, animals through smell

Context: Communication defines humanity

Meaning: One doesn't crawl toward the dead

Context: The past is gone; look forward

Meaning: War kills people; it bears none

Context: Conflict only destroys life

Meaning: War doesn't give birth to sons; it kills them

Context: Youth perish in war—peace sustains generations

Meaning: A land without knowledge is lost; people without it are ruined

Context: Education guides nations

Meaning: The shortcut traveler plants no shade tree

Context: Haste prevents lasting results

Meaning: The donkey followed the camels

Context: Following others doesn't make you successful

Meaning: A donkey is a donkey; don't make it jump like a gazelle

Context: Don't expect the impossible from the unfit

Meaning: He who opens the fence for the Adari donkeys marries them

Context: Meddling ties you to others' troubles

Meaning: Whoever lifts Awdal's fence marries its donkeys

Context: Uninvited help brings burden

Meaning: The worst donkey kicks the hardest

Context: The most troublesome people make the most noise

Meaning: The smallest donkey brays the most

Context: The least capable boast the loudest

Meaning: The she-donkey followed the camels

Context: Imitation is not achievement

Meaning: The donkey suckles its mother's tail out of self-reliance

Context: False confidence harms the foolish

Meaning: The donkey doesn't rest in the shade nor shades her young

Context: Some people help neither themselves nor others — neglect harms all

Meaning: Donkey herders don't sit in council with men

Context: Hard work gives low prestige; social standing depends on role

Meaning: Need and elegance don't go together

Context: Necessity humbles pride — survival comes before style

Meaning: People don't hate each other when interests align

Context: Shared benefit strengthens relationships

Meaning: Need is a rope that ties people together

Context: Necessity creates dependence and connection

Meaning: You sleep even on a boiling mat for your own interest

Context: People endure pain for personal gain — self-interest drives effort