List Of Proverbs and Sayings about Ancestors
This region has generated more family history proverbs than most, due primary to beliefs regarding ancestors and ancestor worship.
- “A child doesn’t belong to the mother or father; a child belongs to his ancestors.”
- ”A parent should not give up modeling their children, because the ancestors never give up on us.”
- ”As you do for your ancestors, your children will do for you.”
- ”Blessings of ancestors are greater than those of living human beings.”
- “Children are the reward of life.” (Congo)
- “Dreams are voices of ancestors.”
- “If you know his father and grandfather you may trust his son.” (Moroccan)
- “If you lie, the ancestors will punish you.”
- “It is better to be kind to your neighbors, than to cross the world to offer incense to your ancestors.”
- “Many births mean many burials.” (Kenya)
- “More precious than our children are the children of our children.” (Egypt)
- “No man can outwit the ancestors.”
- “Old men and women in the village are books of history and wisdom.”
- “Open your ears to the ancestors and you will understand the language of spirits.”
- “Remember the wisdom of your ancestors in order to become wise.”
- “Silence brings wisdom of the ancestors.”
- “The ancestors may annoy you, but don’t make the mistake of annoying them back, or they may annoy you forever.”
- “The future emerges from the past.” (Senegal)
- “To neglect one’s ancestors would bring ill-fortune and failure in life.”
- “Treat the world well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was willed to you by your children.” (Kenya)
- “We have not inherited this land from our ancestors; rather we have borrowed it from our children.” (Kenya)
- “When you live next to the cemetery, you cannot weep for everyone.”
- “Without history, [there is] no life.” (Nigeria)
Asian and Indonesian Proverbs & Sayings
- “A house without children is a graveyard.” (India)
- “Children yoke parents to the past, present and future.” (Japan)
- “Consider the past and you shall know the future.” (China)
- “Don’t take the straight path or the winding path. Take the path your ancestors have taken.” (Cambodia)
- “Dream of a funeral and you hear of a marriage.” (China)
- “Everything in the past died yesterday, and everything in the future is born today.” (China)
- “Fruits of the same tree have different tastes; children of the same mother have various qualities.” (China)
- “It is difficult to repay the gifts you get at a wedding or a funeral.” (China)
- “Learn about the future by looking at the past.” (India/Tamil)
- “Married couples who love each other tell each other a thousand things without talking.” (China)
- “Only fools seek credit from the achievements of their ancestors.” (China)
- “The baby has not been born yet, and yet you assert that his nose is like his grandfather’s.” (India)
- “The old should be treated with due respect. Children should be treated with gentleness.” (Japan)
- “The only things that were missing at the rich man’s funeral were mourners.” (China)
- “The past is the future of the present.” (Japan)
- “The past remembered is a good guide for the future.” (China)
- “To forget one’s ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root.” (China)
- “To understand your parents’ love, you must raise children yourself.” (China)
- “You can be cautious about the future but not the past.” (China)
- “When you have children yourself, you begin to understand what you owe your parents.” (Japan)
- “Who has children cannot long remain poor; who has none cannot long remain rich.” (China)
- “All of the Earth’s treasures can’t bring back a lost moment.” (France)
- “An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship.” (Spain)
- “Beloved children have many names.” (Hungary)
- “Between husband and wife, one doesn’t put the spoon.” (Portugal)
- “Children act in the village as they have learned at home.” (Sweden)
- “Children travel from the heart to the heart.” (Sweden)
- “Closeness without conflict only exists in the cemetery.” (Finland)
- “Every time history repeats itself, the price goes up.” (Italy)
- “Everything goes by favor and cousinship.” (France)
- “From our ancestors come our names, but from our virtues come our honors.” (Latin)
- “Funeral sermon, lying sermon.” (Germany)
- “Happy nations have no history.” (Belgium).
- “He that hath no children doth bring them up well.” (England)
- “He who has no fools, knaves, or beggars in his family was begot by a flash of lightning.” (England/Old English)
- “He who teaches children learns more than they do.” (Germany)
- “How did you rear so many children? By being fondest of the little ones.” (Portugal)
- “If the family is together, the soul is in the right place.” (Russia)
- “If nothing is going well, call your grandmother.” (Italy)
- “If you want to be a hundred you must start young.” (Russia)
- “Life is short, but there’s a lot to be done.” (Russia)
- “Man learns from the cradle to the grave.” (Welsh)
- “May you never forget what is worth remembering, or remember what is best forgotten.” (Ireland)
- “No matter how tall your grandfather was, you have to do your own growing.” (Ireland)
- “Praise borrowed from ancestors is but very sorry praise.” (Denmark)
- “Take an onion with you to the funeral.” (Sweden)
- “The glory of ancestors should not prevent a man from winning glory for himself.” (Serbia)
- “The grandson wants to remember what the father wished to forget.” (Spain)
- “The Irish forgive their great men when they are safely buried.” (Ireland)
- “The ones who brag most of their ancestors are unworthy of them.” (Denmark)
- “The only real equality is in the cemetery.” (Germany)
- “The remembrance of past sorrows is joyful.” (Britain)
- “There was already twenty in the family, so my grandmother had a baby.” (Spain)
- “Those who dislike cats will be carried to the cemetery in the rain.” (Netherlands)
- “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” (Russia)
- “You have a lifetime to work, but children are only young once.” (Poland)
- “You live as long as you are remembered.” (Russia)
Middle Eastern Proverbs & Sayings
- “A cemetery never refuses a corpse.” (Lebanon)
- “All strangers are relations to each other.”
- “Attend funerals and avoid weddings.”
- “Burial is the way to honor the dead.”
- “Four things come not back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.”
- “Every day of your life is a page of your history.” (Arabian)
- “Whoever has no children has no light in his eyes.” (Persia/Iraq)
- “How great the grandfathers are, but how regretful what they left behind.”
- “When the judge’s mule dies, everyone goes to the funeral; when the judge himself dies, no one does.”
Caribbean, North and South American Proverbs
- “A beautiful funeral does not necessarily lead to paradise.” (Creole)
- “A people without a history is like the wind over buffalo grass. (Native American/Sioux)
- “Arriving and leaving, hoping and remembering, that’s what life consists of.” (Haiti)
- “Home is the father’s kingdom, the children’s paradise, the mother’s world.” (American)
- “Regard Heaven as your father, Earth as your mother, and all things as your brothers and sisters.” (Native American)
- “Remember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator.” (Native American)
- “The daughter-in-law wipes away what the mother-in-law has seen.” (South American)
- “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” (Native American/Haida)
- “When the grandmothers speak, the earth will be healed.” (Native American/Hopi)
- “When your own funeral is approaching, you don’t pick and choose your grave diggers.” (Jamaica)
Other Ancestry & Family-Related Proverbs & Sayings
- “A wedding is like a funeral, but with musicians.” (Hebrew)
- “Come for your inheritance and you may have to pay for the funeral.” (Hebrew)
- “Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set.” (Proverbs 22:28)
- “He who does not research has nothing to teach.” (Unknown)
- “Hold on tight to the words of your ancestors.” (New Zealand)
- “If you do not honor your parents, your children will not honor you.” (Hebrew)
- “My fathers planted for me, and I planted for my children.” (Hebrew)
- “Study the past if you would divine the future.” (Unknown)
- “Walk in the valley of our ancestors, learn of the history, and marvel at the beauty.” (New Zealand)
- “Who dances at the wedding, weeps at the funeral.” (Hebrew)