Balanced Two-Part Proverbs

1. Two halves that answer each other
Many Twi proverbs have two parts. The first half sets up a situation and the second half answers it, so the proverb is easy to remember and pleasant to hear. Praise poetry uses the same balance.

2. Condition and result
The most common shape is a condition closed by a, then its result, as in sɛ ... a. In proverbs the sɛ is often left out and only the closing a remains:

• Sɛ wo werɛ fi na wosan kɔfa a, yenkyi. (If you forget and go back for it, it is not taboo.)
• Anomaa antu a, obua da. (If a bird does not fly, it goes to bed hungry.)

3. Matching halves
Some proverbs repeat a word so that the two halves mirror each other:

• Agya bi wu a, agya bi te ase. (When one father dies, another father lives.)
• Obi nnim a, obi kyerɛ. (If someone does not know, someone teaches.)

4. Opposite halves
Others set two halves against each other:

• Abofra bɔ nwa, na ɔmmɔ akyekyedeɛ. (A child cracks a snail's shell, but not a tortoise's.)
• Prayɛ, sɛ woyi baako a, na ebu; wokabomu a, emmu. (A broom: if you take out one straw, it breaks; if you bind them together, they do not break.)

5. In praise poetry
Praise lines follow the same pattern: Asante Kotoko, wo kum apem a, apem bɛba! (Asante porcupine, if you kill a thousand, a thousand more will come!) See Appellations and Praise Names.

6. Understanding them
Read the second half as the lesson, and take the whole proverb as a picture of something else: the bird that will not fly stands for anyone who will not make an effort. Many proverbs also keep old forms and timeless negatives; see Old Forms in Proverbs and Timeless Truths in Proverbs.