Moremogolo go betlwa wa taola, wa motho o a ipetla.
“A block of wood is carved into a divining set by a craftsman, but a person carves himself.”
Skilled hands can shape an object out of wood, but only a person can shape their own character and future — each individual is responsible for who they become.
— Traditional Botswana Wisdom, Botswana
Source: Reginald B. Monyai, "The Proverb manong a ja ka ditshika as an Embodiment of the Principle of Unity", Culture and Identity, IntechOpen (2018)
More Proverbs from Botswana
A bull is caught by its horns, but a person is caught by their words.
A person's own words reveal their true character and can bind them just as surely as an animal is restrained by its horns.
A mother holds the knife by its sharp edge for the sake of her child.
A mother will endure pain or danger herself rather than let harm reach her child.
A person is a person because of other people.
No one becomes fully human alone; identity, dignity, and worth are formed through relationships with others.
A basket of locusts is only filled by people working together.
Large or difficult tasks, including raising a child or building a community, are accomplished through shared effort, not by any one person alone.
A chief is chief only because of the tribe.
A leader's authority comes from the people they serve, not from themselves; leadership without the people's support is empty.
Traders in the same goods do not love one another.
People competing in the same trade or pursuit rarely stay on friendly terms with each other.