“The first glass is bitter like life, the second is sweet like love, and the third is gentle like death.”
The traditional three rounds of Saharan mint tea are said to mirror the stages and moods of a person's life, poured and shared slowly as an act of hospitality.
— Traditional Sahrawi Wisdom, Western Sahara
Source: Traditional Saharan tea-ceremony saying, shared Sahrawi-Tuareg-Maghrebi oral tradition, widely documented in Saharan travel and ethnographic literature (public domain)
More Proverbs from Western Sahara
Patience is the key to relief.
Enduring hardship with patience eventually opens the way to relief and ease.
Whoever strives, finds.
Sustained effort and determination lead to achievement.
The neighbor before the house, and the companion before the road.
Consider who will be near you — neighbors and travel companions — before you settle on a place or set out on a path.
The best speech is that which is short and to the point.
Wisdom favors words that are few but meaningful over long, empty talk.
Birds of a feather fall together.
People are drawn to and gather with others who share their nature.
He who digs a pit for his brother falls into it himself.
Those who plot harm against others often bring ruin upon themselves.