Ataovy dian-tana: jerena ny aloha, todihana ny afara.
“Behave like the chameleon: look forward, and watch behind you.”
Stay alert to both the future and the past before you act.
— Traditional Madagascar Wisdom, Madagascar
Source: Traditional Madagascar proverb, public-domain oral tradition
More Proverbs from Madagascar
All who live under the sky are woven together like one big mat.
Every person on earth is bound to everyone else in one shared community.
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Be like the mouth and the hand: when the hand is hurt, the mouth blows on it; when the mouth is hurt, the hand rubs it.
Real kinship means caring for one another automatically, the way different parts of one body do.
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The night brings wisdom.
Sleeping on a hard decision often brings clearer judgment by morning.
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Let your friendship not be like stone, which cannot be mended once it breaks, but like iron, which can be welded back together.
Build friendships resilient enough to be repaired after a quarrel, not ones that shatter forever.
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Let your love not be like a flash flood: heavy when it comes, but gone in no time.
True love should be steady and lasting, not a sudden burst that quickly fades.
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Do not treat the one you love like a swinging door, pushed back and forth though you are fond of it.
Affection is no excuse for careless or inconsiderate treatment of a loved one.
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