Ni i sigi fali fe san cyaman, i te se ka fali kan fo, nga i be na fali tamisira don.
“If you travel with donkeys for many years, you won't speak like a donkey, but you will know all their paths.”
Long, close experience with something teaches you its ways deeply, even without you becoming it yourself.
— Traditional Mali Wisdom, Mali
Source: Traditional Mali proverb, public-domain oral tradition
More Proverbs from Mali
Little by little, the bird builds its nest.
Patient, steady effort accumulates into something substantial over time.
Everyone's time of rising is their morning.
Each person has their own pace and season for success; do not measure yourself against another's timeline.
Distance from people makes relations pleasing.
A little distance can keep relationships sweet; too much closeness can wear a bond thin.
An empty sack doesn't stand.
Without real substance behind it, a thing or a person cannot hold themselves up.
Beware of the goat that is in the lion's lair.
Danger can hide inside something that looks safe or familiar; stay watchful.
If the hare is your enemy, admit that he can run fast.
Give your rival honest credit for their real strengths, even if you dislike them.