Apao ndi mchenga, madzi apita pansi.
“The family is like sand: water goes underneath it without anyone seeing.”
You never know — among your own family or hosts, something could be going on beneath the surface, so stay watchful even among your own.
— Traditional Malawi Wisdom, Malawi
Source: Traditional Malawi (Chichewa) proverb, documented in J.C. Chakanza, "Wisdom of the People: 2000 Chinyanja Proverbs" (CLAIM, Blantyre, 2000)
More Proverbs from Malawi
What befalls your neighbor today may befall you tomorrow.
Misfortune can strike anyone in turn, so help others in trouble as you would want to be helped.
Two crooks cannot cut each other's hair.
Two dishonest people can never fully trust one another, since each knows the other's true character.
One must never pass between an elephant's legs twice.
Do not tempt the same danger a second time; a narrow escape is a lesson, not an invitation.
Two fingers cannot enter one nostril.
Some places and roles can hold only one person at a time; do not crowd where there is no room.
A rooster does not crow on someone else's land.
A person carries authority and confidence only where they truly belong; show humility away from home.
Eat your fill now, for what is coming does not sound a drum to announce itself.
Prepare for today's needs, since tomorrow's troubles arrive without warning.