Yɛsoma onyansafoɔ, ɛnyɛ anamɔntenten

We send a wise person, not one with long legs.

What it means

Someone with long legs may arrive sooner, but delivering a message takes more than carrying the words. The proverb says it is better to send a wise person, even a slower one.

Akan · West Africa

Source and context

From: Akan, West Africa

Source: Akan (Ghana) proverb; no. 17 in "The 50 Most Important Akan Proverbs," adinkrasymbols.org, which prints it as "Yesoma onyansofoo, enye anamontenten" and, in Twi orthography, as recorded here

The source explains it: the person with long legs may be able to reach his destination faster, but because there is more to communicating a message than just sending the words, it is better to send a wise person who might be slower. The wording of the meaning is ours.

Explore this idea

Only a wise person can solve a difficult problem.

Proverb

A hard problem needs a wise person, not a fool. The Akan saying pictures it as a knot of wisdom that only the wise can untie.

Both put judgment ahead of a physical trait — strength here, speed there.

Leadership

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