Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu

A person is a person through other people.

What it means

Nobody becomes fully human alone. A person's humanity grows through their relationships with others, not in isolation.

Zulu · Southern Africa

Source and context

From: Zulu, Southern Africa

Source: isiZulu (South Africa) oral-tradition proverb, foundational to Ubuntu philosophy — widely documented (e.g. afriprov.tangaza.ac.ke). Wikipedia's "Ubuntu (philosophy)" gives the same wording and translation, "A person is a person through people", and attributes it to Zulu.

The meaning given here is our own reading. Other interpretations exist.

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