Calabash Holds More Than Water: Proverbs for the Unspoken

"The calabash, like a wise grandmother who remembers every name, still waits patiently to be picked up-not just with water, but with stories, with spirit, with soul."

In The Calabash Holds More Than Water: Proverbs for the Unspoken, Stephen Apolima invites readers into the heart of African wisdom through an unforgettable tapestry of folklore, parable, and poetic prose. Blending rich oral tradition with contemporary reflection, this book reclaims the power of silence, memory, and metaphor in a noisy, forgetful world.

Set beneath the shade of baobab trees, beside village fires, and along dusty footpaths of northern Ghana, each story in this collection is a vessel-echoing with unspoken truths, ancestral voices, and cultural proverbs long buried by modern haste. From the goat that was never lost to the spider's second web, these tales explore identity, exile, resilience, belonging, and the invisible labor of love and artistry.

Whether you are a lover of African literature, a seeker of ancestral wisdom, or someone who feels caught between cultures and questions, The Calabash Holds More Than Water will nourish your soul like rain on parched soil.

If you believe that stories are sacred vessels-and that wisdom doesn't always shout but sometimes whispers-then take up this calabash and drink deeply. Let the stories heal, provoke, and remind you of the truths you already carry.