African Proverb: “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” and Ubuntu

The African proverb “A person is a person through other people” corresponds to the well-known Nguni saying “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”, which is associated with the concept of ubuntu in Southern Africa. It begins with a straightforward idea: no one develops their humanity, identity or dignity alone. We are shaped by the bonds of care, recognition, belonging and responsibility that we maintain with others.

What does “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” mean?

Its most common rendering is “a person is a person through other people”. Found in Nguni languages such as isiZulu, the expression places interdependence at the heart of what it means to be human. Rather than treating a person as an existence entirely separate from the community, it stresses that identity, dignity and social life are formed through relationships.

This does not mean that the individual vanishes into the group. Instead, the principle describes a relational humanity: each person retains their own existence, while learning, developing and living out their humanity alongside others. Several values commonly connected with ubuntu help clarify this interpretation.

• Respect for the dignity of other people;
• Solidarity in the face of shared difficulties;
• Responsibility for the consequences of one’s own actions;
• Compassion and a willingness to care for others;
• Recognition that nobody lives in complete isolation.

Why is this saying connected to the concept of ubuntu?

Ubuntu is a traditional Southern African concept often summed up by the phrase “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”. While no brief translation can capture every aspect of its meaning, the word is commonly linked to humanity, fellowship, care and mutual recognition. Academic literature uses this formulation to explain that becoming fully human involves relationships with other people.

What does Desmond Tutu have to do with this teaching?

Desmond Tutu helped bring ubuntu to international attention during South Africa’s period of political reconstruction after apartheid. In 1995, Nelson Mandela appointed him chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was established to investigate serious human-rights violations and support a national process of truth and reconciliation.

In this setting, Tutu drew on ideas of shared dignity, forgiveness, responsibility and coexistence. While working in connection with the commission, he also publicly advocated building a culture of ubuntu. The aim was not simply to forget past crimes, but to rebuild relationships without denying the humanity of victims, those responsible and communities affected by apartheid.

• The truth needed to be uncovered and recorded;
• Victims needed to have their dignity recognised;
• Reconciliation did not mean erasing suffering;
• Rebuilding the country relied on coexistence between groups previously divided by apartheid.

Why does this African proverb also resonate in Brazil?

The connection does not mean that the proverb originated in Brazil. Rather, it lies in the profound role of Bantu peoples and languages in shaping Brazil. Nguni belongs to the broad family of Bantu languages, and millions of Africans forcibly brought to Brazil during the Atlantic slave trade came from regions where different languages from this family were spoken. Their presence left its mark on vocabulary, music, religious practices and Brazilian cultural expressions.

Jongo is a recognised example of this heritage: the tradition preserved in south-eastern Brazil has deep roots in the customs of Bantu-speaking African peoples. This historical link helps Brazilian readers recognise that ideas, words and ways of understanding communal life originating in African societies are not remote from the country’s cultural formation.

• Bantu languages influenced the Portuguese spoken in Brazil;
• African traditions endured in expressions such as jongo;
• Community practices continued across generations during and after slavery;
• The diaspora historically connected Brazil with different societies in Central and Southern Africa.

The central lesson lies in how we treat other people

“Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” turns an abstract idea about humanity into an everyday question: who does a person become through the relationships they create? Family, friendship, neighbourhood, work and community are not merely settings for an individual life. In the logic of ubuntu, these relationships help shape who we are, because recognition, care and dignity exist through interaction with other people.

This is why the African proverb continues to speak across contexts far removed from the one in which it emerged. Its message does not ask anyone to give up their individuality; instead, it reminds us that no human achievement takes place in total isolation. In just a few words, the Nguni saying expresses a powerful idea of ubuntu: our humanity takes shape when we recognise and preserve the humanity of others.