“A country horse does not run in the city.”
Said to gently mock someone out of their element who tries to act as if perfectly at home in an unfamiliar new setting.
— Traditional Benin Wisdom, Benin
Source: Traditional Bariba proverb (Benin), in Biao & Atidegla (eds.), "Proverbes du Bénin / Benin Proverbs," Globethics.net Praxis Series No. 3, 2015
More Proverbs from Benin
Silence is an attribute of the dead; he who is alive speaks.
Living, engaged people communicate; withdrawing into silence is a kind of death.
Anyone who sees beauty and does not look at it will soon be poor.
Failing to notice and appreciate the good things in life leads to a poorer existence.
Work is the medicine for poverty.
Labor and effort are the true remedy for hardship and want.
The world is a journey; the afterworld is home.
Earthly life is temporary travel, while the true, lasting home lies beyond it.
A great affair covers up a small matter.
A major issue easily overshadows and hides a lesser one.
Anyone who plants a tree before they die has not lived in vain.
Leaving something lasting behind gives a life meaning and purpose.