“The head that is on the neck of the vulture is not the same head that is on the neck of the bird Gangan.”
Two things that look alike on the surface are not necessarily the same in nature or behavior.
— Traditional Benin Wisdom, Benin
Source: Traditional Fon proverb (Benin), public-domain oral tradition (African Manners, "Fon Proverbs I (Benin): 17 in Total")
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.
Traditional Benin Wisdom
Read more →
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.
Traditional Benin Wisdom
Read more →
Work is the medicine for poverty.
Labor and effort are the true remedy for hardship and want.
Traditional Benin Wisdom
Read more →
The world is a journey; the afterworld is home.
Earthly life is temporary travel, while the true, lasting home lies beyond it.
Traditional Benin Wisdom
Read more →
A great affair covers up a small matter.
A major issue easily overshadows and hides a lesser one.
Traditional Benin Wisdom
Read more →
Anyone who plants a tree before they die has not lived in vain.
Leaving something lasting behind gives a life meaning and purpose.
Traditional Benin Wisdom
Read more →