From time to time on social media, a proverb is posted. Then it is reposted. And reposted. And so on. Many of those proverbs are ascribed to a non-Western people, sound ancient, seem at first reading to be filled with deep wisdom (and on second reading to have much less of that), and quite often contain suspiciously modern references. To me, they're the flip side of negative slurs directed at those same non-Western people. The slurs ascribe baseless negative qualities to such people. The supposed proverbs ascribe baseless superior qualities (spirituality, harmony with nature, wisdom) to them. Both viewpoints treat such people as fundamentally different from us and as stereotypes.
Another problem with this silly quoting of, say, "an African proverb" is the provincialism that thinks Africa is a sparsely population, culturally homogeneous place. Africa is the second-largest continent and has a population of 1.5 billion people speaking 3,000 or more languages. It has a long, complex, and diverse history. "African proverb" makes as little sense as "Western Hemisphere proverb" or "Eurasian proverb" -- or Chinese, Indian, Native American, etc. proverb, all of which we see often.
Well. Be that as it may. After reading yet another such supposed proverb, I decided to play the game by inventing a few myself. Here they are, appropriately categorized. I hope to keep adding to this collection. If you come up with a good one yourself, e-mail it to me and I'll include it here with attribution.
(The Dark Continent)
The bicyclist who rides all the way around the lake returns to his starting point.
The lion roars, but the wise lion is silent.
Only a stupid cheetah uses the highway.
Your loincloth is full of power, but your spear is harder.
(from Leonore Dvorkin)
(Where Everyone Is Deeply Attuned to Nature)
The buffalo is faster than the ant, but the ant digs deeper.
(Home of Mystic Enlightenment)
Do not approach an elephant that is stamping its feet.
Be suspicious of the person who telephoned you.
(Also Mystic Enlightenment)
The mountaintop is higher than the surrounding terrain.
The East is not red, but it is pink.
(The Very Nice Place)
While the grizzly attacks, the squirrel watches.
Watch the beaver. Learn from the beaver. Do not pet the beaver.
Also, do not pet or take selfies with the bear.
(Land of Great Music and Strange Novels)
The samovar rests upon three sugar cubes.
(Probably a Mythical Place)
You are made up of many islands, but you can only live on one of them at a time.
(This Space Intentionally Left Blank)
East Coast girls are hip.
(The Strange Place)
Fruit juice can stain magic underwear but washes out with your sins.