Proverbs on line

I have just added my 79th proverb to the database at http://silcmb.org/. There is a better link at the bottom of this blog page. You can search for a topic such as "competition" and come up with a proverb that addresses the futility of competing with someone out of your class. The comparison is made to the water chevrotain, a very interesting water mammal here in Cameroon that is believed by the Nzime to swim exceptionally well. That's only one of many proverbs. To read more on this animal, go to http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Hyemoschus_aquaticus.html

What can we learn from Africa?

The native wisdom of Africa is, to my observation, a largely an unknown resource. One way to make these proverbs more available is by using an interactive, searchable web-based database. One is now available at http://www.silcam.org/folder020601/page.php# To date (July 20, 2009), I have posted 110 proverbs, and I still have many more to add. These are a periscope that you can use to look into a new world and see what matters to them.