The Frog Under the Coconut Shell - A Malay Proverb
This is one of my favourite proverbs, that I have learnt since living in Asia. I always thought that it was a Thai story, but it appears that its origons are Malay.
"Seperti katak di bawah tempurung -- Like frog underneath coconut shell."
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The Meaning: "The Frog Under the Coconut Shell"
The story is about a solitary frog who spends his whole life living under a cocunut shell. The frog thinks that the shell is the world. He refuses to venture out into the world, and thus he remains ignorant but is happy with his ignorance. So, the person who is like the frog will have no knowledge of things, or events, or places outside of his 'world'.
Not only this, but underneath the shell, the frog has no vision of the World, and in fact gets angry if somebody tries to remove their shell and show them the World. I also think of the tale of the one who shoots the messenger, yet ignores the message, when I think of this proverb.
The proverb is used best to describe somebody who has explored every inch of their small world and therefore consider themselves knowledgable and wise, yet they lack a broader perspective of the world. They are belligerent and narrow-minded in their views, and don't like to be exposed to new ideas or insights that challenge their rigidly fixed views.
Does it sound like anyone you know?
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Interesting. In China, we have a similar proverb, that is a frog in a well. Same meaning as frog under the coconut shell.
Hi, there is a chance that it origonaly made its way from China to the Malay peninsula. Thanks for sharing :)