1-42 Cultural Insight - Greetings

CULTURE Insight - Greetings: [42] - traditionally, a greeting from afar would be precededwith the raising of both hands raised in the air, bent atthe elbow, with perhaps a shake of the hands, a gestureof friendship and non-aggression. This is obviously notappropriate in most formal western, urban settings, butkeep an eye open for it and you will still see it on thestreets. It is still common on the rural areas (ezilalini).- it is usual for a younger person to greet an elderperson first, and to expect to at least exchange how doyou do’s and possibly a few other questions as wellaround their origins. This does not mean you need towait to be greeted (if you are elder). See the first pointabove.- it is usual for an arriving person to greet first, ratherthen those in a location greeting the person arriving.- it is common, though not necessary, to use the pluralin greetings, including the person’s family, communityand ancestors, even when greeting a single person. Itimplies the connectedness between the well-being of anindividual and that of their community, or family, andwider levels, including spiritual beliefs. This takes theform often of ‘ninjani?’ and ‘siphilile’, even thoughthere may be only one person.    UBuntu Bridge has been teaching Xhosa since 2006, there are various products, learning services and tools at : https://www.learnxhosaonline.com/store   #ubuntu #learnxhosa #xhosa #xhosalanguage #isiXhosa