CULTURE Insight - Greetings: [42]

- traditionally, a greeting from afar would be preceded
with the raising of both hands raised in the air, bent at
the elbow, with perhaps a shake of the hands, a gesture
of friendship and non-aggression. This is obviously not
appropriate in most formal western, urban settings, but
keep an eye open for it and you will still see it on the
streets. It is still common on the rural areas (ezilalini).
- it is usual for a younger person to greet an elder
person first, and to expect to at least exchange how do
you do’s and possibly a few other questions as well
around their origins. This does not mean you need to
wait to be greeted (if you are elder). See the first point
above.
- it is usual for an arriving person to greet first, rather
then those in a location greeting the person arriving.
- it is common, though not necessary, to use the plural
in greetings, including the person’s family, community
and ancestors, even when greeting a single person. It
implies the connectedness between the well-being of an
individual and that of their community, or family, and
wider levels, including spiritual beliefs. This takes the
form often of ‘ninjani?’ and ‘siphilile’, even though
there 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