Greetings

An African will never begin a conversation without a greeting. Even if he is not intending to engage in a conversation, it is considered extremely impolite to go past another person, even a stranger, without a greeting. Besides, it is very impolite to show impatience, even if you are really in a hurry. If you have to ask a person about something, you are not supposed to start the conversation with the reason for your visit: first greet the person in accordance with all rules, and then come to the point.

Once a European professor was visiting his African friend in the town of Mopti. Suddenly they heard someone saying “Kon-Kon!” behind the door (it is the way to ask for a permission to enter in Mali), and people started coming in; each of them greeted the host in length in the Fulfulde language and sat on a mat. When all of them (around fifty people) sat down, one of them exchanged several short phrases with the host, after which they began to rise, say goodbye and go outside. The whole process took about an hour. “Who are these people and what did they come for?” asked the professor. And the host said, “They just got the wrong door…”

A morning begins with visiting one’s relatives, friends and acquaintances. The youngest come to greet the elders, heads of families come to the village chief to greet him. Thus relations between people are maintained: if someone does not come to say hello, it means, something is going wrong...

As for the white people, Africans do not expect much from them. They know: “The Whites do not greet peo

Naming ceremony. Guests are greeting the head of the family.  Nigeria. D. G. Bondarev. 2005.		To greet a friend, it takes time. Côte d’Ivoire. Abidjan. Erman A., 2007