Greeting is a gesture and a moment that belongs to a people’s culture. The ways in which people greet one another arise from different life contexts and meanings. It is interesting to observe what happens during a greeting, as well as what is considered important within a specific cultural context.<\/p>\n
In Italy, for instance\u2014and perhaps across Europe, too\u2014greetings take into account the time of day and the season; they are thus linked to the dimension of time: \u201cGood morning, ma\u2019am, and have a good holiday!\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s getting late\u2014good night!\u201d<\/p>\n
When meeting people one knows reasonably well, greetings often include inquiries\u2014but in a way fairly general ones\u2014such as: \u201cHow are you? How is your family?\u201d<\/p>\n
One day, I met a missionary who had returned from Japan; while on the street, standing just a meter away, he greeted me by pressing his hands together with great respect.<\/p>\n
In India, too, people greet one another by pressing their hands together\u2014almost as if praying for each other or acknowledging a sense of unity.<\/p>\n
In Brazil, people greet each other with warm kisses and hugs to express the joy of welcoming one another.<\/p>\n
In Africa, greetings highlight a person’s situation\u2014what they are doing or experiencing at that moment; consequently, the words used to greet someone are as varied as the human situations themselves: \u201cYou are passing by\u2026 You have arrived\u2026 You are in bed\u2026 You are working\u2026 You are cooking\u2026 You are walking\u2026 You are eating\u2026 You are talking\u2026\u201d and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n At the heart of a greeting lies the person’s actual situation. It is like saying: “I see you!” And the response echoes that message: “Yes, you see me; I feel seen and acknowledged by you.”<\/p>\n I remember that at the end of 1980, when I had begun learning the Balanta language and getting to know the local reality, I attended a funeral in a village and tried to offer greetings in the people’s language.<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b>Are you here? \u201cBa ca aullo?\u201d – <\/b>They answer: Yes, we are here, \u201cIii, Bu qui aullo\u201d. <\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b>Are you talking? \u201cBa ca a lifte?\u201d – <\/b>Answer: Yes, we are talking, \u201cIii, Bu ca a lifte\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b>Are you sitting? \u201cBa a mese?\u201d – <\/b>Answer: Yes, we are sitting, \u201cIii bu qui a mese\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b>Are you eating? \u201cBa ca a rahte?\u201d – <\/b>Answer: Yes, we are eating, \u201cIiii, bu qui a rahte\u201d<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n An elderly man said: \u201cThe world has changed because white people greet us in our own language!\u201d How wonderful! I felt acknowledged as playing an important role in my relationship with these people, connecting with them through a greeting that is specific to their culture.<\/p>\n In Guinea, during the dry season when it is very hot, to greet someone and wish them a safe journey, people say:<\/p>\n May the SHADOW of God accompany you!<\/span> \u201dQui-nbilla ni N\u201dHala qui na a quessana\u201d<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n You find shade beneath a tree, near a village where you might meet someone and ask for a glass of water. The greeting, therefore, conveys a wish: that you may find refreshment through an encounter with another person.<\/p>\n In African culture\u2014and, as we have seen, in other cultures as well\u2014greeting someone is not merely a conventional gesture but a profound experience of encounter; it signifies acknowledging the other person and seeing them exactly where they are, in their specific situation. In reality, however, greetings today are often exchanged distractedly; people are unaware of what they are doing due to haste, habit, or a preoccupation with themselves and their own thoughts. This becomes evident every day on public transport, where everyone is hunched over their mobile phones, completely detached from one another.<\/p>\n It would be nice, every now and then, to realize the importance of a greeting that says: \u201cI see you, you are passing by me, you are alive!\u201d I can convey this with a smile, a nod, or a word! In most cases, the people we meet are seen only once in a lifetime; we have just one chance to offer a greeting that sparks a genuine encounter.<\/p>\n Have you ever watched birds in flight? They keep chirping; we don\u2019t understand their language, but we do understand their attitude: we are together to share the stories of our lives! A greeting can be the start of the story!<\/p>\n Sr. Maristella De Marchi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In every culture, a greeting is a profound experience of encounter. In Balanta culture, a greeting highlights a person\u2019s status.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":75932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow8ovLDA:productID":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[15,1097],"tags":[189,1245],"class_list":["post-76023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-missionary-life","category-sliderhome-en","tag-guinea-bissau-en","tag-words-from-cultures"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t