Information:
Gambians attach great importance to traditional greetings
and etiquette as it serves to either re-enforce existing
social bonds or to familiarise and create new social
ties. Such formalities are influenced by Islam and much
of it has its roots in the ancient empires of the Mandinka,
Wolof, Serahule and other tribes of West Africa.
Indeed, such formalities are an essential social ingredient
for successfully interacting with local Gambian people
and leaves them more pre-deposed towards you.
 Always
avoid immediately getting down to the subject matter
and spend at least 15 seconds (30 seconds or more for
people in authority) saying hello and how is the family?
Anything less is perceived as disrespectful or that
you are looking down on them. If you do not follow the
above advice your life will be made very difficult.
Remember that handshaking with your right-hand
is a compulsory form of greeting except where
you are visiting somebody who has recently been bereaved
in which case it is the cultural norm that you do not
shake hands with them. However, when you are travelling
out of the country or going up-river for more than a
day it is customary to shake hands using your left-hand.
If someone is busy working or with their hands &
are tied-up they may offer you their lower arm instead
and you would hold it as if it were their hand. Though
it sounds obvious, never greet anyone who is praying
as they will not answer back.
Furthermore, do not give anything to people using your
left-hand as this is seen as an insult as it is the
hand used for toilet purposes and other actions deemed
unhygienic.
You may think that such traditional greetings are a
waste of valuable time but the culture is different
and it is the essential key to successful interaction
in the community. On a point of note women are not expected
to shake hands (though they usually can) particularly
in the rural areas.
If you are saying hello to someone from a distance then
hold both your hands together, raise and shake them
to the person involved. When a Gambian is angry at another
person then they usually do not greet each other and
just walk by feigning "I didn't see you".
Hugging is normal between the same and opposite sexes
but they must be either related or well acquainted friends
and is usually done after a long absence of meeting
each other during their daily lives. As for kissing
on the cheeks it is not unusual between women or between
a man and a woman but again they should be related on
well acquainted.
No matter how busy you are always greet people and be
prepared to stop what you are doing no matter how important
it is to you. Business always comes second! Is it any
wonder that the Gambia is renowned to be one of Africa's
most peaceful countries.
Local people greet each other with an Arabic ritual
phrase that starts with ‘As-Salamu Alaykum’ meaning
"peace be upon you" and in reply you would
say "Maleikum asalaam’ ‘peace be with you".
If you learn a few simple greetings the locals will
be delighted.
You can start with trying "Naka nga def?"
which means "how are you?" and in reply one
would say "Mang Fi rek" which basically means
"I'm just fine" the above phrases are from
the Wolof language which is the country's lingua franca.
If you are really lost then a simple "hello"
and "how are you" will suffice as most people
in the urban areas understand the phrase and understand
that as a foreigner you may not be tuned in with local
traditions.
Between Gambians, and in particular the Mandinkas, greetings
can be very extensive especially among the older generations
which involves asking about the well being of the individual's
family members then moving down to more mundane matters
such as the weather or some other sort of local
gripe. In fact such greetings can go on for over a minute
before one gets down to the subject of the discussion.
When entering someone's house take your shoes off. Your
hosts may tell you that you don't need to bother but
you should insist and leave your shoes at the door.
This action shows them that you respect their house
no matter how poor.
Although most people will understand much of western
customs, do respect their religious beliefs, cultural
norms & customs if you want to avoid offending anyone.
For example, only use your right-hand to give or receive
food, money or any other item.
It is not uncommon to see two friends holding hands—whether
they are two girls or two guys. Handholding in public
between two members of the opposite sex is far less
common!
When 'knocking' on someone's door you can just say "Kunk
kunk". |
