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Kwanissa, São Luís, v. 04, n. 11, p. 87-128, 2021. 87
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GREETINGS IN AFRICA – BEYOND THE HANDSHAKE
An essay on greeting and leave-taking rituals as communication practice in Sub-
Saharan African Agrarian Societies
SAUDAÇÕES EM ÁFRICA - ALÉM DO APERTO DE MÃO
Um ensaio sobre os rituais de saudação e despedida como prática de
comunicação em sociedades agrárias da África Subsaariana
SALUDOS EN ÁFRICA - MÁS ALLÁ DEL APRETÓN DE MANOS
Un ensayo sobre los rituales de saludo y despedida como práctica de
comunicación en las sociedades agrarias del África subsahariana
Ulrich Schiefer
Professor ISCTE.IUL - schiefer.ulli@gmail.com
Ana Larcher Carvalho
Researcher ISCTE-IUL - Ana.Catarina.Carvalho@iscte-iul.pt
Alexandre Costa Nascimento
Assistant researcher and Phd candidate ISCTE-IUL – alexandre_nascimento@iscte-iul.pt
Recebido em:27/05/2021
Aceito para publicação:18/09/2021
Resumo
Em Sociedades Agrárias Africanas, os rituais de saudação e despedida são uma parte essencial dos processos de
comunicação que constituem essas sociedades como entidades coletivas. Por meio de formas elaboradas de
saudação e despedida, as pessoas iniciam e encerram os processos de comunicação e interação dentro de uma
estrutura de identidades e culturas coletivas. Complexos rituais de saudação permitem lidar com todas as formas
de encontros, tanto com pessoas vivas quanto com os espíritos dos mortos. Os rituais de saudação são adquiridos
por meio de longos períodos de aprendizagem. Seu domínio é o sinal de ser um adulto e membro competente da
sociedade. Atores externos de diferentes culturas muitas vezes parecem não estar cientes das subtilezas desses
rituais de saudação. Eles os ignoram com um custo. Este ensaio fornece algumas percepções do funcionamento
interno de sociedades africanas no que diz respeito ao enquadramento dos seus processos de comunicação interna
e externa. Estes que são tão importantes para as suas mundo-vivências como para as suas interacções com actores
externos de diferentes áreas. A análise das sociedades de uma forma compreensiva como entidades auto-
organizadas dentro de uma matriz étnica demonstra claramente os limites de reduzir rituais de saudação a meros
actos de fala entre indivíduos e atesta que alguns dos pressupostos básicos das modernas teorias de comunicação
não são válidas para Sociedades Agrárias Africanas.
Palavras-chave: Comunicação africana; Saudação e despedida, Sociedades Agrárias Africanas, Comunicação
intercultural.
Abstract
In African Agrarian Societies greeting and leave-taking rituals are an essential part of the communication processes
that constitute these societies as collective entities. Through elaborate forms of greeting and leave-taking people
initiate and end communication and interaction processes within a framework of collective identities and cultures.
Intricate greeting rituals allow to deal with all forms of encounters, with living people as well as with the spirits
of the deceased. Greeting rituals are acquired through lengthy periods of learning. Their mastery is the sign of
being an adult and competent member of society. External actors from different cultures often seem to be unaware
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of the subtleties of these greeting rituals. They ignore them at a cost. This essay provides some insights into the
inner workings of African societies concerning the framing of most of their internal and external communication
processes that are as vital for their lifeworlds as they are for their interaction with external actors from different
spheres. Analysing the societies in a comprehensive manner as self-organising entities within an ethnic matrix
clearly shows the limits of reducing greeting rituals to mere speech acts between individuals and proves that some
of the fundamental assumptions of modern communication theories are not valid for African Agrarian Societies.
Key words: African communication; Greeting and Leave-taking, African Agrarian Societies, Intercultural
communication. Resumen
En las Sociedades Agrarias Africanas, los rituales de saludo y despedida son parte esencial de los procesos de
comunicación que constituyen estas sociedades como entidades colectivas. A través de elaboradas formas de
saludo y despedida, las personas inician y terminan los procesos de comunicación e interacción dentro de un marco
de identidades y culturas colectivas. Los complejos rituales de saludo permiten lidiar con todo tipo de encuentros,
tanto con personas vivas como con espíritus de los muertos. Los rituales de saludo se adquieren a través de largos
períodos de aprendizaje. Su dominio es señal de ser un miembro adulto y competente de la sociedad. Los actores
externos de diferentes culturas a menudo parecen desconocer las sutilezas de estos rituales de saludo. Los ignoran
a un costo. Este ensayo proporciona algunas ideas sobre el funcionamiento interno de las sociedades africanas en
términos de enmarcar sus procesos de comunicación internos y externos. Estos son tan importantes por sus mundo-
vivencias como por sus interacciones con actores externos de diferentes áreas. El análisis exhaustivo de las
sociedades como entidades autoorganizadas dentro de una matriz étnica demuestra claramente los límites de
reducir los rituales de saludo a meros actos de habla entre individuos y atestigua que algunos de los supuestos
básicos de las teorías modernas de la comunicación no son válidos para las sociedades agrarias africanas.
Palabras clave: Comunicación africana; Saludo y despedida, Sociedades Agrarias Africanas, Comunicación
intercultural.
Introductory observations
1
Why deal with greeting and leave-taking in African Agrarian Societies? The reasons for
writing this essay are manifold.
In many African countries, Agrarian Societies are still extremely important. For one,
they still are, under ever more precarious conditions, the lifeworlds
2
of about half of the
population in most countries. They are also the societies of origin for many people living in
1
The authors wish to thank Michel Dupont, Ricardo Falcão, Sara Bernardo, Magdalena Bialoborska, Ewald
Dietrich and Christoph Rottke for valuable comments and suggestions.
2
The concept lifeworld (Lebenswelt) developed by Husserl in his Die Krisis der europäischen Wissenschaf-
ten und die transzendentale Phänomenologie (HUSSERL, 1976) was developed and integrated into his commu-
nicative action theory by Habermas: “By communicating frontally with each other about something in a world,
speakers and listeners move within the horizon of their common lifeworld; this remains at the back of the partici-
pants as an intuitively known, unproblematic and indecomposable holistic background. [...] The lifeworld can
only be seen a tergo. From the frontal perspective of the subjects themselves, who act in an understanding-ori-
ented manner, the lifeworld, which is always only given along, must elude thematisation. As a totality that makes
possible the identities and life-historical designs of groups and individuals, it is only pre-reflexively present.
From the perspective of the participants, it is possible to reconstruct the practical knowledge of rules sedimented
in utterances, but not the receding context and the resources of the lifeworld as a whole that remain behind.”
(Original text in German). (HABERMAS, 1985).
Note that communication is here posited as a process between (only) two types of actors, speaker and listener.
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urban centres, and therefore they are the source for most of their culture and still have a strong
influence over much of the more modern parts of African societies. These Agrarian Societies
may be perceived to be relatively simple with low levels of formal, codified knowledge and of
technological development and accumulated material wealth. However, these societies are
highly complex, rich, and strive for wisdom. Their wealth lies in their spiritual and social life.
They have been managing their life in changing and ever more difficult circumstances for many
thousand years. And, although they are, in a strictly material sense, resource poor, they have,
in the past, been able to partially withstand all kinds of external attacks and proven their
resilience
3
.
Modernity in many forms is reaching most of these societies to varying degrees. This is
especially true of sophisticated, but easy to use, communication technologies which seem to
proliferate faster than technologies in other areas. But for most of these societies, the effects of
this modernisations have not yet affected their essential internal and external communications,
which are perceived to be fundamental dimensions of their organisation and, therefore, their
existence.
Whoever wants to communicate or interact with African Agrarian Societies, being
insider or outsider, has to pass through the initial and the final stage of communication, which
are greeting and leave-taking. Outside actors, from non-African societies, experience specific
difficulties when communicating with agrarian societies, but so do many Africans from urban
milieus
4
. The reasons for the interaction may be administration, trade, development,
humanitarian intervention, research, or others. For many, the greeting and leave-taking appears
to be one of the first obstacles for good communication or interaction.
In the context of African Agrarian Societies, greeting rituals seem to be invisible
intercultural communication barriers that contribute to frustrate the well-intentioned plans of
many external actors who want to interact with them. These greeting rituals constitute the
framing of most communication processes, internal and external alike.
3
Cf. (TEMUDO; SCHIEFER, 2003).
4
In a series of university seminars in Lisbon, a demonstration of traditional forms of greeting by Africans
from Agrarian Societies provoked reactions of astonishment and professions of ignorance from Africans from
urban milieus.
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They put communication into context. They do this rather efficiently. Only by observing
the multiple contexts in which they occur, the sense of communication processes can be fully
understood. The context of human communication is no less complex than the human societies
in and between which it occurs. The myriad of phenomena that need to be considered - or
ignored - for a meaningful analysis is as rich as the human existence.
It is one of the most striking features of the modern world that the incredibly fast
advancing technologies equally invade and dominate mass communication as well as individual
communication. In consequence, individuals in highly developed industrial societies suffer
more and more from social isolation and loneliness, because they lose the capacity to build
strong social ties and societies lose their internal cohesion. The loss of the subtleties of direct,
personal social communication and interaction, and the loss of empathy therefore comes at a
cost
5
.
For people from more industrialised societies, the experience with societies that
consider direct personal interaction as fundamental for their existence and put great store to the
mastery of interpersonal communication, might give them a better understanding of human
societies, even of their own. It might raise their awareness that the substitution of direct personal
contact by sophisticated technology may exact a very high price on the human existence
because it implies losing much of what cannot be transmitted by technology and media.
Thus, trying to understand the intricacies of greeting rituals as social interaction in not
(yet) completely technology dominated societies might be useful to understand what modern
societies
6
are losing and what African Agrarian Societies might lose if they are invaded by
communication technology, a process that has already started.
Giving more attention to greeting rituals when dealing with African Agrarian Societies
might help to reduce frustration, improve communication by avoiding misunderstandings, and,
in general, increase the chances for success in all kind of interventions, most notably in research
and development.
5
Especially in hostile environments which seem to increase in Western societies, the reading of other peoples’
intention may become more important (Michel Dupont, personal communication).
6
Cf. the seminal study by Alan Blum (BLUM, 2016).
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As greeting rituals are universal
7
, that is, all human societies use them
8
, and train their
members in their correct use, they are considered “natural” by most people. The non-obvious
specifics of these rituals in different societies often go more or less unnoticed or are only
superficially adopted by people who want to interact with them.
In order to learn, it is necessary to recognise first a lack of knowledge which needs to
be overcome
9
. Greeting, however, cannot be learned by the book. The greeting rituals are as
manifold as are the African Societies, so they have to be learned in practice, and from and for
each society in its own way. There is no quick fix. Neither the wisdom of African Agrarian
Societies, nor that of other cultures, nor their greeting rituals can be distilled and nicely
packaged into a book or file for global consumption.
.
A few remarks on methodology
In this essay we try to summarise direct and participatory observations and draw some
conclusions from the authors’ research and work experiences in African societies which span
four decades and include work with dozens of societies. We consider the eyes and ears, and a
few other senses, of the trained researcher as legitimate sources of knowledge
10
.
This essay is not the result of a specific research project directed at studying greeting
and leave-taking rituals, but rather a reflection of direct personal interaction with a wide range
of societies that implied many years of formal and informal education and coaching received
7
Greeting rituals have been widely studied, both historically and globally. An extensive bibliography on
Greeting and Leave-taking by Joachim Knuf from 1990 lists 297 titles, but only five with direct reference to Af-
rica. (KNUF, 1990).
8
The study of human societies from a socio-biological perspective also shows clearly that there exist some
common biological traits. This is valid for the individual as well as for the societal level. The multiplicity and
diversity of greeting rituals, as numerous as the societies and their cultures, therefore, have some common basic
features. They are deeply rooted in human nature. “The facial expressions displaying the basic emotions of fear,
loathing, anger, surprise, and happiness appear to be invariant traits of all human beings” (WILSON, 1978, p.
61).
9
There seems to be not much space given in training or preparation programmes for external actors, nor for
Africans hailing from urban milieus who are African and therefore do not seem to notice that there might be a
problem. This would suggest including the greeting rituals into the training programmes for researchers and
other outside actors who are dealing with agrarian societies.
10
We refrain from discussing in detail the contributions of other authors who have worked in the same area
of research – the references of their works are given for further reading - which is often quite rewarding. We also
exclude here the exchange of gifts between people which is quite frequent and often seems to be closely related
to the greeting rituals. But although important for the establishment and maintenance of social relations and
sometimes interwoven with the greeting rituals, it is a different phenomenon that is already well studied.
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by the authors who were engaged in research with and about African societies as well as in
development projects. In these contexts, often apparently innocent and well-intentioned
behaviour led to mistakes, ranging from simple gaffes to outright blunders. As in many other
learning processes, these errors proved to be the best of teachers. Quite often they put the
patience of African friends and colleagues to the test. Through lengthy processes of subtle
nudging as well as formal orientations, over time communication and interaction processes
slowly improved and provided a more fruitful access to the Agrarian Societies. Close
observation as well as imitation, one of the most traditional appropriation methods, also proved
to be invaluable approaches. The societies the authors worked with, are, as so many other
African societies, heavily traumatised. Their traumata are not just material losses suffered in
prolonged anticolonial and civil wars, but many of them have also been hurt deep in their souls.
These traumata may be farther or closer to the external or internal communication processes.
When analysing the framing of these processes, as in greeting and leave-taking rituals, these
phenomena are not just external circumstances. They should not be simply ignored, nor can
they be easily factored into an analytical framework. They are essential for the understanding
of the societies. The deeper sense lies here in the context, as will be shown in a few examples.
This naturally poses questions for methodology. Evidently the most commonly used toolboxes
for social research, such as surveys, interviews, etc. do not provide adequate instruments for
understanding phenomena which are central to the human existence but reach also beyond what
can be easily observed.
The object of reflection encompasses a wide series of distinct and diverse societies
spanning many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. As each society has specific greeting and
leave-taking rituals – in fact these rituals serve as initial markers of identity and distinction of
persons, groups, and societies alike – it is important to get the level of abstraction right, when
analysing more than one or just a few of them in a comparative perspective.
Therefore, we analyse African Agrarian Societies here as ideal-type (Idealtypus), in the
tradition of Max Weber
11
, that is, as an instrument of heuristics which also permits the
formulation of hypotheses. Thus, the construction of societies as ideal-type attempts to build an
abstract model that, although not identical with any of the societies under analysis, provides the
11
See Max Weber’s interpretative sociology (WEBER; WINCKELMANN, 1985).
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typical characteristics of each one and allows, through a process of differentiation, a better
understanding of specific societies as well as a meaningful delimitation of the analysis.
Communication in African Agrarian Societies
African Agrarian Societies are not “societies of individuals”
12
. nor are they membership
organisations of the modern type. They are collective societies in the true sense of the word.
They are acutely aware of who belongs and who does not. Membership appears as a natural
process. Members are born to members, grow up in the societies, live and die as members and
continue to be members after their death. Membership encompasses the living as well as the
dead. Through their cult of the ancestors the African Agrarian Societies recognise their biotic
heritage, as well as the origin of their culture, language, knowledge and, last but not least, their
access to natural resources and political alliances as well as their carefully tended enmities.
Much, but by no means all, of their knowledge is codified in rituals. The constitution of their
societies is transmitted through their myths and their cosmologies.
These societies are therefore real entities. Their relationship with their environment,
their plan, understood as the distribution of work, access to resources (land, water, fish, game,
transport, to name just a few), and production is transmitted in their social structure. The social
organisation is codified in a genealogical charter with a territorial extension, with or without a
central power institution
13
. The ancestors, disembodied as they may be, are placeholders in this
charter which would not be possible without them. Their existence is considered as no less real,
although quite different from that of living members. For African Societies their sway over the
lives of living members is undisputable
14
.
Their social structure is based on descent, on social gender differentiation and on age
classes. Their identities are based on belonging, place, language, and culture. Most of the
African Agrarian Societies also comprise a hidden military organisation.
By their own perception, a constitutive dimension of these collective societies is their
collective soul. This is considered the essence of their being, represented in spiritual entities,
12
Cf. (ELIAS, 2017).
13
Cf. (SIGRIST, 2005).
14
In Western industrialised societies the influence of the dead over the living is widely ignored and may lead
to subconscious individual introjection. This process can be perceived as correspondent to trauma processes
where collective traumata appear as fractured individual traumata and are treated as such. (Ewald Dietrich, per-
sonal communication).
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that gives their societies not just their internal cohesion, but their existence. The personal soul,
of living and dead people, is perceived as part of this collective soul.
In a more modern European scientific perspective, these and other societies are united
through their collective subconscious
15
. The communication with this collective subconscious
is largely symbolic.
European inspired modern societies consider the ascent of the individuum one of their
main achievements
16
. This fact has been constitutive for advancement of most sciences, as for
instance economics, politics, sociology, and psychology. The expansion of Western thought has
produced a certain blindness when it comes to the understanding of non-individuum based
societies
17
.
In African Societies the locus of control is much more external than in individuum-
based societies.
The spirits of the ancestors, members of the societies, as well as the spirits that represent
the forces of nature, are therefore constructions of extra-individual and extra-personal
dimensions of the human existence. The forces of nature regulate the access to the natural
resources. They are perceived as real. They are a fait social
18
.
African Agrarian Societies are, in sum, entities with productive, reproductive, territorial,
cultural, linguistic, military, and spiritual dimensions. They are, equally, cognitive and
decision-making entities providing the limitations to the cognitive resonance space that
societies need in order to self-organise themselves
19
. The communicative processes are
15
C.G. Jung developed the theory about this collective soul which he assumed to be part of all human socie-
ties. He named it the “collective unconscious” (JUNG, 2000). He described the importance of symbolic commu-
nication through which the archetypes that structure the collective subconscious reach the collective and individ-
ual consciousness (JUNG, 2000).
16
Cf. (ELIAS, 2017).
17
A notable exception has been the theoretical approach founded and inspired by C. G. Jung. Jung, a pro-
found thinker with an extensive experience in clinical psychoanalysis who, based on personal experience, dis-
covered that individual souls are part of a collective soul, whose manifestations he searched in European history
as well as in non-European societies (JUNG; JAFFÉ, 1989). In this endeavour he undertook extensive travels
with visits to non-European societies. He was also assisted by his friends, as for example by Richard Wilhelm, at
the time arguably one of the best experts on the Chinese soul and philosophy. His studies included the Americas,
Asia (WILHELM; JUNG, 2000) and Africa (JUNG; JAFFÉ, 1989; POST, 1978).
18
In the sense of Durkheim. (DURKHEIM, 2019).
19
In other words, they have not undergone the Great Transformation (POLANYI, 2001)
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fundamental and constitutive for their internal cohesion. Societies’ existence, however, cannot
be reduced to communication alone. It spans all dimensions of the human condition
20
.
Their communication has to be analysed as a process of a collective and cannot be
understood as the sum of communicative acts between individuals. In other words, the units of
analysis, therefore, must be the societies, and not the communicative processes between
individuals
21
.
Meeting others: identification, relationships and performance
The initial processes when meeting others constitute reductions of complexity that span
different levels and multiple areas. They function with cues, signals, symbols, and codes. They
reach from the elementary biotic to social and cultural stereotypes and archetypes. The initial
friend-foe identification, as well as the male-female identification, are involuntary and happen
so fast that they are virtually unconscious. Further classifications range from known to unknown
as well as from affinities and similarities to differences that allow for elementary categorisations
into stereotypes and can trigger the activation of archetypes.
The ingroup-outgroup distinction in collective societies has important dimensions that
are, in the same way as the constitution of the corresponding identities, conjunctural, contextual,
situational and, most important, relational
22
.
One of the most basic emotions is fear. Its counterpoint is trust. Distance and difference
indicate and trigger fear, trust is produced by belonging, closeness, proximity, shared
experience
23
and similarity. In societies that are organised and codified through genealogical
charters, closeness, and trust, real or metaphorical, are expressed through kinship categories.
20
Cf. Arendt & Canovan, (1998).
21
This severely limits the heuristic value of the Shannon model of communication. (SHANNON;
WEAVER, 1998).
22
Conjunctural: is there war or peace, are things going well or is there a catastrophe? Contextual: who is
present, is it day or night, where does the meeting take place? Relational: who is the other? Higher or lower or of
the same social standing as indicated by age, status, reputation, etc. Is there proximity, established relationships,
shared experience, etc?
23
Jung stated his ideas, in the language of his time: “The intellectual type is afraid of being caught by feeling
because his feeling has an archaic quality, and there he is like an archaic man — he is the helpless victim of his
emotions. It is for this reason that primitive man is extraordinarily polite, he is very careful not to disturb the
feelings of his fellows because it is dangerous to do so. Many of our customs are explained by that archaic
politeness. For instance, it is not the custom to shake hands with somebody and keep your left hand in your
pocket, or behind your back, because it must be visible that you do not carry a weapon in that hand. The Oriental
greeting of bowing with hands extended palms upward means “I have nothing in my hands.” If you kowtow
you dip your head to the feet of the other man so that he sees you are absolutely defenceless and that you trust
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In societies self-organised according to an ethnic matrix
24
, the internal constitution of
personal, family and group relations is a continuous process that entails constant confirmation
as a counterpoint to ubiquitous tensions and centrifugal tendencies. This requires a strong
ritualisation of these relationships which can assume the forms of power, authority, and
influence
25
. The ritualisation helps to define and manage the tension between stability and
change and maintain a fluid disequilibrium that is characteristic for these societies.
Most societies based on kinship and descent also produce ritualised organisation forms
that transcend the limits of families and descent groups, such as age classes, neighbourhoods,
women’s organisations, and the like, where relationships are collegial. In all societies individual
friendships also play an important role.
The self-classification of belonging and place in society (“one’s station in life”) is
always relational and expressed on the axis of respect or fear towards others. The
communication processes involved, of which greetings are an important part, constitute,
through their recurrence, acts of self-affirmation, as well as the affirmation of the other. They
can also be expressions of change, either through explicit change rituals, such as grading from
one age group to the next, from unmarried to married, etc., or subtle negotiation processes that
him completely. You can still study the symbolism of manners with primitives, and you can also see why they
are afraid of the other fellow.” (JUNG, 1976).
24
‘Kinship and marriage’ is probably one of most studied areas in social anthropology. We follow here in
the footsteps of Sigrist, who built his theories on acephalous societies debating the perspectives of Radcliffe-
Brown, Fortes, Evans-Pritchard, (FORTES; EVANS-PRITCHARD; INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN INSTI-
TUTE, 2010) Leach, and many others.
"Tribe' can be defined non- essentialistically: Belief in a common ancestry that represents social
interrelationships, is reflected in a genealogical charter that provides the formal framework for social disposition
and is spatially expressed. Such a unity need not be represented by a chief." (Original text in German).
(SIGRIST, 2005). To this definition Schiefer in his study about West African societies added a spiritual
dimension and a - mostly hidden - military organisation. “Spiritual dimension here stands for the entire realm of
the magical and the extrasensory, that is, powers beyond the categories of the mind that societies or social groups
believe exist.” (Original text in German). (SCHIEFER, 2002).
The theoretical approach developed by Sigrist (SIGRIST, 2005) in his ground-breaking work about seg-
mented societies allows for a more profound analysis of kinship-based societies. Positing kinship as an underly-
ing principle of self-organising societies within the ethnic matrix enables connectivity, that is the construction of
theoretical bridges to a wider field of theories that contribute to the study of societies, such as socio-biology, so-
ciology, social anthropology, political science, system theory, communication theory, cybernetics, to name just
the most obvious.
25
In many societies power and authority are largely exercised in secret. Therefore, the visual part of the ritu-
als that signify power or authority only constitute a small part of the hierarchical relationships that structure these
societies.
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strive for a slow change over time in relationships. They are a subtle way of expressing the
dynamics of social change.
Most meetings that involve greetings happen in a social context, mostly in the presence
of others. Even if others are not physically present, meetings will or might be reported to them.
So, greetings tend to be imbued with a dimension of performance. They range between
participant observation and observant participation. The performative dimension serves as a
self-affirmation, as a confirmation of belonging and relational status
26
, and as a demonstration
of status and proper, adequate behaviour to others present. The greeting act will be influenced
by the presence of others, either directly, as they are part of the performance, or indirectly, as
witnesses present will eventually carry the message to others. In relatively closed communities
where the capacity to act and well-being of people depends strongly on the opinion of others,
social status is partly construed in this way.
This naturally provokes the use of ambiguities, subtle and not too subtle lies, and
manoeuvrings to increase one’s status and the corresponding defensive strategies to detect and
to deny ambitions which are not considered appropriate.
The performative dimension of greetings has also brought about a wide range of secret
cues and signals that allow people to exchange messages of group identification, or about other
issues, without other people present noticing the hidden part of the communication.
Quite often greetings also show emotional states, as feelings are frequently expressed.
When strong enough, these expressions of feelings might vibrate with others and alter their
emotional state too.
The performative aspect also has an important role in the transmission of knowledge –
younger and less experienced people are constantly exposed to the relational behaviour of elders
and learn through imitation.
The myriad individual acts of greeting are thus processed collectively and are part of a
more comprehensive process of information and knowledge management of societies.
26
In extreme cases the refusal can signify that either the presence or, in rarer cases, the existence of a per-
son, is ignored and the person is treated as a “nonperson”.
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African forms of greeting as a social practice
In societies where a handshake still is a handshake between people and not the
establishment of a link between computers, and which are not yet dominated by technology,
personal contact and communication are of prime importance
27
. Many communication
processes in Sub-Saharan African Agrarian Societies have a very distinct initial phase, the
greetings, as well as an equally distinct concluding phase, the leave-taking or farewell.
These relatively short phases are essential for most communication processes. The
greeting rituals are not mere formalities. At first glance, to the external observer from Western
(or rather Northern) societies, they may not even look very formal but rather informal and are
often either admired for the human warmth displayed between people or dismissed as quaint
customs and a waste of time.
In fact, even considering the apparent informality of daily greetings, as for example
between kinfolks, colleagues, friends or neighbours, greetings are extremely elaborate rituals
which we can situate on a scale from the apparently informal to the completely formal, from
the seemingly casual to the highly significant.
In collective societies where the collective is more valued than the individual, or in other
words, in societies which have not produced the “individual” as the dominant figure in society,
as industrialising European societies did from the XVIII century onwards, social status
(perceived as status of the family or group) is of the greatest importance in order to achieve
social and economic goals, e.g., the reputation and wellbeing of the family or group. Persons in
these societies are not free in the sense that they act just on their own without much
consideration for their groups and societies: their behaviour will always reflect on some bigger
entity and they are well aware of this fact. It is not by chance that responsibility is considered
one of the basic values of their education, as is the avoidance of shame. With growing age,
children learn that they will have to respond to somebody for their actions, usually by being
threatened with or exposed to shame. This contrasts strongly with Western (but not necessarily
Eastern) industrialised societies where economic achievements may more easily translate into
27
Cf. the ground-breaking work of Wilson (SOOLA; BATTA; NWABUEZE, 2010) (WILSON, 1989),
(WILSON, 1987) and the excellent collection of essays by Ansu-Kyeremeh (ANSU-KYEREMEH, 2005).
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social status of the individual than the other way around and where the relationship between
people and property seems to be more firmly grounded than the relationship between people.
In African Agrarian Societies, social relations are continually under external and
internal stress, even if this might not be much in evidence to the casual observer. Given the
nearly ubiquitous social tensions, social relations require continual maintenance. The
management of social relations demands unceasing efforts in order to sustain working
relationships within the social groups that are a precondition for their functioning under ever
more precarious conditions. The maintenance of external and internal peace is considered as
fundamental as keeping the pervasive forces of evil at bay, which are perceived as a constant
threat to the societies’ internal harmony.
People of African Agrarian Societies, in general, are mostly very polite and sociable. In
many societies the joie de vivre seems ubiquitous. Good manners and friendliness are
considered essential and are sustained by their ancient cultures of which they are well aware.
Many people also cultivate a fine sense of humour.
The relevance theses societies attribute to interpersonal relations is manifest in many
ways. One of these aspects is the greeting in all its dimension as a social practice.
Greeting and talking
One of the most elaborate forms of communication in human societies is the language.
This is, without any doubt, also valid for the greeting rituals. Greeting as a speech act has been
widely studied and valuable knowledge has been produced
28
. It is fundamental to be able to use
the correct and adequate language in the greeting and the societies take considerable effort to
teach the appropriate words and forms of greeting. People from African Agrarian Societies,
who have to deal with other Agrarian Societies or with people from the city, will often learn
the language of the greeting forms of the others. The other dimensions of the greeting rituals
they already know. The more exposed to external contacts also learn the forms most used in
national languages or international forms as transported by the media or by strangers. These
forms are used by many, and they allow the establishment of a first contact. Applying them in
28
For African societies, very interesting studies have appeared, many of them from a linguistic or socio-lin-
guistic perspective (cf. (MMADIKE; OKOYE, 2015)(MATHIAS; ONYIMA, 2015) (NADEN,
1980)(AKINDELE, 1990).
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greetings is considered a sign of respect and people after concluding the greeting rituals then
switch more easily to a common language for serious conversations.
The exchange of words, is however, only one dimension of the greeting – and the
concentration on greetings as a speech act, by practitioners as well as by researchers, often
seems to lead to a certain indifference towards other, no less important, dimensions.
Before the greeting: the encounter, the first contact
In African Agrarian Societies, first contacts of some relevance are often preceded by
expectations, by pre-knowledge, by premonitions, by presentiment, or overshadowed by
forebodings or general anticipation – which might be specific or diffuse and vary widely from
person to person and from situation to situation.
Surprises are common enough, so that specific mechanisms to deal with such situations
have evolved.
The range of available greeting forms is extremely varied and covers nearly all types of
encounters. But not all encounters result in a greeting.
The first contact may happen at a certain distance; in most cases, this contact morphs
into a greeting ritual. Some basic perceptions, based on learning, attention, pre-existing rules,
intuition, and implicit expectations
29
, however, precede the initiation of the greeting.
Other human beings might be perceived as friend, foe or potential mate
30
. This is
probably the first (and incredibly fast – it takes only a split second) perception that underlies
and translates into the first distinction when meeting another person: man or woman, adult, or
child?
Women are generally not perceived as an imminent physical threat. Neither are
children
31
.
29
Cf. (KAHNEMAN, 2011).
30
“Friend-foe identification” is now better known as a term used in modern military systems, but in fact is
probably one of the oldest human recognition needs.
31
Gun-toting children in war-torn societies seem to be exception. The general revulsion apparent in most of
the reports about them confirms that this violates basic principles of expected of behaviour in human societies.
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This corresponds to a general pattern: is there a danger? If friend, no danger. If foe,
which kind of danger?
32
Is the other predator or possible prey? Can the situation be managed,
can danger be averted, neutralised, or suspended?
The general context, location, and surroundings play a significant part in the
classification of people encountered
33
. So do other aspects: how many people are there? Are
they armed? What kind of transport do they use? How are they dressed? Can they be identified
with any known group? How do they behave? What kind of signals do they send? What do they
want? Can they be neutralised or controlled?
If not foe, can they be identified? What category or group of people do they belong to?
Does anybody know them? Has their arrival been announced beforehand? How do they arrive?
If people encountered belong to a group that is known and with which relations exists,
the greeting is initiated after a first identification. If the other is unknown, the pervasive general
distrust keeps everybody reserved. This distrust may rapidly morph into fear, especially in
societies heavily traumatised by war and violence
34
.
An example may illustrate this. During field work in Mozambique in 1997, just four
years after the end of a brutal and protracted civil war, on a Sunday morning a colleague and
one of the authors visited the countryside in an area that had seen prolonged and heavy fighting
during the civil war. Entering a village in a white Lada Niva was not a good idea
35
. When the
villagers saw the car, their reaction was shock. Instantly, nearly everybody turned and prepared
to run. Only when we got out of the car and showed that we were unarmed and friendly, tensions
eased somewhat. A later visit, although previously announced and accompanied by a man from
the village, to the compound of a local teacher provoked uncontrollable trembling attacks in the
head of the household.
32
The (largely biological) behavioural patterns to a perceived threat that produces fear are threefold: tonic
immobility or thanatosis (“freezing” or “playing possum”), flight or attack.
33
Venturing outside of the space of the village and familiar surroundings may be perceived as risky and
requires preparation and care. Only courageous people such as hunters or warriors or thieves venture into the
dark alone or in small groups – others try to avoid it if they can or at least prefer to go in bigger groups and in
daylight.
34
Cf. (SCHEPER-HUGHES, 2007)
35
We later found out that white Ladas were widely and, on the whole, correctly, associated with the secret
police.
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Greeting: the initial phase
Greetings are usually initiated from a physical distance by typical distance signals
36
.
These can include looks, facial expressions, hand signals and gestures, body movements, and
even calls.
When the identification phase passes, and a direct greeting is possible or required, the
greeting in presence is initiated.
Depending on the type of greeting, during the exchange of the common formulas,
gestures, and movements, a wide range of information is exchanged. Part of it subliminally,
part helped by some more or less subtle interview techniques, before the phase of a tentative
harmonisation maybe slowly entered. A reading of intentions, of personality and of agendas,
hidden or open, based on keen senses and sharp antennae, is tried out and tested.
The greeting ritual may be understood as a kind of a multisensorial tuning process.
Tentative signals are sent out to see how the other party reacts, and are then adapted to the
signals received until a common “wavelength” can be found and tested. This is one of the
reasons why greetings may take rather a long time and be repeated until harmony can be
reached. In friendly situations a certain playfulness might appear which can help to overcome
insecurities and uncertainties regarding status and personal moods and dispositions.
The ambiguity and imprecision apparent in the greetings as well as in conversations are
in fact, given the circumstances, a much more effective way of communicating than a precisely
coded scientific or technical language could ever be
37
. They are, therefore, not only tolerated
but welcomed and even taught. So is the correct use of meaningful pauses and silences.
The apparent elusiveness and openness allow for the detection of a much broader range
of signals. If a party sends out vague signals, this leaves much more space for the other to react
and to introduce their own interpretation and meaning which, in turn, allow for a deeper reading
36
Many of the distance signals seem to be nearly universal, such as showing open hands to signal that one is
unarmed.
37
”Sin ambigüedad no se puede hablar de nada que valga la pena“ (GÓMEZ DÁVILA, 2007).
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of the other. The wider oscillations at the beginning of the greeting ritual permit the detection
of subtle cues and signals
38
that might otherwise get lost
39
.
As greeting is the ritual which provides the external form for the establishment of
relations of the most complex organisms known
40
, it requires a strong reduction of complexity
that manifests itself in time-tested behavioural patterns. Persons involved in the greeting might
be from the same or other societies. In the same way as people are an integral part of the
societies, the societies and their cultures are represented in them. Therefore, the whole
complexity of interacting (parts of) societies needs to be broken down and codified to a level
where it can be handled in a practical way on different levels of competence by the actors
involved without causing too much damage. This can be observed in many circumstances. The
higher the conflict potential, the stricter the observance of the forms and patterns seems to be.
The value that African and other societies attribute to the greeting rituals and the strict
adherence to traditional forms shows clearly that they are perfectly aware of their cultural and
societal achievement. Daily experience shows that the ethnic identity and internal coherence of
their societies are expressed also in these rituals, as in many others.
As the rituals involve the full range of body language, movements of bodies in space,
body ornaments, mimic, gestures, facial expression, language as well as the surrounding
situation and other external factors, they are exceptionally difficult to describe. The greeting
rituals activate most of the five Aristotelian senses
41
, including smell and touch, as well as a
few others, which are subliminal but of the utmost importance.
In numerous situations, and between many people, direct interpersonal communication,
without visible or audible signals is not uncommon. Intuition in these societies has a much more
encompassing role and is given much more significance than in industrialised societies. Where
in Western societies intuition is understood on the level of the personal perception
42
in African
38
Cf. (HÖLLDOBLER; WILSON, 2009).
39
These practices precede, probably by many thousand years, the modern neuro-linguistic programming ap-
proach with its stunning claims that, even after is has been, at least in part, scientifically discredited, still seems
to be widely used in some areas where the manipulation of the other is seen as advantageous.
40
The brain is a social organ, after all. Cf. (HÜTHER, 2010).
41
Sound and sight are the two senses that are privileged, to the detriment of the other senses, in Western in-
dustrialised societies, even in the sciences, as they can successfully be recorded, documented, enhanced and ma-
nipulated using audio and video technology.
42
In Western philosophy intuition is understood as “the power of obtaining knowledge that cannot be ac-
quired either by inference or observation, by reason or experience. As such, intuition is thought of as an original,
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Societies intuition is understood as a collective phenomenon of which the personal intuition is
only a part. It is therefore necessary to provide space and opportunity to establish the link
between personal and collective intuition.
Most people know from their own experience this direct communication especially
between people who are close, such as mother and child or lovers
43
. These processes cannot be
observed directly, but only felt - which does not make them less important
44
. In fact, they are
quite often the most significant dimensions of greeting rituals. The symbolic dimension of
communication which manifests itself in the greetings is of the essence. The formal greeting
processes by means of their symbolic interaction, expressed through the external forms, with
their own significance, provide space and opportunity for the subliminal, non-observable
processes.
Some manifestations of this direct communication can, however, be observed.
Consciously or unconsciously, in greetings people frequently imitate and assume the postures
and expressions of the other party, and in mirroring the other try to pick up and understand their
inner state of mind
45
.
In societies where people’s senses are not yet blunted by city environments and dulled
by the extensive consumption of electronic media, their finely honed senses are much more
tuned to the perception of other people.
The at least partly subconscious exchange of information through smell should not be
ignored either. In fact, in many African and other cultures greeting rituals provide opportunities
independent source of knowledge, since it is designed to account for just those kinds of knowledge that other
sources do not provide” (Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite., 2014).
"La «intuición» es la percepción de lo invisible, así como la «percepción» es la intuición de lo visible" (GÓ-
MEZ DÁVILA, 2007).
43
Modern neuroscience vaguely describes these processes of direct resonance as the action of mirror neu-
rons. The electric signals different parts of the brain emit when stimulated, can be shown in real-time computer-
produced images of brain scans. Now that computer produced images are available, these processes of direct
communication that do not involve the five established senses, seem to become object of “modern scientific re-
search”. African and other societies have always known about this. So have philosophers, psychologists and nu-
merous ancient scientists for a very long time.
44
“I had the feeling”, “I felt”, “I simply knew” are phrases quite common in conversations.
45
Jung expressed this, in the language of the time: “All in all, Negroes proved to be excellent judges of char-
acter. One of their avenues to insight lay in their talent for mimicry. They could imitate with astounding accu-
racy the manner of expression, the gestures, the gaits of people, thus, to all intents and purposes, slipping into
their skins. I found their understanding of the emotional nature of others altogether surprising. I would always
take the time to engage in the long palavers for which, they had a pronounced fondness. In this way I learned a
great deal.” (JUNG; JAFFÉ, 1989).
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for the direct exchange of smells, such as kissing or embraces, or the rubbing of noses. The
importance of smell in interpersonal communication is recognised by all societies; in
industrialised societies the obsession with the oppression, substitution, or enhancement of body
odours with chemicals is not by chance a multibillion-dollar business
46
. The more basic
relevance is however biological: in circumstances with a latent relation to reproductive
selection, the compatibility or incompatibility of smells seem to indicate a possible genetic
match with likely effects on the health of potential offspring.
In numerous encounters the smell of fear can be an indicator of power relations and
much else. Smells also play a basic role in the general transmission of emotions between people.
The complexities of interpersonal, inter-group and interethnic relations are in a certain
way condensed into the greeting rituals, as are the situational and personal affairs, concerns,
states of mind and sensitivities.
Greetings to mark social status, proximity and distance
In societies where the exercise of power is more based on personal relationships than on
abstract bureaucratic procedure or the like, greetings are a key feature for the establishment and
maintenance of power relations
47
.
Social status can be expressed and conferred by the way of greeting. There is a great
number of cues and signals, not all of them obvious, many ambiguous, some only detectable
with care, some only perceptible to the initiated
48
.
Greetings also serve to define the boundaries between the spaces of the public, the
private and the intimate. These areas vary in different cultures
49
and, in many instances,
transgressions of the borders may lead to embarrassing situations. For one, the type of greeting
is influenced by the setting of the meeting. The form of greeting selected can be used to
46
The fear of body odours induced into the populations of industrialised Western societies by decades of
marketing borders on the paranoia.
47
As in certain kinds of European nobility these rituals can be used to mark people’s position in society’s
hierarchy to the dot.
48
People may introduce others using categories derived from the genealogical charter, such as “younger
brother” to denote their lower status resulting from belonging to a social group deemed inferior, thus marking a
social difference in protocol stemming from inter-ethnic hierarchies (Michel Dupont, personal communication).
People may introduce themselves using similar categories into a group, stating their own lower age and therefore
their respect for the older members of the group. Quite often the importance of the groups is expressed by exter-
nal status symbols – quite often however by attitude and behaviour.
49
Cf. Hannah Arendt for ancient Greek societies (ARENDT; CANOVAN, 1998).
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delineate the character of the encounter, as well as to try to nudge the other into another sphere.
So already in the act of greeting a subtle negotiation may take place to situate the following
interaction somewhere on the axis public, private, intimate.
Children and youth of both sexes while passing through the age classes - which are
marked by specific rituals - acquire different forms of greetings that mark their relative status
in the social order. The higher they ascend, the more responsibility is required from them. While
in the very young misbehaviour is more easily tolerated, in higher age classes they are expected
to know how to distinguish the social status of their elders and to use the correct forms of
address. The older people get, the more respect they are owed. The most common forms of
address are derived from the kinship terminology or they refer, more in general, to the age class,
the gender, and the marriage status.
In this way, the fluency of the forms allows through all the variations that the form
permits, the most refined and subtle messages to be passed and the establishment and variation
of intricate social distinction and relations up to a very high degree of sophistication. The
mastery of the form manifests itself in the seemingly effortless ease and elegance that often
disguise the proper form.
Many external factors, some of which may otherwise be taken for granted, influence the
greeting rituals. Some may be more obvious than others. Where does the greeting take place?
Who is present? Who is absent? What is the status of people present? Do they belong or are the
strangers/foreigner/city people? Who may observe the greeting? What time of the day or night
is it?
Types of greetings
Greetings are certainly one of the most frequent everyday matters, so the variations are
wide-ranging as well as extremely hard to classify.
We will therefore first have a closer look at one of the most basic forms of greeting, the
male handshake. Then we will describe a few assorted typical situations in which greetings take
place to give an impression on the variety and complexity of circumstances which entail specific
greeting rituals.
In order to demonstrate the impossibility of even adequately describing a simple gesture
of greeting, a few forms shall be listed. Only a few dimensions shall be included. Other
dimensions, no less relevant, will have to be ignored, although they are of crucial importance:
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the surroundings, the choreography of bodies, mimic, languages employed, tone of voice, type
of smile, lengths of contact, and many more features, not least all the secret signalling that often
takes place.
Whatever information two bodies exchange when in direct physical contact through this
interaction is not yet quite clear and certainly impossible to describe in a meaningful way. It
must be important though – it is the standard greeting in many societies
50
.
Let us just have a look at the handshake (between men
51
). The following list just serves
to give an idea of the variety and wealth of forms that lie in one of the “simplest” gestures of
greeting and leave taking.
• Simple handshake with right hand.
• Simple handshake with right hand, with additional emphasis given by swinging the
hands widely.
• Double handshake, both hands touch both hands of the other.
• Handshake with right hand, left hand covers hand of the other.
• Handshake with right hand, left hand is pointed to or grips own right forearm close to
hand. The further hand points up to the own arm, the more respect is expressed.
• Handshake with right hand, left hand grips own right forearm closer to elbow.
• Handshake with right hand, left hand moves to own upper arm.
• Handshake with right hand, left hand touches own breast to the right.
• Handshake with right hand, left hand moves to other’s forearm.
• Handshake with right hand, left hand moves to other’s elbow.
• Handshake with right hand, left hand moves to the other’s upper arm.
• Handshake with right hand, left hand moves to own upper arm, light bow away to the
left, eyes averted.
• Handshake and simultaneous one-sided embrace.
• Handshake and (repeated) slap on the back.
• Handshake and after handshake, one-side embrace.
50
To name just a few gradients: temperature, humidity, pressure, rhythm, duration, repetition, electrical
charge, smell, vibrations, etc.
51
For a study about the female handshake see (HILLEWAERT, 2016).
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• Handshake, gripping the others thumb. For this, the hand is offered higher than the el-
bow, with the thumb extended upwards. The thumbs are pressed against each other in a
rubbing movement.
• Touching of closed fists, usually between youngsters, imitating the greeting of boxers,
sometimes followed by gripping the other’s thumb.
• Handshake and full embrace, simple, to one side.
• Handshake and following full embrace, double-sided.
• One-sided embrace, slapping the others belly (familiar gesture between personal friends
in informal settings).
• If a handshake is not possible, apologies are necessary (hands busy, dirty, or wet). Hand-
shake to be properly executed as soon as possible.
• An elbow may be proffered for contact in substitution if a handshake is not possible.
• A person of low status greeting a high-status person shakes right hand, left hand on own
forearm and kneels down.
• A child or youngster approaching an old man, kneels down at a distance, claps hands
and awaits to be called to approach and be greeted.
Usually, the higher up gives a cue and the lower offers a deferential gesture.
The movement to kneel down while offering the hand can be interrupted by the standing
person who pulls the kneeling person up.
All gestures can be reciprocated by the other or not, depending on his status.
Who looks how and where during the greeting is maybe the most important signal given
and received? Eyes on one’s own feet, eyes on the feet of the other party, eyes averted to which
side?
Younger persons, or the persons of lower status, avert eyes all the time while greeting
an elder.
The initial gesture can be mirrored by the other if he wants to confer equal status. The
mutual adaptation to the gesture offered by the other can be a subtle negotiation that may morph
into an attempt to harmonisation.
The duration of each gesture is also significant, as is the firmness of the grip.
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Gestures can be adjusted during the process. Both sides may adjust the expression of
social distance or proximity as well as the relative power distance in the measure as they
perceive the other and his intentions better during the ritual.
The greeting can be repeated to try to resolve status ambiguities; by trying to increase
one’s own status, or politely boost the other party’s status. Repetition can also be used in more
subtle ways until sufficient harmony is reached and a common base is established to take the
conversation or interaction forward.
Sometimes status inconsistencies may exist. For instance, a younger man may have a
higher position in a modern hierarchy, the older man in the traditional society. In this case a
subtle negotiation takes place to decide which reference system is to be applied and shall inform
the selection and form of the greeting. This negotiation’s outcome may be influenced by
external circumstances, such as the location, the presence of other people, etc.
In more relaxed surroundings, formal gestures, such as military and others, can also be
used in a playful way to signify the absence of their original meaning and to signal that the
context is free of the constraints that they usually imply.
Greetings may take a different form in joking relationships
52
which the greetings signal
right from the start of the interaction.
In societies where equality is a common and important value, greetings can be used as
a mechanism to puncture inflated egos, to check self-aggrandisement, to ridicule people who
pretend to be more than they are
53
.
52
“Joking relationships” in African societies are well studied. They often exist between grandparents and
their grandchildren, where the usual patterns of respect between children and older people are suspended. Cf.
(RADCLIFFE-BROWN, 1940). They also exist between different groups and societies where they have the
function of easing potential social and political tensions such as the well-studied Sanankuya ritual in Manding
speaking societies.
Humour, however, is much more widely used to explore the space of the profane, strictly separated from the
space of the sacred. It is often used to level power distances and to take the edge out of potentially embarrassing
or stressing situations. The wide field of humour can be circumscribed by the theories of relief, of superiority
and of incongruity.
53
A few newly arrived, academically trained, national researchers, when joining a research organisation, in-
sisted on being addressed by the title of “doctor” by the non-academic research staff. These, although well expe-
rienced and self-confident, could not refuse, as it would have been considered bad manners to openly defy the
request. Instead, they started greeting each other, including the teaboy and the cleaning staff, as “doctor”.
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Casual greetings
If people walk on the footpaths in the bush, and encounter another party oncoming, for
example a family returning from work in the fields, there are clear rules about greeting and the
right of way. Who greets first? Who steps aside to let the others pass? (This may imply some
discomfort and even some real or perceived danger, from snakes or landmines, say).
How many times people insist that the other party take precedence? When do they cede
on their insistence and step back onto the path?
Greeting people in groups
When greeting people in groups, strict protocol is followed. The highest-ranking person
is greeted first, then are people in descending order of rank and status. Usually, the people
accompanying a person of high status arrange themselves physically in space in such a way that
the highest-ranking person is given space to be greeted first, followed by the others in
descending order
54
. If the hierarchy is not clear, greetings are usually accompanied by an excuse
and people are greeted according to their physical proximity.
It is quite frequent that people take others by the hand to draw them away from the
others in order to have a private conversation out of earshot. This seems quite acceptable and
is not considered rude.
Meeting armed people
On the rare occasions, when meeting a (friendly) armed party in the bush, after the initial
friend-foe identification a general game of universal peace expressions starts. This is initiated
by the officers in charge with formal military salutes, while the fighters may demonstrate their
discipline, by arranging themselves in line or presenting their arms. The showing of raised
empty hands, formal gestures of greetings, ceding the right of way are offered by both sides,
repeatedly. Weapons are pointed to the ground or into the air or stowed away.
After the formalities have eased the initial tensions, more traditional greetings can be
started.
54
The driver of a minister of health always imitated the white dress of the minister, so that people had diffi-
culties recognising who was the minister and who was the driver. “Whoever comes first, you greet as the minis-
ter”, they said, laughingly.
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When encountering a hunting party, which can be quite dicey at night in the bush, people
start talking in loud voices, to make their presence known. When the mutual presence is
recognized, at first visible contact, weapons are demonstratively pointed away, break-action
shotguns are opened and may be unloaded, rifles may be slung over the shoulder, rested against
a tree, or laid on the ground, bows are put over the shoulder and arrows are put back into the
quiver. Hunting lights are never pointed into other people’s faces. Open hand gestures ensue.
Everybody steps into the light, if possible. Only then the formal greetings with direct contact
begin.
Greeting as a stand-alone exercise
Many greetings are just that. They can happen at a distance or in close proximity, but
they do not lead to more. Their only function is to acknowledge the other’s presence and a
certain relationship existing between the greeting parties, even in a fleeting encounter between
strangers in public places. When moving in smaller communities, a village or hamlet, greeting
is required. Just passing other people without acknowledging their presences would be
considered rather rude. Even after having greeted people in a village, when meeting them again
later, it is required to acknowledge their presence through a distance signal.
Then there are ostensibly stand-alone greetings with the function of bridge-building
between strangers. These work much better if there is another party known to both sides that
can vouchsafe for both and help to establish a form of basic trust. If someone needs to get into
contact with a high-ranking person, for instance in an organisation, he or she may usually take
along a common acquaintance for the first meeting. This meeting is typically just for
introduction and will not lead to an exchange of relevant information. But it may lead to the
setting up of a follow-up meeting where the topics in question may be discussed at length and
in depth.
This first formal meeting and the following period permit both parties to overcome the
initial distrust (and even to make further enquiries about the other party) so that the follow-up
meetings can be more substantial. To go beyond the greeting formalities in the first meeting
would be considered bad form and could be counterproductive for the intended purposes. The
transformation of the unknown into the known is a basic mechanism for the establishment of
trust.
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Indirect greetings
Often greetings from people not present are transmitted. This can be formal or informal
and, depending on the situation, can take quite some time. News from and about the absent
party may be conveyed. These greetings are usually reciprocated, and the messenger is politely
requested to send greetings back. Before appearance of modern telecommunication these
indirect greetings were the only way to communicate with distant people. Even now they still
have an important function of reinforcing relationships between people separated by distance.
Indirectly they also serve to strengthen trust between parties, by showing that they know people
in common.
Greeting the authorities
When entering a territory, by custom, the first visit goes to the chief, headman, or village
elder, in short, to the person responsible for the area. These greeting rituals are expected. They
serve to recognise the power structure and to legitimise the presence of the visitor and his
intended actions in the area. They may result in the chief detailing somebody to accompany the
visiting party with instructions, which give additional legitimacy to the visitor. It might also
warn the population that the visitor may not be trusted. Undoubtedly, the chief will receive
exhaustive information about the visitor’s actions and behaviour. The same goes for modern
state authorities. It is always wise for external actors to greet the representatives of modern
power institutions before acting in their territory. The authorities will be informed about their
presence anyway and may consider not contacting them as a lack of consideration or worse.
There exists generalised knowledge in the Agrarian Societies about the correct
communication channels for inside as well as for outside communication. Adults have this
knowledge and will direct visitors to the responsible persons; children will take visitors to the
next adult.
Non-greeting
In societies where social closeness is marked by physical proximity (who is seen in
whose company) there is a clear obligation to greet. Even a careless failure to greet can be
perceived as a violation of the social norms.
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The refusal of greetings can be used to signal distance and it can be a clear sign of
hostility
55
. It may include looking the other way in an encounter, moving out of the way, to
avoid a meeting, showing the back to somebody or to refuse the common gestures, such as a
handshake or similar.
An outright intentional refusal usually causes embarrassing situations, which in many
societies are to be avoided.
An accidental non-greeting caused by oversight calls for an apology.
Greetings as aggressive acts
Greetings may also be used aggressively, either to show contempt, to humiliate, or to
signal social distance. This can be done in many ways. Either by shortening the greeting to an
extend where it lacks the minimum time required, or by omitting certain forms of address, by a
haughty expression, by a “dead fish” handshake, by a posture of immobility, by not raising up
when seated, by not coming towards the other party. It can also be more subtle by following the
form to the point but subtracting the expression of feelings altogether and thus sending out
conflicting signals to the other. The procedure can equally be accompanied by staring at the
other, or by inadequate averting of the eyes or body.
Greetings as dissimulation exercises
As in many conversations and interactions, openness and truthfulness are often not the
ultimate purpose of a greeting. Therefore, greetings can also be used to dissimulate one’s state
or intentions or even to convey untrue intentions. This behaviour is a well-established social
practice. People may ask, as a form of greeting, “where are you going?” and the answer may be
completely innocuous “I am going there”
56
. But this may go beyond the usual practice in many
societies in the world where the question “how are you?” is supposed to be answered blandly
with “I am fine”, irrespective of one’s true state.
55
One cannot not communicate, as Watzlawick has it in his first axiom. (WATZLAWICK; BEAVIN;
JACKSON, 2017).
56
Cf. the excellent study Cultivating Knowledge: Development, Dissemblance, and Discursive Contradic-
tions among the Diola of Guinea-Bissau, by Joanna Davidson: "The daily repeated performance of “Ukai beh”
and “Inje muh” acknowledges that people have a kind of power, not only to decide where they are going, but
whether or not to reveal or conceal that information" (DAVIDSON, 2010).
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Greetings may also be used to either produce a false sense of security in the other, or to
fabricate social relations. In these not infrequent cases, even deference might be simulated
together with equally untruthful expressions of emotions.
Court rituals
A clear distinction can be made between centralised and acephalous (or segmentary)
societies
57
. In the first, certain “court rituals” have evolved, regulating access and a more formal
behaviour towards the chiefs and their court officials and, often armed, auxiliary staff. These
rituals may be quite lengthy, sophisticated, and demanding.
In acephalous societies, access to the recognised authorities is much easier, normally
only restricted by manners and custom but not enforced by staff. People are also less constrained
to express their personal feelings. Respect is still expressed but rather along the lines of age,
gender, descend and personal affection
58
.
The waiting game
Many important or at least self-important people play the waiting game with their
visitors. To have other people wait for you increases your status. This game is regularly played
by bureaucrats, or by people imitating bureaucrats.
The high and mighty use this technique to impress on their visitors the power distance
between them. As this is an everyday occurrence, people are used to it and suffer it in good
grace and with patience.
It is no rare occurrence to have a room full of hundreds of people patiently waiting for
hours for the appearance of the politically powerful.
Warrior’s greeting
Greetings between fighters/warriors/enemies follow a very specific and structured
ritual.
The traditional fighting forces of African Agrarian Societies are constituted through the
male rites of passage or initiation ceremonies. Their training is a bonding exercise, and the
recruits learn specific greetings rituals which identify them before their colleagues but also
before their traditional officers. These rituals are in part open, in part invisible to the non-
57
Cf. (SIGRIST, 2005), (SIGRIST, 2004).
58
Cf. (KRAMER; SIGRIST, 1978)
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initiated. The rites constitute some of the most important life experiences for their participants.
Under the supervision of experienced guides, the recruits undergo profound changes of
personality provoked and assisted through privations (living in the bush, separated from the
families, without comforts), pain inflicted on them, the controlled use of drugs, and often
experiencing the death of some of their peers. Often, they are also marked physically, by
circumcision, scars, or tattoos.
When young fighters want to challenge others for a fight, which they not infrequently
do, this is in many societies also strictly ritualised, with specific greeting rituals. These might
consist of a few stones thrown over the fence into the compound of the opponent, accompanied
by shouted insults. Combined, this greeting usually brings the opponent out into the public
space where a fight – either unarmed wrestling or a fight with sticks – promptly ensues.
In more formal settings, like in wrestling contests, a ritual greeting between contestants
always precedes the actual fighting, as does a final salute, like a respectful bow or handshake.
In modern military organisations, the forms of military salutes are adopted that show
the military hierarchic position. After the formal greeting is over, and formal power relations
are established, more traditional forms may be applied in an exercise to institute or reinforce
the social relationship.
Imported signals
Even in the most traditional settings as, for instance, between old villagers, but much
more by the youth, in greetings, quite frequently, words, signs and gestures are adopted from
other cultures. This is not specific for African societies but plays an important role there too.
Old villagers may be observed including quotations from the scriptures or the Qur’an into their
traditional greetings, while youngsters seem to borrow foreign words and phrases, mostly
popularised by the mass media, to convey a modern feeling.
Certain groups of youth use their own greeting rituals, often quite intricate, and usually
inspired by movies of other youth cultures in distant places, often from the Americas with their
distinct ghetto cultures. These are used to mark the inclusion to a certain group and the exclusion
of all the others. They involve, many times, refined interactions with the hands.
Greeting the sun, the day and the spirits
In many of these societies there are greeting rituals which go beyond the social
interaction. The use of elementary forms of interpersonal communication beyond the realm of
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humans shows that societies do not limit their self-perception to their kin, but interact with
nature in a wider sense, if only symbolically, but not less real for that. There exist rituals to
greet the sun when it rises in the morning. These greetings of the sun, and the new day, which
in many cultures in the world are understood as “morning prayers”, in African Agrarian
Societies mark the change from the night, and the reality of the world of the dreams to the
reality of everyday life
59
. These greeting rituals may be performed close to the house shrines
that exist in many dwellings. On the social level the morning greetings have the function to re-
engage with the others, be they family, neighbours, or community and to reaffirm their
existence as part of more encompassing reality.
Often these rituals find a correspondent with the “evening prayers”, understood as
saying goodbye to the day and to welcome the night.
Contacts with the spirits
60
may be formal encounters, by people visiting their shrines
and other places of worship in order to look for protection, to seek endorsement for planned
endeavours, to celebrate contracts with the spirits
61
for specific or general purposes. These
might include, for instance, averting ill-health for family members, protection for their travels,
success in love, advancement in their careers, success in emigration, protection against bullets
in war, etc. The destruction of enemies or the failure of their projects may also be wished for.
In these formal encounters, specific greeting rituals are employed which usually include some
form of preparation, such as ritual cleansing.
When a contact with a spirit is intended through dreams, certain rituals can be performed
before going to sleep, to inform the spirits that a contact is requested. These rituals establish a
connection between the everyday existence and the dream existence. The recounting of dreams
which is quite frequent, conveys experiences from the dream-world to the day-world. Thus, we
find a two-way, bidirectional link between the dream-worlds and the live-worlds.
59
Cf. Jung, expressed this, in the language of his time, when recounting an experience with the Elgonyi: “If
you can put yourself in the mind of the primitive, you will at once understand why this is so. […] What happens
outside also happens in him, and what happens in him also happens outside.
At sunrise they spit on their hands and then hold the palms towards the sun as it comes over the horizon.
‘We are happy that the night is past’, they say. […]. Sunrise and his own feeling of deliverance are for him the
same divine experience, just as night and his fear are the same thing. Naturally his emotions are more important
to him than physics; therefore what he registers is his emotional fantasies. For him night means snakes and the
cold breath of spirits, whereas morning means the birth of a beautiful god” (p. 40). (JUNG; JAFFÉ, 1989).
60
(OGUNNIYI, 2014).
61
(CROWLEY, 1990). These rituals usually include elaborate forms of gift-giving.
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Chance encounters with spirits are also quite frequent. They may happen everywhere
but seem to be more frequent in the bush, when people venture out alone, as do travellers and
hunters. Specific greetings are vital in these contacts. The friend-foe identification is in part
provided by body ornaments, amulets and similar devices that signal to the spirits the belonging
to a specific group.
Leave-taking
After meetings, conversations, interactions etc., there comes the parting. In fact, leave-
taking quite often is as elaborate as the initial greeting. In leave-taking, many of the gestures
used in greeting are also applied. Instead of producing proximity and meeting, however, they
express growing distance and eventual separation of bodies and minds
62
.
The symbolic value of executing the leave-taking should not be underestimated. It also
involves intricate and rather multifaceted forms. Usually, it is not just the short good-bye, but
rather a drawn-out process to be repeated in variations a few times. It serves to close an act of
communication and allows to smooth out any tensions that might have crept into the process.
The elaborate forms and lengthy procedures of leave-taking give the necessary time for a
disentanglement of people who have shared time, meaning and a part of their existence.
Proper leave-taking reinforces the relationship established by ritualising the (temporary)
separation. Through its form, length, feelings displayed, etc., it opens (or not) the possibilities
of future contacts and communication. In many societies the leave-taking includes declarations
of shared unity, even when people will be separated by distance. This is expressed in many
forms that emphasise unity even if there will be a separation in space such as: „We are to-
gether!”
It usually includes repeatedly thanking the other part for their time, their company and
much else. Although the same gestures may be applied, as in the initial greeting, it is perfectly
clear for the observer that parting is quite distinct from meeting. A certain symmetry with the
initial greeting notwithstanding, leave-taking is a fundamentally different act.
Leave-taking quite often is used as an opportunity to send messages to the family of the
other part, or to people that are known by both parts.
62
For example, the same type of handshake might be applied as in greeting. But nobody will confound a
greeting with a leave-taking.
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Not going through the prescribed set of motions is considered rude and may leave bad
feelings behind.
However, the prescribed formulas for leave-taking may also serve to extricate oneself
from situations which are unwanted or unpleasant. Especially when meetings have not brought
the desired results, the forms are followed to the dot.
If the communication process or the interaction went well, the positive results achieved,
between the initial greetings and the leave-taking may be demonstrated by the differences
displayed in both rituals. If promises were made during a conversation, they are confirmed by
the intensity of the leave-taking ritual. The contrary may also be the case. In low-trust
surroundings the correct reading of these signals is of the essence.
The long good-bye
A short example may exemplify this: The research centre one of the authors worked in,
was visited once a year by the highest and most respected figure of the most important religious
community in the country. The visitor was announced by the hushed silence of the office staff.
After elaborate greeting rituals, we sat down for tea and a chat. He made it very clear that he
never visited any government office or other office at all. After the meeting was over, his leave-
taking was even more significant than the initial greetings. We said good-bye in the meeting
room with a handshake, both of us touching the others shoulder with the other hand and bowing
equally deeply away, eyes averted. This was then repeated on the veranda. And then a third
time in the street, outside the gate, to where the host had accompanied him. This mutual
showing of respect gave not only a great boost to the morale of the staff but, as it was widely
talked about, certainly contributed to the granting of access to many ethnic societies in the
country for our researchers.
The hunter’s good-bye
In certain societies the hunter needs to perform a comprehensive leave-taking ritual with
the person nominated by the lineage as responsible for the magic pasturing of the wild game
63
and to receive his blessings. In this leave-taking the hunter recognises the authority of the
lineage, pays his respect to the responsible person, accepts instructions and prohibitions, and
announces his venture into the bush. This leave-taking gives some magic protection to the
63
(SCHIEFER, 2002).
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hunter from the hazards of the hunt. Implicitly he acknowledges that he will come back with
game to share, or at least to report everything that he has observed, to the traditional game
manager. These or similar mechanisms also occur, in slightly varying forms, when other natural
resources are to be exploited, such as fish, etc. In this way, these formalities play an important
role in the management of natural resources.
Learning how to greet
Besides the predominant traditional learning through observation and imitation,
members of the African Agrarian Societies, both male and female, are formally and informally
trained during many years, either by direct instruction, backed up by strict sanctions, or, more
frequently, by subtle nudging, in order to master the greeting rituals. Imitation is the way of
transmission of not only the Old Knowledge, but also of behaviour, values, emotions,
operational knowledge and the like in a transgenerational chain. Children and youngsters
imitate elder, more experienced people. But imitation is not only something learners do; it cuts
both ways. Parents also imitate their children in order to communicate better with them.
However, learners are actively encouraged, in certain situations with much emphasis, to imitate
the experienced elders; they are expected to imitate. By imitation of the external forms, they
also grow into the emotional and relational internal states that will form their personality and
their identity
64
.
Even in the secret initiation ceremonies
65
of many ethnic groups, greeting is considered
an integral and constitutive part of the management of social relations and a distinct “subject
matter”. The mastery of multiple forms goes along with the hierarchy of initiation. The higher
the level of initiation, the more secret forms people learn and are licensed to employ
66
.
These teachings also include the knowledge how to greet the spirits that people might
encounter – which are by no means all of a kindly disposition.
64
Cf. Mind, Self, and Society by (MEAD, 2009) and Symbolic Interactionism. Perspective and Method by
(BLUMER, 2009).
65
“El ceremonial es el procedimiento técnico para enseñar verdades indemostrables (GÓMEZ DÁVILA,
2007).
66
On the highest level of initiation, the trans-societal secret societies that span big parts of the continent are
established.
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It includes many secret signals that reflect the necessity of “friend-foe identification” as
well as the building of trust between people belonging to the same relevant group even in the
presence of others who do not. The secret signals allow the passing of information about people
present without these noticing. Looking at the other’s feet does not only serve to avert your
eyes as a show of respect, but also to detect non-obvious foot signals which are not perceived
by the non-initiated
67
.
The acquisition of the complete forms of greeting is considered vital to becoming an
adult member of society. The propagated ideal for the youth is not, as in some modern
industrialised Western societies, individual independence, revolt, or disruption, but rather
obedience, responsibility, solidarity, respect, and harmony. As in many other societies where
“the individual” does not have the illusion of being “the master of his own destiny” the highest
ideal for a person is patience. Without patience there is no virtue.
A few examples may suffice to understand part of the teachings in the initiation rituals.
In the countryside, if a visitor comes to a village, there is an elaborate protocol: how to enter a
village? The visitor does not only have to identify the people he or she has to greet first, which
might involve some patient inquiries and intermediaries, but he or she also has to pass through
a lengthy ritual of greeting the highest-ranking people. This always implies that visitors have
to establish direct personal contact. Without physical interaction, a person may be physically
present without being socially acknowledged. If physical presence within a certain time does
not move into recognised social presence through physical contact, unease might result.
Correctly entering a village or community implies a discreet display of the proficiency in the
forms and provides the responsible people with opportunities to evaluate the visitor
68
.
The apparently simple act of entering a compound in some societies in the southern part
of the continent requires detailed knowledge
69
. On a first visit, the guest is obliged to leave
through the door he entered, accompanied by the host. On later visits, the requirements of the
67
If a foreigner is being introduced into a group, the group might be subtly warned if he speaks the local lan-
guage.
68
When doing research or interacting with these societies in other ways, we found it useful to use as team
leaders only people who were initiated into the societies where the team was going to work.
69
Through which door must the visitor pass through the palisades? How to make his presence known? After
passing the outer space, which is the space to go to? Where to wait for the owner to be greeted and invited? Who
passes first through the openings into the official reception space? On which of the logs to sit as a guest? Who
sits who? When leaving, who passes through the gate first?
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protocol are somewhat eased. In many of these compounds there is a little space between the
outer area and the inner compound dedicated to visitors who arrive at night and might rest there
without waking the inhabitants. They are neither outside nor inside. Only the next morning, by
being officially greeted, their presence is formally acknowledged, and they are welcomed as
guests.
To acquire the complete set of forms of greeting and leave-taking, including the finer
points of etiquette, entails decades of learning. And, as with all learning, some people are better
at it then others.
Intercultural fallacies
The continued successes of the internationalisation of business and the repeated failures
of development interventions have brought the question of intercultural contact to the fore
70
.
The numerous dimensions of intercultural communication influence, to different
degrees and according to circumstances, greetings between people from the Agrarian Societies
and strangers.
In fact, some of the specifics of greetings can be observed from examples where they
are improperly executed and therefore fail their purpose.
A short example may illustrate this: In a research centre in the capital of a West-African
country, a new European researcher joined the team. He used to come to the office, and, with a
friendly “good morning”, pass through the outer office and go into his own workplace. After a
few days some members of the staff talked to the director and asked: “What is the matter with
the fellow? Doesn’t he like us? Is he a racist? He does not greet us!” When the director told him
about the complaints, he was completely taken aback: “But I do greet them”, he insisted, “I say
Good morning! I never fail!” It had to be explained to him, that he would have to do the rounds,
shake hands with everybody, ask about their health, the health and wellbeing of the families,
and so on.
Not knowing the formal ways of greeting, even when applying the correct words (which
is usually the first thing foreigners learn), can be considered a lack of knowledge and familiarity
with local customs. This may be tolerated in foreigners for some time, but it can also be
70
For an early example on the business side, see Trompenaars (2012).
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interpreted as a lack of interest and education
71
. Failing to greet in a proper way can be
perceived as rudeness. But often tolerance and pragmatism prevail.
The lack of knowledge about the other can be serious impediment to establish
meaningful and productive communication. The uncertainties about the other’s status can, in
the case of foreigners, cut both ways. As different cultures use different symbols to express
their status, misreading the other’s status can induce both parts into errors, which frequently
lead to cognitive dissonances
72
.
The specific gender status of Agrarian Societies where men and women are accorded
distinct roles and where specific gender attributed behaviour is expected (representation in
public spaces, decision making in public affairs, ways of greeting foreigners, to name just a few
examples), can be suspended when dealing with foreign women who interact with the societies.
Thus, foreign women can be attributed “male status” which allows them, for example, to enter
the spaces and to play roles usually reserved for men. They can also be greeted in a gender-
neutral manner.
The perception of time as well as the rhythm of action differ greatly between agrarian
and industrialised societies which are the origin of much of the personnel involved in
development activities. International staff of development projects, for instance, often
experience great difficulties in adapting to the slow rhythm of Agrarian Societies where time is
not measured by the clock
73
.
The relative importance given to the establishment of personal relationship to the
detriment of “the matter at hand” is another potential cause of misunderstandings and eventual
frictions. Coming to the point to soon, without giving enough attention and time to greetings,
does not only violate the cultural norms, but it may also be counterproductive. Executing the
greeting rituals properly, with the necessary repetitions, gives space for the unsaid to take its
effect.
71
The staff of a research centre at times commented on international researchers: “The so and so anthropolo-
gist has been in the country for more than a year and he still does not know how to greet an Elder!”
72
Often international staff of NGO and the like shun the most obvious status symbols such as proper, formal
dress and the like, although, having cars and good houses, they could certainly afford it (at least in the perception
of the local societies). Underplaying their own social status, as is custom in some groups in many Western socie-
ties, often sends exactly the wrong signals to members of the African Societies and to not only to them.
73
Cf. (SCHRÖTER; ELIAS, 1988).
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Proper greetings, when initiating a meeting, may also help to identify the real decision
makers who are not always the people with the highest formal status
74
.
Proper leave-taking is of the same importance as the initial greeting. During the leave-
taking decisions can be subtly expressed, as can intentions of the actors who often have to
consult their constituencies before assuming formal agreements. These constituencies may
include, beyond their families, lineages, etc., the spiritual instances who might have the ultimate
say in vital matters and whose influence might be crucial for the building of consensus.
Another point of possible misunderstandings are the typical emotions shown in
greetings, the human warmth conveyed through a ready smile even in chance encounters can
easily be misread by people from cultures where this kind of expression of feelings is much
more restricted to the intimacy of family and friends. On the other hand, people from the North
are often perceived as cold and distant, because they do not express their real or not so real
feelings in the usual friendly manner. But even a very friendly greeting does not mean that a
relationship exists. The amiable feelings and emotions displayed may be intended to disarm
potential hostile feelings rather than to establish a real connection. The mastery of the greeting
is also a sign of the con-artist and the politician.
Conclusions, questions and interrogations
Many African Agrarian societies are in contact with the outside world through different
types of interventions. Most of these external interventions in African societies have a very
strong communication component. State and civil society actors try to pass messages to them,
as for example in health campaigns or they try to establish communication channels, through
development projects, etc. Many external interventions are basically communication exercises
that aim to change, with more or less subtlety, behavioural patterns. These communication
processes are rarely efficient. The obsession with modern mass communication and their
technical bases that dominates research
75
seems to have obstructed a clear view on direct
74
When doing research on anti-colonial war in a West African country, an extremely sensitive issue at the
time, the societies used to send some veterans of the “liberation struggle” without any real knowledge to the in-
terviews. The really important and knowledgeable actors stayed in the background to wait and see what the re-
search was all about. Only when sufficient trust was established, they came to the fore. After some time, our re-
search staff was able to screen the interviewees merely through the greeting rituals and send the too eager ones
politely away.
75
See for example the elaboration of the Shannon/Weaver model of communication which was derived from
the technical transmission of information and extremely useful in this context. (SHANNON; WEAVER, 1998).
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interpersonal communication
76
, of which the greeting is an essential part. For everybody who
deals with other societies, be they government officials, staff of development organisations or
researchers, it is of paramount importance to get their communication right. The specific
communication processes in these Agrarian Societies also provide the background for more
modern processes, be they direct interpersonal or media based. More modern forms of greeting
are derived from or strongly influenced by the more traditional form developed over thousands
of years by these societies which impregnate modern urban culture.
Therefore, a few questions arise that can only be answered by future research.
• How do greeting rituals translate and transform in poly-ethnic spaces such as big urban
centres?
• How do they influence the functioning of modern or peri-modern organisations?
• How do they influence intercultural contacts?
• How are they influenced by intercultural direct contacts or media-based contacts?
• How do traditional greeting rituals change when new communication technologies
evolve and become available?
• What technologies are preferred and why?
• How do traditional communication processes influence the use of modern communica-
tion technologies?
The study of modern communications, and specifically of modern, urban greetings as
well as communication through modern, electronic media could greatly benefit from a better
and more profound understanding of the more traditional communication processes. So could
probably most people who deal with African Agrarian Societies.
It now seems to influence most communication studies. The unreflected transfer of this model to interpersonal
communication has caused severe damage to the understanding of direct human communication.
76
For a different approach see (PAULI; JUNG, 2014).
Kwanissa, São Luís, v. 04, n. 11, p. 87-128, 2021. 125
ISSN 2595-1033
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