Greetings

Of the MANY new and different things that I have experienced this past week, one of the first that I want to make note of is the importance of greetings in the Zulu culture.  No matter who you see, what time of day you see them, or where you see them, it is imperative that you greet each other by saying “Sanibonani” or “Sawubona.”  There are standard replies that take only a few moments to say back and forth, but their significance in building relationships in the village and community are substantial.  The two words mean something along the lines of “I see you / we see each other,” so to walk past someone without saying anything is the equivalent of saying “you are invisible to me.”  It makes me wonder how many times I walked past people at work or just walking along the street and did not bother to acknowledge them.  I’m not talking about on the streets of NYC, as in the big cities in South Africa these greetings are not common practice either.  But when it is just you and one other person, is it really that taxing to say “hello?”  Something I will certainly be more aware of when I return to the US.