Greetings!

On the importance of greetings in Ugandan culture

In Uganda, greetings are supreme in social relationships. Often they go beyond a single utterance, like ‘good morning’ or ‘good afternoon.’ While such statements may get a conversation going, they are almost always followed by questions about a person’s family and state of being.

In Luganda, the language of the Baganda people, ‘abeka bali batya’ or ‘abaana bali batya’ translates, roughly, to ‘the people at home- how are they?’ Either of these greetings follow a time-bound greeting, like ‘wassuze otya?’ or ‘ossibye otya?’ The former is a morning greeting that translates to ‘how did you spend the night?’ and the latter is an afternoon greeting that translates to ‘how have you spent the day?’ In English, their closest corollary phrases are ‘good morning’ and ‘good night,’ but the Luganda greetings seem to cover more ground than their English counterparts.

English greetings are usually banal (sorry, not sorry) and suggest no additional information is needed between two or more parties, other than that, perhaps, which is exchanged via tone. Depending on the severity or enthusiasm with which someone delivers a greeting in English, one might discern how well or poorly someone’s day or night has gone. Perhaps a follow-up question - is everything alright? - or comment - boy, someone had a nice night! - is polite in these situations, or perhaps not. In most situations, English greetings function as a sort of verbal salute.

Luganda greetings, on the other hand, compel a recipient to offer a meaningful (or, at least, semi-meaningful) reply. Although the common response to ‘wassuze otya?’ or ‘osiibye otya?’ is ‘bulungi!,’ meaning good/well, these customary Luganda greetings compel a response and a follow-up question, from the first exchange in the conversation. In English, two speakers may wait several more syllables before an attempt at a meaningful exchange is made by either speaker. (How are you? Good.) And even then the exchange remains devoid of substance. Luganda greetings, meanwhile, move on quickly to personal subjects, like work and family.

To be honest, I had some trouble adjusting to Luganda greetings when I first arrived in my village. Back in America, I’d lived in cities where, walking down an unfamiliar block, I never said hello to anyone. If I was approached in such situations, I often found that keeping the conversation short or ignoring the other person was more prudent than engaging. The last thing on my mind would have been to ask about a stranger’s mother.

At first in my village I managed, admittedly, to probably insult a few people. In Uganda, nothing is more important than the people in your community; somehow one must find the time and, often enough, the courage to stand and be vulnerable.

Compared with Ugandans, Americans are failing each other in public spaces. We mistrust each other, so we ignore each other. Many times in the U.S., I’ve gone to a grocery store without talking to anybody. I pushed my cart, found my eats, and shoved my checking account information into the mouth of a robot. On the subject of citizenship, Luganda greetings may remain instructional to me when I eventually return home.