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Title: Exploring Banyankole greeting Post by: Nakandi on October 12, 2014, 03:55:59 AM By Roland Nasasira
A casual hello in today’s society may suffice to create a connection between people. Greeting, however, among the natives in western Uganda traditionally was a ceremony of sorts punctuated by specific words that inquired about ones wellbeing and actions that sought to create a bond. The words, “Kaije, buhooro, buhooro gye, agandi” are but one sentence, which form what becomes a detailed moment of greeting. “Kaije” means may you come in peace and after saying this, people look into each other’s eyes while still hugging and asking how they have been all along. They then follow it with “buhooro” asking someone whether they are fine and “buhooro gye” asking someone again whether they are fine for purposes of emphasis and confirming whether someone is really fine and conclusively with “agandi?,” when the person greeting is asking how generally life has been. Robert Tukamushaba, an elder from Rukungiri District, says this lengthy greeting is still an on-going cultural practice within the elderly peers. “It is usually used when an elder spends a longtime without seeing someone particularly a relative or friend, they hug them while pinching the shoulders or patting them at the back. In rare cases it is accompanied with spitting slightly at the person who is being greeted,” he says. ... The reason why the youth of these days do not greet this way is because of ignorance of our culture and the mistaken belief that our culture is inferior to that of Europeans.” Full article: http://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/Exploring-Banyankole-greeting/-/691232/2481884/-/item/1/-/935tb5/-/index.html (http://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/Exploring-Banyankole-greeting/-/691232/2481884/-/item/1/-/935tb5/-/index.html) |