Peace Corps in Senegal: Greetings

January 2020

Hello.

I’m going to talk about greetings. Greeting someone is a brief exchange, often in passing in the U.S., however, in Senegal greeting is much more.

This past week my grand ancienne — the volunteer who served four years before me in Ourossogui— came back to visit our host family and greet neighbors, friends, family, and work partners. When she said she planned on spending her time greeting I kind of understood. I’ve been aware that greeting my family within our compound is a daily must, and checking in with neighbors should be done frequently. However, not until walking around with my ancienne did I realize the true importance of the greeting culture. Here’s what I learned.

Greeting 101

At the very least you must greet family members who are older than you the first time you see them everyday. In this greeting the following boxes are checked:

• How are you?
• Are you healthy?
• Did you spend the night in peace?
• Did you wake up?
• Did you sleep well?
• How are you doing with the heat/cold?
• How is your family?

You can mix and match and switch around the order as you please. If someone is praying they will only respond with nods and grunts, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t greet them. When in doubt, greet! If it feels awkward, it’s probably fine. For example, even if someone hasn’t left their bedroom yet, but you’re already out and about, pull away the curtain to their bedroom and greet. If someone is busy reading or cooking or praying, greet!

Beyond the Compound

Let’s say you’ve left the compound on a mission, but wait, you know these neighbors (or if you don’t, you probably should) so go and greet. Walk through their front gate and past the barrier wall (these exist because I live in a city) and greet. Often, people are sitting outside, which makes it easier for the overly-private American to justify.

On top of the common greetings I mentioned earlier you can also ask questions like these:

• How is your husband/wife?
• How are your children? Are they healthy?
• How is work?
• How are you doing with the tiredness?
• I greet you.
• I greet your family.
• I greet your husband/wife.

This exchange is rapid fire. Luckily, there are three responses that work most of the time.

1. Jam tan meaning “peace only” works 90% of the time.
2. Mawdum also works although I have no idea how it translates.
3. Yaa wuur also meaning “peace only” is a good one to throw into the mix.

Greeting Ping Pong

As a beginner to greeting in Senegal, it feels like playing ping pong…only it’s one versus five, and they’re all professional players. You’re volleying back and forth; questions are whizzing through the air; both of you are responding simultaneously; you’re shaking hands; trying to not make too much eye contact; maybe curtsying and trying to take your shoes off to sit with them.

Just when you’re about to come up for air you realize there are four more people to greet. Thankfully, it’s kind of fun. If you mess up, you have infinite more tries and every greeting is a fresh start; a chance to try again and maybe even throw in a new greeting you haven’t tried before like, Did you dream last night?

Spending Quality Time

Even after all this, when my ancienne said she’d spend her days greeting I didn’t totally get it. Okay, you need to greet the neighbors. How long could that take, especially when the greeting happens overwhelmingly fast? Well, I learned that it’s not just about the initial greeting.

Senegalese greeting is about spending time with people: drinking tea with them, sharing a meal with them, sitting with someone while they cook or do laundry, listening to them play an instrument, dancing, singing, going to a child’s birthday party, visiting their place of work and hanging out for an hour…or three. Senegalese people often insist that you sit and stay a while: stay for lunch, stay for tea, stay for dancing. I’m used to being on my way to the next thing, the next destination, the next errand, the next thing on my to-do list, but that’s not the way here. Greeting takes time and patience, especially as a newcomer to the language.

Consistency is Key

Not only is greeting about spending quality time with people, but it’s about the follow up. You can’t greet your neighbor or favorite shop-owner and be set for the next month. Nuh-uh. Greeting in Senegal is about checking in consistently. If it feels like it’s been a while since you greeted someone, then you’re right.

Quite literally, the journey is more important than the destination. If I need to go to the garden at the hospital, I can’t get up and go. Instead, I greet my immediate host family over breakfast, greet my aunts, uncles and cousins in my compound on my way out, and greet anyone I recognize on the way.

It’s funny, the other day I asked a Senegalese Peace Corps language teacher what the verb is for “to pass someone on the way,” and they laughed and responded, “That doesn’t exist here. The least you do is greet them.” As weird as it feels for me to waltz into my aunt’s room in the morning and greet, I do. I don’t know if it will ever feel right, but it’s comforting to know that everything is clunky and awkward before it feels natural.

On that note, call up your uncle or an old friend and greet them.

Greeting my work counterpart means learning how to make attaya — the traditional Senegalese tea with strong green tea and sugar.

My host mother (left) and aunts dressed up for an important meeting with the Minister of Women at the womens’ garden. It is common for people to look stern in pictures despite their kindness. My host mother is Vice President of the womens’ field (woot woot!).

Greeting a potential work partner who owns a citrus orchard and is interested in beekeeping.

The final soccer match between Ourossogui neighborhoods Ainoumady (represent!) and Moderne. My neighborhood lost in penalty kicks…