Greetings

written March 21, 2007


We have been learning how to greet people in Senegal, both the cultural tradition and the words in Wolof. It is very formal, and goes something like this:

Asalaa Maalekum (Do you have peace).

response: Maalekum salaam (Peace is here).

Nanga def? (How are you?)

response: Mangi fi rekk (I am here).

Naka wa ker ga? (How is your family?)

response: Nunga fa (They are there).

There may be more questions about your health, your wife, children or parents, sheep or goats, etc. etc. You must go through this whole routine with every single person you speak to. And if you are out walking, you must greet pretty much everyone you pass this way. After spending the last few days in a village (which I will write more about later), I have learned that this means that a simple errand outside of your hut can take an hour, with 90% of the time being spent on greetings and telling your neighbors what you're up to.