CULTURE
Greetings
Somali warmly greet each other
with handshakes, but shaking hands with the opposite sex is avoided.
Common
verbal greetings include:
-
Assalam Alaikum (Peace
be upon you)
-
Nabad miyaa (is their
peace).
-
Subah wanaagsan (Good
morning)
-
Galab wanaagsan (Good
afternoon)
-
Habeeb wanaagsan (Good
night)
Gestures
Somali
use sweeping hand and arm gestures to dramatize speech. Many ideas
are expressed through specific hand gestures:
-
A swift twist of the open
hand means "nothing" or "no".
-
Snapping fingers may mean
"long ago" or and "so on"
-
A thumb under the chin
indicates "fullness".
-
It is impolite to point
the sole of one's foot or shoe at another person.
-
It is impolite to use
the index finger to call somebody; that gesture is used for
calling dogs.
-
The American "thumbs
up" is considered obscene.
Dating and Marriage
Dating in the Western sense does not exist in Somalia. Young urban
people often meet at universities or at work and persuade their
parents to help them establish a courtship. Rural marriages are
usually arranged.
One-to-one dating is reserved
for after the engagement party or after the marriage contract
has been signed.
The groom must give a bridal
token to the bride's family. Traditional wedding festivities are
spread over three nights of dancing and singing, and men and women
celebrate separately on some of the nights.
