Greeting is an important part of life, an ordinance we do on a daily basis. It is a way to show respect and honor, a way to announce ones presence, an expression of pleasure on meeting someone, and a way to strengthen our cultural and societal values.
Every nation knows the language of greeting. In African, greeting is held on strongly as one of the traditional values. In Nigeria, it is not different. Irrespective of tribe or religion, a child’s character is examined first by the manner he greets. It’s a first impression that plays a significant role in observing a child’s level of morals and discerning the parental upbringing.
Unfortunately, the weight of greeting is lessened by the day as the younger generation now ridicule their home training through shabby ways of greeting. This is a cause for concern, especially among those living in the city and abroad.
The fact remains that greeting, either formal or informal, is non-negotiable, and the essence of this article is to reestablish the spirit and consciousness of appropriate greeting in the younger ones. In the African context, greeting is more of showing respect than exchanging pleasantries. That is why a child is expected to greet an elder or a superior, not the other way round. Thus, greeting goes beyond mere lips expression to body expression like kneeling, bowing, prostrating, squatting, hand shake, and so on, depending on the varying cultures. Aside from that, greeting in simple form could be just a good morning, good afternoon or good evening.
The traditional form of greeting which carries respect and honor is gradually losing value, and this means that the expression of respect is fast going extinct. Irrespective of the region or tribe, this underlying concept of greeting is general in Africa, and the attitude of the present generation towards it is very worrisome.
You don’t greet a typical Nigerian elder with a Hi or a hello, or greet a good morning with bad body language. You don’t wake up in the morning, hear the voices of your parents or elders without going to them to greet, you don’t walk pass an elder on the road without proper greeting, you don’t start a conversation in any gathering without first greeting. As a child, you’re expected to greet your parents, seniors, and superiors. It’s the easiest way to show respect. You don’t call them by their names when you greet them. You use Mummy/Daddy, Sir/Ma, Aunty/Uncle, and so on, and you’re expected to also respond or answer in them in the same manner.
There are many goofy practices children of these days ingest in their daily lives that are against our Indigenous cultural practices and very condemnable. They believe that some old practices have outlived their usefulness, but these are the practices that upheld the values we have as Africans. A child that scorns and dishonors their cultural values by greeting inappropriately should be called to order. Greetings are customary. The African traditional form of greeting is special, and no new greeting mode can take that place. Parents, especially those who raise their children abroad, should endeavour not to compromise this in their parenting skills.
No doubt, the diversity of races, colours, and languages has their attendant difference, and greeting is part of it. We must not retain some old practices like kneeling, prostrating, and so on, anytime we greet. However, we must be careful not to trade off the respect and honor that comes with greeting, which is nature’s method of spicing the life of Africans. We must preserve and retain the beauties in some old cultural practices in order to reap the attendant gain and the dignity it brings.
BIBLE VERSE
Mathew 10:12 As you enter your home, give it your greeting
PROVERB
Japanese proverb: Greetings are the patron gods of our time
RIDDLE
What passes the king without greeting the king?
Amara Ann Unachukwu
