Greeting Doesn't Cost a Dollar

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Song of Solomon.

Toni Morrison’s novel has a scene where locals complain that a stranger arrived and did not greet them.  I hope I’m quoting the correct book.  I can’t double-check because someone nicked Song of Solomon.  Borrowed probably.  We do forget to return things, don’t we?

Toni Morrison is the only person who can confirm or dispute what I’m saying about that scene.  Fortunately, she doesn’t read this blog.


Greetings are the icebreaker, even the two cents ‘Hi’ mainly used by Canadians and Americans.  Greetings are more elaborate in traditional societies where people live off the land and whose lives are determined by the sun and the moon, and food is provided by animals, fish and plants. 

Greetings are also more intimate among African Americans because they use the whole body, shoulders, arms and hands to connect.  Their style has been handed down from generation to generation because of slavery, when they were truly blood brothers and took care of each other amidst lynching, mutilation and humiliation. Tyler Perry uses greetings a lot in his movies.

Greetings as old school.  It’s a possibility because there are more urgent things that occupy our time and consciousness in 2019.  Cellphones for example.  “That’s my son Tim. He’s always on his phone.”  It is half apology, because the parent, being old school, knows that Tim should turn around and greet the stranger and say something like ‘Hello uncle or auntie.’

However, greetings can never be old school because they reflect what is in the mind.  It tells us how people feel about each other. 

·         She doesn’t greet me. 

·         We don’t greet each other. 

·         He totally ignored me at the conference.

·         We don’t greet each other in the house anymore.

Greetings will cease when we surrender our humanity and things are totally run by emojis.  Greetings say I see you, as a human being, that is why I say how are you. There’s a language in South Africa called isi-Zulu.  The greeting sa-wubona literally means I see you.

Greetings can never be old school because of human nature and its protocol.  Kids greet elders.  Subjects greet the king.  Ministers greet the Prime Minister. Gangsters greet the head of the gang.  In some societies, women greet men.  Poor men greet rich men or celebrities. Nurses greet doctors.

Greet and meet.  Right?

By:  Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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