Greetings from The Rainbow Nation

Culture in South Africa is about as diverse as it comes and S.A. is one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world - no wonder it is often called "The Rainbow Nation"!
To begin to try and describe these cultures is almost impossible! Most of the cultures are also interwoven with each other - in a little or a large way. There are many more cultures and languages here besides the main cultural groups and 11 official languages that I mentioned in my post on language and population. Also over the last ten years or so, S.A. has been flooded with immigrants and refugees - legal and illegal- from many other African countries. We read on the net the other day that the illegal immigrants now make up almost a 3rd of the total population in S.A.! A lot of the central and north African countries have French as a main language so we are hearing more and more of it here in the country.

We were looking up S.A. customs and etiquette on the net and came across some interesting (sometimes very amusing) sites for foreign tourists. :D We even wondered if some of the advise was true! As I said, it's impossible to describe all the cultures, but I suppose (I think!) there is some sort of standard for greetings and etiquette in South Africa when you are having to deal with people across different cultures. Anyway, if you are ever visiting South Africa, here is what some of the tourism agents suggest: :)

"It is extremely difficult to generalise at all on South African etiquette and culture due to the diversity. There are many different races and these races behave quite differently in how they greet each other. However the standard form of greeting is a handshake." (this can be a normal handshake or one where there's a whole lot of 'up and down, this way-that way'!)

 . "When dealing with foreigners, most South Africans shake hands while maintaining eye contact and smiling.
. Some women do not shake hands and merely nod their head, so it is best to wait for a woman to extend her hand.
. Women may sometimes kiss each other on the cheek. (or both cheeks if they are like our Lebanese/Greek grandmother)  :)
. Greetings are leisurely and include time for social discussion and exchanging pleasantries."
 
Besides the usual English greetings used all over the world, here are a few of the common greetings you will hear in S.A...

Haai-daar - (Hi-dar) - Hi there!  
Hello/Hallo - used by everyone.
Yello (pronounced: 'yeah-lo') - Hello
Howzit -  A traditional South African greeting that translates roughly as "How are you?", "How are things?" or simply "Hello".Goeie Dag - (G-oi-er Du-g) Afrikaans for "Good Day"
Sawubona - (sour-born-na) "Hello" in Zulu.
Unjani? (Oon-j-are-knee)-Zulu for "How are you?" 
Cheers - Goodbye/So long.                                                   .
Totsiens (totseens) - "Goodbye/Till we meet again" in Afrikaans.
Hamba Kahle (Hum-bah kashle) "Goodbye-go well" - Zulu greeting.
Sala Kahle (Sah-lah kashle)- "Goodbye-stay well" - Zulu greeting.
Mooi Bly - (Moi Blay) in Afrikaans it is a farewell greeting like "keep well".

Of course besides the culture differences there are also the religious differences which will also be a part of how people greet each other. Anyway, we hope you enjoyed the post and for now we will say, "Totsiens and Hamba Kahle"! :-h