Man on sixth Avenue, NYC by Rebecca Thom
I live in New York City where legend warns that people are hard and don't look at each other in the street. Although you can find this phenomenon in certain regions and blocks of the city, for the most part, I've never been somewhere with more eye contact. Though greetings are usually kept for those special moments of madness in the subway when someone does something shocking or unforgivable and you just have to look at your neighbor and have a word, many are ready to exchange and are just waiting for the opportunity. It's true that more and more we are living in a world of digital communication, where people find themselves enraptured by their cell phones, email, tweets and instagrams (I have been loving witness people taking photos of the little things they notice, this app actually seems to make people more present). Yet, I am a firm believer in the old school tradition of greetings. Having lived in Africa I am actually quite fanatic about them. Should you find yourself in an elevator with me, I will probably talk to you. There is an old African proverb that says;
Haraka Haraka Haina Baraka
Hurry Hurry has no blessings.
Hurry Hurry has no blessings.
In many countries throughout the world you would be considered impolite
for not greeting the person you pass in the street. You are there
together, so why not? It is those moments in between rushing
around the city, or getting to the gym that make up your life. There are
human equivalents of angels everywhere, you just have to look up and say hello
- You never know what you might find in the other person. And yes,
sometimes people will look at you as though you're mad, but most of the time
you will be greeted back and somehow, between all the technological
interchange, you will feel more human.
Babu. Kasulu, Tanzania, 2010 by Rebecca Thom
Note: For the streets of Tanzania there are varied ways of addressing that pay respect to age, gender and class. For example, an elder is to be greeted with 'Shikamoo' which literally means, 'I take your feet' to this, the elder or respected individual responds, 'Marahaba' which means, 'I thankfully accept your respect.' Even the chosen intonation denotes a quality of submission; often making the 'Shikamoo' resound in an emphatic, 'Shhh' falling off into an almost silent 'kamo' The use of accentuation is sometimes even paired with body motions. A child greeting an elder, for instance, may dip one knee and downturn the gaze in order to further illustrate their respect. This particular greeting goes straight to the heart of understanding Swahili culture.
