Kenyan Diary

Tradition

My stay in the villages enables me to learn more about tradition which I summarize under common expression, friendship. It is not possible to walk along the road and fail to say hallo to someone you. It is not enough to simply wave and say “Jambo”. You must come to him and cordially shake the hand of those who accompany him. You must introduce yourself to all his companions and have a small chart with them. This rule applies even in cases where one is driving a car. If you see a relative you have to show how happy you are and spend a little more time with him/her. People do not walk alone here. The people here are used to walking in groups. All the people have a lot of friends and acquaintances due to this ritual. If you meet for example a group of 4 – 5 people, it would mean that every second person who is passing by may know someone from the group and that would mean that you spend most part of the day shaking hands with tens of people, having small talks with unending introduction to many other potential acquaintances. People also like to invite visitors into their homes. You can come to visit anybody anytime under pretence that you have come to say hallo to him but you can spend in his/her house unlimited period of time.

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