Greeting Customs in Zambia

Zambians greet each other with handshakes. As a sign of respect, the left hand is used to support the right hand. Kneeling down before the elderly or social superiors is common. Except for handshaking, bodily contact while greeting a member of the opposite sex is not traditionally acceptable. Adults usually address each other as Ba (which means Mrs., Mr., or Miss) with the last name. However, the Zambians have a hard time pronouncing "Gregersen," so we are often called Ba David and Ba Linda. The Tsonga dialect tends to add a long e to words ending in consonants, so David sometimes becomes "Davidee." The short i also becomes a long e, so Linda is called "Ba Leenda."

Handshaking is widely used as a gesture of thanks and friendship. Women commonly clap hands during conversations, especially to show pleasure.