Sorry for Left: Greetings in Ghana — Epoche A2
Greetings in Ghana: questions from the front desk Visitors at this Accra guesthouse ask about greetings more than about buses or water. The usual five questions: The man at the desk ended the handshake with a snap. What was that? That is the Ghanaian handshake. You shake normally, and as the hands let go, each person presses the other's middle finger and pulls, so both fingers snap at the same time. Practise slowly; the sound comes. I gave the taxi driver money with my left hand, and he frowned. Why? In Ghana things are given and taken with the right hand, or with both hands. The left hand is for washing, and giving with it is impolite — with money, with food, with everything. When the right hand is truly full, people say "sorry for left", and the words repair it. Is waving with the left hand also wrong? Yes. Waving, pointing and calling someone over are right-hand work too. Must every person in a room be greeted? In a small room, yes — and there is an order. The person arriving greets the people already there, and you move around the group from your right, one hand at a time. What happens when a visitor forgets? Nothing terrible. Ghanaians forgive a stranger's left hand many times a day. A smile and the right hand open every door in this city.