Culture

I found out a little more today from one of my colleagues about Arabic culture. This was to do with the connections with family and the physical connection with men. Greetings are more than just verbal here. They should where possible involve a physical connection. As we walked around and he introduced me to some of his colleagues the physical connection was fascinating to watch. Not just a hand shake, but a holding of the hands, throughout the conversation. He explained to me that different Arab countries use many of the different forms of greetings I have discussed earlier (rubbing cheeks, hongi). So it is different in Sudan, Egypt, Syria. There are some practices more common across the gulf countries. Also people have two names. One of these is used in essence to trace your whakapapa. So your name will be father of or mother of your oldest child. If you do not have children then your name is son of your father. This clearly places the family at the centre of culture, more so it appears than in western culture. I was pleased to hear today that a good friend has become a father again. This may not be the last time :-). His new son carries a connection to the family in that his middle in that of his grandfathers', a man he will never meet as he passed on recently. By having the name he helps to retain a connection with the family and a connection for my friend. I know as kids we were interested in our name and why we got the names we did. Who we were named after.