How Do You Greet a Yorùbá Elder??
So you have come across a Yoruba elder and you want to greet them. How should you do that exactly?
Well, I hope your answer is not extending your hand for a handshake…🤦🏾♀️
In the Yoruba culture it is custom to “greet” your elders in the proper manner. For males they must “do ba le” or prostrate and for females they must go on their knees or “curtsy”.
Greeting is VERY important and is a way to show respect to your elders or people of higher status than you. The lower you go, the more respect is shown. Yoruba people find it very disrespectful if they are not greeted properly and can hold a grudge about it for a long time.
Some people now view this practice as a form of subservience or servitude. In traditional weddings, the bride has to kneel to her husband to show respect.
Do you think this practice is dying out or should continue? Or is it just tradition? 🧐
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