Ethiopian Hand…Wrist…Shake…Grasp

Today, YG asked me how I would greet someone if I had something on my hands.  Normally, I would shake hands with someone when I greeted them, so obviously I couldn’t do that if I had something on my hand.  I told him that I might apologize and explain the situation, and possibly shake with my left hand.  He said that in Ethiopia, people will actually offer their wrist instead, and the other person thinks nothing of it to grasp their wrist in greeting.  This, of course, fascinated me, so I decided to do some research on this and came across the following list of Ethiopian etiquette as it relates to dining.

Traditionally, Ethiopian food is eaten with the hands. This is done by tearing off some injera and using it to scoop up some food and then eat all of it. For newcomers, this may feel slightly awkward at first, but usually it becomes fun after a while. Foreigners are not usually familiar with traditional Ethiopian etiquette, so here are some tips before you come:

• Communal plates are usually used for traditional meals, but reaching across the whole plate to get food is impolite, stick to eating what is close to you.
• The left hand is considered unclean in Ethiopian culture, so try to remember to eat with your right hand.
• You will always be able to wash your hands before and after the meal. A waiter may bring a basin and a water pitcher for you to do so. Hold your hands over the basin and the waiter will pour the water over your hands.
• Don’t be nervous or shy!! It’s completely normal to have your hands covered in food and grabbing food with the injera can prove difficult at times. It is acceptable to use your hands to grab food as well, but it’s usually easier to use injera.
• Often, when greeting people at the restaurant, they will have washed their hands already, but they may be covered in food. Instead of a handshake, lightly grasp their wrist, when they offer it, but do not shake it. If your hands have food on them too, touching your wrist to theirs is acceptable as well.
• A gesture that you may encounter is the gursha, which is when someone puts food in your mouth. This gesture is one of respect and it is polite to accept it.