Gotta Greet!

To not greet is to have poor manners.  Do you want to be thought of as the rude villager?  Heck no!  So you have got to greet everyone. Especially agogos (elderly people) or else they will beat you.  No, not really, but word spreads fast in the village, so don’t offend anyone, dummy.

Directly translated:

Timoneni – (This is not directly translatable – basically it’s the first thing you say to someone you never met before)

Mwe uli? – How are you?

Magona uli? – How did you sleep?

Mayuka uli? – How did you wake?

Matandala uli? – How did you spend the day?

Typically there is a script that is followed. Depending on the time of day and one’s relationship with the individual, the previous questions need to be answered and followed up with either:

Yewu – thank you

Dawonga – I am most grateful

The dialogue somehow flows naturally into these demanding questions (again – depending on one’s relationship with the speaker – this could go on for a while) that must be answered before one can continue on his or her way.

Muluta pani? – Where are you going?

Mutuwa pani? – Where are you coming from?

Mutuliya pani? – Where did you come from (before Malawi)?

Muja pani? – Where are you staying?

Mupempha pani? – Where do you pray?

Muwirwa? – Are you married?

Chifukwa uli? – Why not?

Mwe ndi mwana? – Do you have children?

Chifukwa uli? – Why not?

Mwe nde vyaka vilinga? – How old are you?

Muwirwa cha?! – And you’re not married?!! What are you sterile? A nun? Why don’t you have a family by now?

Mugwira ntchito uli? – What is your job?

Tiwonanenge sono sono – We will meet soon…And you will be my wife…

That’s exactly how it goes, with some liberal translation that I can only guess from the person’s expressions.