A phenomenological interpretation of Kerebe greetings

Abstract

This article argues that greeting among the Kerebe is a phenomenological project of everydayness in which the concept of being manifests itself in a dialogic manner. This is revealed through the four variables on which greetings are based: time, age, gender and relationship. The variables give us a glimpse of how the Kerebe view the question of temporality of being, the idea of being-for-the-other and the question of truth; and they cast some light on the general concept of a person in Kerebe thought. The article is oriented toward an inquiry into the concept of being-in-the-world from an African point of view.