NKọwa (Introduction) Greetings are important aspects of Igbo culture. They are ice breakers and establish cordial relationships with others. These come in different forms and on different occasions. Greetings for saying goodbye, welcome, thanks, for resting, for illness or injury, recovery, for having fun, for saying hello and for different times of the day. Greetings can also be long or short depending on the situation. They can be extended to include inquiries about family, business, work, vacation, school, etc. It is generally the Igbo custom that the young or a subordinate initiates greeting as a sign or mark of respect. A young male bows while a female kneels half way. Among male members of the same age group, greetings usually start with a handshake. On the other hand a young male cannot stretch out his hand for a handshake with older male unless asked to do so by the older male. For females of the same age group, it is just “hello” (“kedụ?”) with the response “ọ di mma,” and sometimes a warm embrace. Females are usually not expected to greet with a handshake. However, trend is beginning to change in modern Igbo society. Females now shake hands when greeting males. Greeting in Igbo can also be entered into with people you wish to salute but see at a distance. Upon seeing the people, one would wave his hands and say “daalụ nụ o or ndewoo nụ o.” Hugging also occurs when two friends or relations meet after a period of absence and the greetings “nnọọ” or “ị lọla” goes simultaneously with the hugging exercise

Different greeting patterns are used for the different times of the day.

Nkọwa (introduction) Generally in Igboland, when people meet, they want to be comfortable with one another. They ask of one’s name, occupation, residence, nationality, parents’ names, nicknames, and other questions that come to mind. People usually do not ask about age, marriage and status but often times people voluntarily talk about their status.