- Always call older men uncle and older women aunt.
- Sudanese people tap each other shoulders twice
or hug when they greet, that if they know very well.
- Expect to bargain for everything you want to buy.
- When a patient is admitted to the hospital, it
is a social obligation for friends and family to visit.
-
Men in Sudan wear casual business
clothes on a daily basis.
-
Some men wear Jalabiya (which is
a wide, ankle- long gown, and its usually white);
it is the traditional clothing for men.
-
Women should always wear conservative
clothes, mostly skirts.
-
Women garments should have sleeves,
and dress length should be below the knee.
-
Some women wear a skirt and in top
of that a white Toab (it is like bed sheet and it
comes it different colors.)
-
The official language is Arabic, but
there are so many tribal languages.
-
Not a lot of people speak English,
they might know how to read and write in English
but they might never have the chance to practice
it. If they speak English, they probably speak with
a British accent.
-
Shake hands when greeting and make
eye contact with the person and shake hands again
upon leaving.
-
Sudanese people stand close to each
other during a conversation.
-
Backing up to increase personal space
will likely be seen as impolite or rude.
-
When speaking with a person of the
opposite sex, a respectful distance is best.
-
Lengthy small talk and ritualized
greetings serve an important function, establishing
friendly relations at the beginning of a meeting.
-
Sudanese hosts tend to be very hospitable
and regard treating guests with generosity and warmth
as a point of personal honor.
-
In Sudan people do not use last name,
they just use their first name.
-
Punctuality is not rigidly observed
in Sudan.
-
Businesspeople should avoid the appearance
of being in a hurry or impatient. Checking one’s
watch in a meeting can be deemed offensive.
-
Government offices open from 8am
to 2:30pm, and banks from 8:30am till noon, Saturday
to Thursday.
-
Friday is the official Muslim holiday
and Sundays are holidays for Christians.
-
Sudanese prefer to do business with
those they know and trust, therefore expect to spend
time making a personal relationship before business
is conducted.
-
Who you know is more important than
what you know, so it is important to have a number
of contacts.
- If you are a guest, a sheep will be slaughtered
in your honor.
- As a guest enters a Sudanese home, he is immediately
offered Abre or Tabrihana, a refreshing nonalcoholic
fruit drink only slightly sweetened so as not to dull
the appetite.
- Dinner is served on a low table and guests are
made comfortable on pillows decorated with ostrich
feathers.
- Upon the signal of the host, dinner is served.
It starts with soup, brought out in individual bowls
on a huge, round, decorated copper tray.
- A second large tray is brought in with all the
dishes of the main course resting on beaded doilies.
(No knives or forks are used but spoons may be provided.)
- Most of the Sudanese eat the main course from common
dishes using Kisra or Khubz (their great flat breads)
to sop up the mixtures.
- Four dishes are individually served-the soup, the
salad, the Shata (red-hot spice) and the dessert.
After dinner everyone relaxes and enjoys the famous
Guhwah (a fruit), coffee served from the Jebena, the
stunning little coffee pot from which it is poured
into tiny cups.
- If tea is preferred, the succulent spiced teas
with cloves or cinnamon are served.
- Finally an incense burner filled with sandalwood
is placed in the center of the room, a touch leaving
the guests with a feeling of delightful relaxation.
- Try not touch, pass, receive, or eat with the left
hand as it is considered unclean.
-
Sudan is the largest and one of the
most diverse countries in Africa.
-
Khartoum is the Capital of Sudan.
-
Sudan have border with nine countries,
Egypt (N), the Red Sea (NE), Eritrea and Ethiopia
(E), Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (S), the Central African Republic and
Chad (W), and Libya (NW).
-
Islam is practiced by the majority
of Sudanese and governs their personal, political,
economic and legal lives. There are some Christians.
-
Family is more important than the
individual and more influential than nationality.
-
Pointing with the index finger is
thought to be rude in Sudan.
Sources
A summary of this information can be
found at Sudan Net.
For more information go to:
www.sudan.net
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