Acceptable Public Behavior

• 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.

Business Attire

• 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.)

Conversations and Networking

• 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.

Meetings, Presentations, and Negotiation Tactics

• 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.

Dinner Etiquette

• 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.

Other

• 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