Uganda Culture

http://www.culturecrossing.net/basics_business_student_details.php?Id=19&CID=212

General In Ugandan traditional society, gifts were given at important social rituals or exchanged between close family and friends; gift giving in other contexts remains uncommon. In spite of Uganda’s relative prosperity in Africa, poverty and historic unrest have prevented gift giving from becoming a morewidespread practice. Personal and Family Gifts For Ugandan weddings, the bride and her family receive gifts as well as the dowry or the bride price. The dowry takes the form of livestock, money, or land. Livestock also serves as a traditional wedding gift in Uganda. For modern weddings in major cities, household items make acceptable gifts. The majority of Ugandans are Christians, and Christmas isfirmly celebrated. Although Christmas is primarily an occasion for feasting and being with close family members, it is also a time for exchanging gifts. Usually, people give practical items like new clothes. Although Ugandans set up Christmas trees when possible, they do not wrap gifts or place them under the tree. They are simply handed from the giver to the recipient. Gifts are not expected fromanyone outside the immediate family, but Ugandans commonly exchange Christmas cards, and visitors should feel free to send Christmas cards to their Ugandan friends. Business Gifts Business gifts are generally not expected in Uganda. They consider it more important to build a relationship by spending time with a Ugandan colleague than by giving gifts. Not only that, bribery and corruption have posedpersistent problems in Uganda, and though some improvements have been made in recent years, it is very important that a gift should not be perceived as a bribe. If you decide to give a Ugandan colleague a present, offer something that your company makes or a sample of something you plan to sell. Small desk items like pens with your company logo also serve as a possibility. Hospitality Gifts Wheninvited to a home in Kampala or other modernized urban areas, a hostess gift of sweets or chocolates is appropriate. If you are invited to a home in a rural area, choose a more practical gift like sugar or cooking oil. In either case, your gift need not be wrapped and should be offered with both hands. Taboo Gifts For Uganda’s Christian majority, taboos are few. Do not offer personal items likeclothing as gifts. Also avoid knives, scissors, and other sharp items, as they symbolize the severing of a relationship. When offering gifts to a member of Uganda’s Muslim minority, avoid alcohol, including perfumes containing alcohol, products from pigs or scavengers, and any image depicting dogs or the nude or seminude human body.
Greetings and Courtesies Although there are many tribal languages(Luganda, dialects of Swahili) spoken in Uganda, English is the common language. Handshakes are the standard form of greeting for businesspeople, although longtime acquaintances may embrace. Female visitors should offer their hand to Ugandan counterparts as female management personnel are not common in Uganda, and locals may be a bit ill at ease during the first meeting. Ugandans tend to haveeffusive personalities, and they are genuinely interested in the well-being of their visitors. After the initial greeting they will make inquiries into health, hotel accommodations, travel problems, weather, and even the family of the visitors. Thorough, friendly answers will be warmly accepted, but curt replies are thought to be rude. Note: Like many economies without stringent commercial laws,Ugandan business is built upon personal relationships rather than contracts. Friendship builds trust, and business in Uganda is a matter of trust. A "just business" relationship that may work in the West will be of little use here. When business moves outside of the major cities and into the various tribal homelands, greetings may become more elaborate and ritualistic. Some tribal customs will...