Hand Gestures and Body Language
As with every country, hand gestures and body language have a very large role in the process of communication. An individual could say one thing, but depending on their hand gestures or body language the message could be interpreted many different ways.
The people of Uganda rely heavily on body movements to convey messages because that is what that have been brought up to do. When Ugandan elders are telling stories, they will often manipulate their hand gestures and body movements to support the mood of the story and also to form a resemblance to every character.
There are also many tourists in Uganda almost all of which do not speak the native tongue, and if a Ugandan individual is not able to speak good English then there is an automatic communication problem. This is where common hand gestures are used to express desires and requests. Rubbing the forefinger and the middle finger against ones thumb means money, thumbs up is good and thumbs down is bad, a vertical hand with palm facing towards someone means stop and the sweeping motion towards oneself means come. These are all widely understood hand gestures that are commonly used in Uganda to communicate non-verbally.
Ugandan people are also very religious, and they use their bodies and hands to worship God. Hands waving in the air, clapping, outstretched arms and bowed bodies are all common sights in a Ugandan church service. Ugandan people believe that you should worship God with every bone i your body.
Another way body movements are used to express feelings are when a Ugandan person is saying thank you. They will put both their hands vertical position with palms pressed against each other, raise their hands to the tip of their nose and then back out the person they are thanking. This is a cultural way of thanking someone although it now mostly used on Westerners.
The people of Uganda rely heavily on body movements to convey messages because that is what that have been brought up to do. When Ugandan elders are telling stories, they will often manipulate their hand gestures and body movements to support the mood of the story and also to form a resemblance to every character.
There are also many tourists in Uganda almost all of which do not speak the native tongue, and if a Ugandan individual is not able to speak good English then there is an automatic communication problem. This is where common hand gestures are used to express desires and requests. Rubbing the forefinger and the middle finger against ones thumb means money, thumbs up is good and thumbs down is bad, a vertical hand with palm facing towards someone means stop and the sweeping motion towards oneself means come. These are all widely understood hand gestures that are commonly used in Uganda to communicate non-verbally.
Ugandan people are also very religious, and they use their bodies and hands to worship God. Hands waving in the air, clapping, outstretched arms and bowed bodies are all common sights in a Ugandan church service. Ugandan people believe that you should worship God with every bone i your body.
Another way body movements are used to express feelings are when a Ugandan person is saying thank you. They will put both their hands vertical position with palms pressed against each other, raise their hands to the tip of their nose and then back out the person they are thanking. This is a cultural way of thanking someone although it now mostly used on Westerners.