Time in an African Worldview, part 2
“Tanzanians have zero respect for time. And this has also been true everywhere I’ve worked in Africa.”
In my last blog post I wrote about how westerners measure time with a clock, while Tanzanians traditionally have an event-oriented relationship with time. There isn’t a right or wrong way to approach time, but rather cultural norms determine our assumptions about how the world functions (because in our culture that IS how the world functions).
So what of this comment from a foreign development worker?
“We’ve planned three weeks in a row for our village savings and loan meeting to begin at 10:00. And we’ve never started before 11:30. The farmers there have little respect for me and zero respect for time. And this has been true everywhere I’ve worked in Africa.”
The foreign (clock-oriented) worker views (clock) time as a commodity. Consider the way westerners speak about time: it is something we save, spend, waste, donate, or even buy. Time is money, and our language reflects that.
If (clock) time is of such value, then you necessarily demonstrate your respect for me by properly valuing my time. This can of course be shown by paying me well for my time OR by simply being on time for a scheduled meeting. Westerners take offense when they perceive someone doesn’t view their (clock) time as valuable (and rightfully so in their own culture).
But what of an event-oriented culture? How do you demonstrate you value someone’s (non-clock, event) time in Tanzania? How do you show respect for someone in a traditionally African context, in regards to time?
You show others respect in Tanzania by not starting the event until everyone is present. Of course the event is of greater value than numbers on a clock! I should take offense if you invite me for a savings and loan meeting and then begin without me; you clearly don’t value my presence at our shared event.*
*Important note: I was probably only “late” because of another event, in which I was showing respect to others by greeting them en route to the meeting or not cutting our meal (an event) short in order to rush away.
It’s interesting that the foreign worker in this scenario takes a sign of respect for others as a sign of disrespect towards himself — the very OPPOSITE of what was intended. The westerner has interpreted a group's behavior through his own worldview, rather than through the worldview of the group (and his host culture).
-bh