The greeting Shikamoo which literally means "I clasp your feet" is said to older people to show great respect. Marahaba is the reply which acknowledges the respect....
However, a friend of mine who is a missionary here had an incident that gave "shikamoo" a whole different meaning. Her mother arrived from the US and was enjoying the adventure of the masai bush when nature called. As is usual she made her way to the drop tiolet some distance away. On her way to the long drop tiolet a masai woman passed her and in passing greeted her with "Shikamoo". As you would expect the american woman had no idea what this meant and asked another couple of missionaries who were nearby what this meant. They replied by giving her the literal translation : "clasp your feet". The american woman immediately assumed that the masai woman who had spoken to her was giving her advice for the task ahead. "Good to know" she thought..... and followed the advice when using the long drop. Sure enough it worked very well.
Later, when she met with her daughter, she advised her of the amazing advice that she had been given by her masai friend to "clasp her feet". This, she was sure was the secret to mastering the toilet technique for the long drop! Even though her daughter explained that the masai woman was actually greeting her and showing respect, the older woman refused to believe that this was not in fact bathroom advice!! It wasn't until other missionaries reinforced her daughter's version of the shikamoo incident that she realized her mistake.
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