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Culture 3

When Syriacs meet they use the greeting šlomo ܫܠܳܡܐ, which literally means ‘peace’. The person arriving says šlomo ܫܠܳܡܐ and the host answers with b šayno ܒܫܰܝܢܐ ‘come in peace’. When living in societies where the dominant language is not Surayt, Syriacs also use the greetings in the dominant languages of the region, but the use of šlomo ܫܠܳܡܐ will always be heard among the many different ways they greet.

A saying in Surayt goes: U šlomo, u šlomo d Aloho yo ܐܘ ܫܠܳܡܐ، ܐܘ ܫܠܳܡܐ ܕܐܰܠܳܗܐ ܝܐ ‘greeting is God’s greeting,’ meaning: no matter what, even if one has a bad relationship with someone else, it is always good to greet the other.