Reception under the tree

Today we were honored to be received by the leaders and elders of the village of Gbajema. After the regular program, we were formally invited to come under the big tree where plastic chairs were set out facing each other. The chiefs and elders were on one side, and we were on the other side facing them. In every village there are chiefs and elders, as well as the Queen Mother, who deals with women's issues. The atmosphere was quiet and solemn. Since we did not have time for them to cook for us, they brought us all the ingredients so that we could make their national food. And as you might have guessed -- a huge tub of bananas as well! We were also given water. We were the first group of Russians to come to their village, and they invited us to come back again next year. We greeting all the leaders and elders in their ritual style, going down the line from right to left to shake hands. It was explained to us why they go from right to left: the palm shows that my heart is open and I greet you with my whole heart; but if you go down the line from left to right, the back of the hand is seen first by the other person, and that could be a fist (you can strike with the back of the hand). After bowing to each other, we went on to our next program.
Pastor Pavel

(Translator's note: That last part about the greetings was difficult for me to understand in Russian, so I hope I've understood and conveyed the meaning of this ritual correctly into English!)