Eritrea is a small country located in East-Africa. It is usually confused with Ethiopia, a fatal mistake to make, as Eritreans did fight Ethiopians for their independence. They are very patriotic people who value culture. Their survival was only possible due to their strong idealistic principles. Everything from shopping at a mall, to visiting the Red Sea has norms and values that seem rather strange, but the strangest of them all is their gniddew traditions. For these people, gniddews symbolise different things for different people. Few see gniddews as a chance to eat fancy food for free, while most see it as a celebration of the beginning of something new. Most gniddews, (depending on the religion usually) segregate males and females, so
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I’ve noticed the Eritreans to be very racially orientated and usually are seen hanging out with their own. It is not that they are discriminating towards other, but rather that they feel they can relate to their own more closely. Always, when I got the invitation, I was instructed to dress in their traditional gniddew garments, a white cotton dress that hugs the body until the hips and flares out to the ankles. It was called a “zuria”. There is usually a gold design cutting down which pairs perfectly with gold jewellery. Of course, there are many different variations of the zuria, but this is the most common. Shoes should be kept simple as they should not steal the attention away from the dress, so any simple dull coloured high heels would do. The hair is very important for females in gniddews. It should have a few small braids that go halfway down the head, and will just effortless curl from there. On the head, a traditional head jewellery is worn to emphasise the hair. Minimal makeup is applied as it is believed that the jewels are all the beauty a woman needs. After I had dressed myself, I was informed that it would be good if I could arrive fashionably late by an hour or so. Eritreans ever come to any social event on time, especially gniddews! It is an informal rule that majority of the people go by, and conforming to that rule would help me observe without being as overserved. I was also told to either bring a necessary household appliance or at least $20 as a wedding
I’ve noticed the Eritreans to be very racially orientated and usually are seen hanging out with their own. It is not that they are discriminating towards other, but rather that they feel they can relate to their own more closely. Always, when I got the invitation, I was instructed to dress in their traditional gniddew garments, a white cotton dress that hugs the body until the hips and flares out to the ankles. It was called a “zuria”. There is usually a gold design cutting down which pairs perfectly with gold jewellery. Of course, there are many different variations of the zuria, but this is the most common. Shoes should be kept simple as they should not steal the attention away from the dress, so any simple dull coloured high heels would do. The hair is very important for females in gniddews. It should have a few small braids that go halfway down the head, and will just effortless curl from there. On the head, a traditional head jewellery is worn to emphasise the hair. Minimal makeup is applied as it is believed that the jewels are all the beauty a woman needs. After I had dressed myself, I was informed that it would be good if I could arrive fashionably late by an hour or so. Eritreans ever come to any social event on time, especially gniddews! It is an informal rule that majority of the people go by, and conforming to that rule would help me observe without being as overserved. I was also told to either bring a necessary household appliance or at least $20 as a wedding