Do you know how and when to hug people?

 

Psychologists have for long used big terms like haptics, chronemics and proxemics to explain how messages are conveyed by use of touch and interpreted based on time and the distance between the parts touching.

 

Whatever the explanation, hugging is one of the most infectious cultural practices. 

 

Many Ugandan communities, which did not hug in the past, have adopted the practice. Hugging is becoming a trendy expression of affection and support to the people we hug.

 

Psychologists like Simon Nantamu call hugging ‘a unique solution to a universal problem, which is based on culture’. 

He adds that ‘hugging enshrouds an inherent meaning of closeness’.

 

 Hugging shows intimacy or bridges the gap between individuals. It is deeper than handshaking. You cannot hug everyone, but you may shake hands with almost anyone.

 

Due to cultural diversity, you need to understand why you hug people. In most parts of western Uganda, hugging is almost compulsory. You hug your siblings, parents, in-laws, spouses, friends, and so on. But, try hugging your in-law in central or northern Uganda, and you will get the shock of your life.

 

 For the trendy hugger, you need to know how to hug and the different types you may encounter or find yourself giving consciously or subconsciously.

 

 Davis Rwabu, a communication skills lecturer, says ‘the distance between people hugging can even be interpreted in centimetres, making zones; intimate, personal, social and public; from tight to loose. 

 

“Hugging communicates interpersonal relationship, depending on the duration.”

 

You have seen that family hug as a kind embrace, the friendly hug between males and females or the same gender, the crush hug with a smile of indifference and a word, the romantic hug between lovers discerned by the female’s hands clasping around the male’s neck and the male holding to her waist with eye contact, then a whole hearted embrace.

 

For a hug to serve its purpose, you must know why and how you hug. Due to the continued migration of people, the TV culture and other social-environmental factors, hugging now transcends all cultural horizons, especially among the elites.

These days, the hugging bug has infected the Baganda, Acholi, Samia, Basoga, bagisu and Ateso alike. 

 

You only need to know if that embrace is necessary and your body is hygienic enough and with a good breath. Those who use Deo’s and Cologne; they should not be too strong.

 

You will see such hugs as the Genital-out hug; where people hold out chests only. The side-ways hug; where chest sides are used. You will meet back-pat hugs, where there is back patting and hair rubbing during embrace.

 

 Next time, you will encounter the tight-squeeze hug of long time intimates, where ladies’ hands grip tight, others lift their legs back in a right angle, yet others interlock them with those of their partners. Do not try this if you are an African in diaspora.

Lucky you if you have not met the ‘I have no soul’ hug, where one shows no interest in the hug.

 

 Stella and Pedrace, who are third-year students at Makerere, insist that a hug has boundaries; it is not for strangers maybe in some unique social gatherings.

 

 The university students further say that hugging is basically a sign of an already existing closeness.