Somali upper class and the government. Women in Somaliland mainly wear a long, billowing dress worn over petticoats which are known as direh in the Somali language. Some women wear a four-yard cloth tied over shoulder and draped around the waist, it is called coantino. All women in Somaliland must wear a headscarf (hijab) due to Somaliland being Muslim. Some women choose to wear the head-to-foot burqa known as the jalabeeb in Somali. Customs and Courtesies Somalis warmly greet each other with handshakes, but shaking hands with the opposite sex is avoided but some choose to do so. Common verbal greetings include: assalamu alaikum (Peace be upon you) subah wanaagsan (good morning) galab wanaagsan (good afternoon) haben wanaagsan (good night) iska waran (How are you?) nabat (I'm fine or literally translated it means peace) Somalis use sweeping hand and arm gestures to dramatize speech. Many ideas are expressed through specific hand gestures. Most of these gestures are performed by women: A swift twist of the open hand means "nothing" or "no". Snapping fingers may mean "long ago" or and "so on" A thumb under the chin indicates "fullness". It is impolite to point the sole of one's foot or shoe at another person. It is impolite to use the index finger to call somebody; that gesture is used for calling dogs. The American "thumbs up" is considered obscene by the majority of Somalis. References Arab culture Islamic culture