Cover
story
: 25 Aug
2004
Vol.
21 No. 10 |
| The
Wai |
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A
Graceful Gesture of Greeting
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By
Rachawadi
Photos by courtesy of Ministry of Culture |
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When people meet or leave each other, they usually
say and / or do something, to each other to
show their good feelings or respect. There are
many different ways of such expression, which
may vary according to one's nationality, sex,
religion, age and occupation and also the degree
of formality or informality.
For example, you may say "hello",
"sawatdi", "nihao" or "anyong
haseyo" according to whether you are an
American, Thai, Chinese or Korean. You may smile,
nod, bow or kneel according to whom you make
the gesture to. You may shake hands, raise your
hands to your chest with the palm pressed against
each other, or extend your open hands to join
those of the other person, according to whether
you are a Christian, Buddhist or Muslim.
Predominantly Buddhist, the Thai people greet
one another in the Buddhist way described above,
which is called wai in Thai. The wai
originated from India and is still used in that
country. Later it was adopted by the Buddhists
and has become the standard gesture of respect
of the followers of Buddhism throughout the
world.
But the Thais, especially Thai ladies, are known
to perform the wai more neatly and gracefully
than most of the others. That is because the
people in this country combine the gesture with
a deep bow and with both upper arms drawn near
the body.
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The gesture of saluting a
Buddhist monk.
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There are three different levels
of making the gesture, each appropriate for
a different set of occasions.
(1) The solemnest occasion is, of course, when
one worships a Buddha image or salutes a Buddhist
monk. There are two different ways for males
and females to wai.
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Males: Bow low while
raising both hands with palm pressed together
up to the face with the forefingers touching
the fringe of the hair above the forehead.
Females: Move a foot backward and bend
the knees while raising both pressing palms
to the same position as men do.
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The gesture of paying respect
to a senior.
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(2) The next level is to pay
respect to a senior in age or in rank or someone
we highly respect.
Males: Bow slightly, raise the hands
and bend the head until the forefingers touch
the part of the face between the eyebrows.
Females: Bend the knees slightly and
do the same as men.
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The gesture of paying respect
to ordinary people.
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(3)
The last level is to wai someone who one
respects or who is one's equal in age or social
status.
Males: Bend the head a little bit and raise
the hands until the forefingers touch the tip
of the nose.
Females: Slightly bend the knees or just
bend the head like men and raise the hands to
the same position. |
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| The
gesture of greeting someone who is one's equal
in age or social status. |
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As
the wai is more a way to show respect than
to greet, it is always done first by the side
who is junior in age, rank or position. If the
difference is great, the other side may ignore
the gesture or raise his hands slightly or just
smile in return.
When one wais someone, it will look more
elegant if one does gently and not carelessly.
And when one is waied, one is supposed
to return the wai to the other. However,
Buddhist monks do not have to do so because they
are considered representatives of the Buddha.
In fact, they constitute the highest class in
society. Even the king should wai them
when meeting them in a ceremony. Moreover, usually,
people smile and say sawatdi to each other
at the same time of the wai gesture. |
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| What
should you do about the wai as a foreign
visitor? In normal circumstances, you are advised
against doing this to anybody unless first, you
are sure that the person you meet is one who deserves
your respect; secondly, you are introduced to
a group of people; or thirdly, you receive a wai
first. In the first case, a wai is only
proper, though you can also do in your native
way or the universal way. |
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When
a superior is waied, he or she is supposed
to return the wai to an inferior. |
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the second, a wai will make you popular
with the group instantly. And in the third, a
wai in return is polite, no matter who
the other side may be. But you won't be blamed
if you don't wai in any of these situations.
You'll be excused since you are a foreigner. |
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