Thai greeting
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The Thai greeting referred to as the wai (Thai: ไหว้) or in Lao as "Kub" consists of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. It is very similar to the Indian Namasté and the Cambodian sampeah. The higher the hands are held in relation to the face and the lower the bow, the more respect/reverence the giver of the wai is showing.
The wai is also common as a way to thank someone or apologise.
The word often spoken with the wai as a greeting or farewell is "Sawasdee." Phonetically, the word is pronounced "Sawatdee". The spelling with the "S" comes from a transforming consonant, ส. This word was coined in the mid-1930s by Phraya Upakit Silapasan of Chulalongkorn University. This word, derived from the Sanskrit "svasti" (meaning well being), had previously been used in Thai only as a formulaic opening to inscriptions. The strongly nationalist government of Plaek Pibulsonggram in the early 1940s promoted the use of the word Sawasdee amongst the government bureaucracy as well as the wider populace as part of a wider set of cultural edicts to modernise Thailand.
[edit] Origin
The wai originated from an ancient greeting that was done to show neither individual had any weapons.[citation needed] There exist multiple versions of the greeting based on social class, gender, and age.
One speculation is that it comes from Buddhism.[citation needed] After certain prayers, one must clasp their hands together and bring it down towards the ground three times.
[edit] References
- Diller, Anthony (1991). "National Identity and Its Defenders". Chap 4 "What Makes Thai A Central Language" ISBN 974-7047-209
- Barme, Scot (1993). "Luang Wichit Wathakan and the Creation of a Thai Identity" ISBN 981-3016-58-2
[edit] See also
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