Gestures/Signs of Friendship
By KrazyKlingon
@KrazyKlingon (5005)
United States
August 20, 2007 3:36pm CST
The most well-known & used is probably the handshake. It has been around for centuries, probably long before guns were ever thought of. Because combat usually meant that the left hand usually held a shield, & the right hand, the sword (meaning the right hand held the weapon, but the left was only used for protection), shaking hands with someone was, & still is, usually done with the right hand.
In the Carribean, two people givng each other a friendship gesture is the meeting of two right fists into each other. That symbolized "power to you" to each other.
In China & Japan, people from those regions bow to each other. I understand that gesture has something to do with getting whacked on the head.
Also in China, there is another gesture/sign. Before bowing to the other person considered a friend, the right hand is held in the left hand around their sternum just below the location of the heart before bowing. This may only be a Shao Lin greeting. I also did not really understand what it actually symbolized (perhaps that both hands contain no weapon?).
I'm sure there are other ways of indicating a friendship in other parts of the world & cultures also. It might be interesting to see what those are, & that they symbolized, as well as a better explanation of the right fist / left palm that I seem unsure about.
7 people like this
9 responses
@KrazyKlingon (5005)
• United States
21 Aug 07
Pressing of noses is a new one for me, but I believe that the Eskimos who are native to the cold & icy northern parts of North America, particularly Alaska, have that tradition also.
1 person likes this
@visitorinvasion (7709)
• United States
22 Aug 07
yeah, Eskimo kisses.
haven't done that since I was a child!
t'anks for bringing back memories. :D
1 person likes this
@KrazyKlingon (5005)
• United States
23 Aug 07
You just mentioned yet another aspect, in that if you've known & been friends with someone long enough, there are also other gestures.
@petspets (476)
• Antarctica
23 Aug 07
There are different ways of showing gestures of friendships in my country. There are five official groups of races which have their own way of showing friendships. The gestures are also influenced by religious beliefs. In my circle of friends close ones hug each other and we also shake hands with other people.
www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/singapore.html
@KrazyKlingon (5005)
• United States
24 Aug 07
Yeah - you do have a mixed bag of gestures in Singapore. The simplest & easiest one nodding to each other with a smile.
@GardenGerty (160883)
• United States
23 Aug 07
I think that a quick hug is pretty universal, and also the pat on the back. I see them in the US of course, but that is not the only place that these gestures occur.
1 person likes this
@visitorinvasion (7709)
• United States
21 Aug 07
Around here, people wave, nod, honk or flip the "friendly" bird, lol. Hat tipping went out with John Wayne.
Now, what I mean by the friendly bird is a joking flip-off to a friend or family member passing by in two cars. I guess we midwesterns could be considered a little weird for that, LOL.
2 people like this
@visitorinvasion (7709)
• United States
22 Aug 07
I have been told that I am a New Yorker at heart, lol.
Never been there to tell the truth.
Now that you mention it, I am a hugger too when it involves people I haven't seen for ages or family members.
1 person likes this
@juliefaye (1214)
• Philippines
21 Aug 07
Here in the Philippines, we do handshakes to new acquaintance or business associate. i don't know how you call this the one who touches her right face to one another mostly by ladies only when being introduced to one another. and in showing gestures to old folks, we get their hand and put it in our forehead then a little bow to show respect.
But to those old friends, just a wave or a nod will do.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160883)
• United States
13 Nov 07
I do not know if I answered this one before. I seem to remember it, but it is still in my e-mail, so I will share what I learned recently from my husband. He says that the military salute originally was with the palm rotated outward, right hand. It shows that your hand is open, with no weapon. I thought that was interesting.
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
9 Jul 08
I guess I am really old. When greeting or seeing a friend across a room or at a distance but within sight, we used to throw them a peace sign, smile or a simple waving hand. We did not wait for the person to be directly in front of us before greeting them in a friendly fashion.
I still do this practice to some extent. My kids will holler across a distance to their friends to say hello.
I suppose in the old days, this type of greeting could have been a way of giving advance notice of your presence or a way of lessening the distance between people before standing on the same ground. But I could be wrong.
