About Thailand #Part 1 Greeting Thai Style # Wai and Krab

                                                                                          
           WAI = The traditional Thai greeting =To pay respect.


Thai people greet each other with a gesture similar to the one in the picture opposite. Thai people do not shake hands like people in the west. 

They place the palms and fingers of both their hands together as in a prayer position in the center of their bodied and at different levels depending upon the level of gesture as explained below.


This Thai greeting gesture is called a '' Wai '' and is pronounced more like '' why '' in English.



When To Wai:

When it comes to Wai there is no such thing as too much; the more the better. Thais use the Wai as a polite gesture to say hi, goodbye, thank you or simply to show respect and gratitude towards people and things.
You will, for example, see people Wai images of His Majesty the King or when they pass a spirit house.

When you come here that is Thailand,they found a lot of people spoken with the Wai as a greeting and farwell is Sawatdee.At the end of statement , say "Ka"if you are female and say "Krab"if you are male. (Sawatdee ka/Sawatdee Krab)

Wai is the most charming and universal greeting that Thai people are proud of.Thai people do not shake hand like  people in the west.

If you come here,you ought to knowledge about being a little Thai culture.They are 3 levels of Wai

1.To a monk /sanctuary/sacred object/About Buddhism: put your hands together,bow your head,your thumbs are between eyebrows. Index fingers touch the forehead and bend your back.

**When we Wai a Buddha image,we do it for 3 times.The first for the Lord Buddha,the second for his teachings and the last one for monks.


2.To a senior people : put your hands together,bow your head, your thums are at nose.

Tip.Index fingers are between eyebrows and bend your back.
 
**We Wai when young people great older people ;fore example,mother,farther,grandmother,uncle,unties and so on

3.To same age people or younger age: put your hands together,bow your head a little bit.The  thumbs touch under your chin,the index fingers touch your nose and bend your back bit.

In addition,bow your head when you walk past the older.stop your walking or running when you found a monks past the people.Next,you ought to Wai which I just discussed above paragraph.

Tip******

-Don't touch, hug or kiss Thais when you meet them. Thai people are not familiar with this kind of body language. It may be, as some have observed, that we Asians are shy. In general, any physical contact (apart, these days, from a handshake) is considered inappropriate.

-Although you may do it out of respect and with all good intentions, it will make them feel uncomfortable, especially if it is done in public.

-Most Thais are not used to this type of gesture and have no idea how to react to it. It may leave everyone, including you, feeling awkward.


         KRAB= To prostrate oneself before the feet of somebody.

We do go to temple every important day like our birthday, Buddhist holidays, or when someone dies etc.


Buddhism is the prevailing religion in Thailand and around 95% of the population are Buddhists.Muslims constitute around four persent of the population and live mostly in the southern provinces bordering Malasia.There are also small Hindu and Christian communities.

Krab is the bestest of important respect in Thailand for The Buddha image,the monks,the senior people.There are 2 types of Krab --Open the palm of the hand,Ignore palm

1.Open the palm of the hand:to the Bhuddha image,the monks:We found a lot of Thai people Krab-Ben-Jang-Kha-Pra-Dit(the body straight and firm then bow down in the "Ben-jang-kha-pradit  or five point" manner - forehead, palms knees flush with the floor. Begin chanting with a recitation expressing your reverence and respect .)

**When we Krab a Buddha image or the monks,we do it for 3 times.

The first for the Lord Buddha,(Anchalee)
The second for his teachings (Wantha)
And the last one for monks.(Apiwad)

In Thailand every family has an altar at home that usually consists of an image of Buddha. The altar at home is usually comprised of an image of Buddha, a pot of incense sticks, a pair of candlesticks and a pair of flower vases.

2.Ignore palm:/To senior people,To pass away people:Krab is a step by ignore-palm?.Both female and male sit on the floor (with legs tucked back to one side).Next the body straight and firm then bow down to touch the top of your forehead to bring both hands together.


All about of Wai and Krab.Thank you to reading my blog.

 

 

 

 

 

Referenc:Maytermthailand/มารยาทชาวพุทธร/chaoprayanes/kalyanamitra/royin/malayat