Page 18 - Thailand White Paper English version

A “no touch” culture
The traditional form of greeting among
Thai people is the “wai”. The gesture
broadly signifies respect, and is used
as a greeting and to apologize or thank
another person. It is usually initiated
by a person of lower age or social The
traditional form of greeting among Thai
people is the “wai”. The gesture broadly
signifies respect, and is used as a greeting
and to apologize or thank another person.
It is usually initiated by a person of lower
age or social standing to a person of
higher age or social standing. The wai
is performed by joining the right and
left palms with the fingers pointing up
and a person may bow their head as
well. Physical contact in public is largely
not accepted in Thai society, while norms
around handholding are changing among younger generations. This “no touch” culture of Thailand may also have facilitated in minimizing COVID-19 transmission. standing to a person of higher age or social standing. The wai is performed by joining the right and left palms with the fingers pointing up and a person may bow their head as well. Physical contact in public is largely not accepted in Thai society, while norms around handholding are changing among younger generations. This “no touch” culture of Thailand may also have facilitated in minimizing COVID-19 transmission.
Figure 6. The “wai” is the traditional form of greeting among Thai people.
Thailand’s New Normal Solutions |
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