I love to “Wai”

In Thailand we are very serious about respecting and showing gratitude to our parents and elders. When we say hello we will not only say hello, thank you or sorry but we also pay respect to the person by performing what we call a “wai”. This is done by pressing your hands together in front of your face and bowing. This is similar to saying “na-mas-sa-tae” in other countries, like in India or Nepal. The youngest person will always wai to the older person first. The older will then wai back or they might just nod their head in reply. The positioning of the hands during the wai differs depending on the person, meaning and situation. This is explained below:

1. Wai to respect monks and the Buddha

Paa-nom-mue-wai-praa: bring the hands together (in obeisance). This is often used to show respect to monks or the Buddha. We do this when we are listening to the monk praying or giving a blessing. We normally kneel if the monk is sitting down or we stand and wai if the monk is walking past us.

The correct way to do it is to press the hands together at the chest, with the fingers pointing vertically. Lift both hands up together and bow your head down a little bit, making sure both of your thumbs are between your two eyes and the tips of the index fingers touch your forehead. We do this only once then put the hands back down. The correct way to do it is shown in the picture.

2. Wai to respect the person

Thai people wai each other to show respect. The appropriate wai depends on the class and age of that person. There are three different types, which are:

2.1 To wai to someone who is a lot older than you (for example, a 20 year difference). This wai technique is also used with your boss, manager, commander or someone that is the head or leader of something that needs to be respected. To Wai with this technique, you have to put the hands together, let the index finger touch your forehead and both thumb should stand between bridge of the nose. At the same time, bow your head down a little bit. Your eyes should look at the person you are wai-ing to.

2.2 To wai to someone who is the same age as you (roughly the same age). To wai in this situation, you should put your hands together, let the index finger touch bridge of the nose and both thumbs is should touch the chin then at the same time bow the head down a little bit and keep eye contact with the other person, as shown below.

2.3 To Wai the pers on that younger than you, we call it “Rab-Wai”

Rab-Wai means to accept the respect someone has paid you by doing a wai for you. The reaction is the same as when someone smiles at you, it is natural to smile back. If you are older than the person who made the wai for you, you just need to put the hands together between your chest and look at the person who performed the wai for you, as shown by the lady on the right below.

The act of the wai is natural and automatic for Thai people. It is something we have been taught to since we were young. We use it every day and it is very normal for Thai people, but some visitors do not understand this. Some people will leave with the question: why do they need to do that? For me and all Thai people, it’s just a way to show the respect we have for our family and elders. Older people will not wai to young people. A monks will not wai to anyone excepting the Buddha and images of the Buddha. The King or queen will not wai to their people (except the monks) so, if the person is older than them, they will respond by smiling or nodding their head.