The Sampeah is a Cambodian traditionally
greeting style or way of showing respect. While performing the
salutation or mutual recognition “Sampeah”, people have to raise both
hands, and place their palms together in the lotus-like fashion while
bowing slightly. The word often spoken with the Sampeah when greeting
somebody is Chumreap Suor, while Chumreap Lea is spoken when saying
goodbye.
Hello In Cambodia And Other Greeting Etiquettes In The Country
Cultural norms of respect and hierarchy, which have existed
for generations ago, are still followed by every Cambodian citizen. But
they might not be familiar with typical foreigners who visit the
country. In other words, culture shock may exist among the traditional
greeting etiquettes. However, you can see that in the way Cambodians
greet each other. Sampeah is the most respectful and polite way to
welcome, pay gratitude, or apologize to whom you are expressing in the
conversation.
When you greet, thank you, sorry, or say goodbye in
Cambodia, the traditional gesture is like praying (put your both hands
together like lotus shape). People have to bow their heads a little bit
and simultaneously combine their hands. Sampeah is a Cambodian greeting
etiquette that is commonly used, especially when meeting families,
acquaintances, or co-workers.
How to say hello in Cambodian? When you use the word Chum
Reap Sour (meaning Hello in Cambodian), this formal expression is
usually followed by the Sampeah gesture. What about how to say Hi in
Cambodian? You can say Sour Sdey, and it does not require the Sampeah
gesture as this is also regarded as hello in Cambodia, and the word is
frequently utilized with closer relationships like friends, or younger
families. Although the Sampeah is a form of greeting, it is also a
common way to say thanks or apologize and is an important part of Khmer
culture which is heavily influenced by Indian Hindu and Buddhist
culture.
You may wonder how we do greetings in Cambodia? you might
want to hold your hand gesture longer than the verbal expression when
you are at official meetings or with older people. This is a sign of
showing more respect. In return, you will be regarded as a gentle
person. Thus, to get rid of being culture shock, you should learn the
appropriate way of Cambodian greetings before booking Cambodia trip
packages.
As mentioned earlier, Sampeah is a hand expression in which
the higher your hands are placed and the lower your bow is, the more
respected and gentle you are regarded. Even though it is perfectly
appropriate to shake hands with Cambodians. As a foreigner, Sampeah in
the traditional manner would be much welcomed as a demonstration of your
understanding and respect for the country. And I am definitely clear
that the Cambodians would be surprised and decent with this kind of
act.
Before diving further, every foreigner should know how to perform “Sampeah” in a correct and proper way.
There are generally five different hand gestures that you
need to perform for Sampeah. Each position has a distinguished level of
respect to whom you show “Sampeah”. To start off, bear in mind that
every Sampeah is required to place both palms together like a lotus
flower to perform correctly.
-
Chest Level: Since the sampeah is
hierarchical, the first sampeah gesture is on the chest. It is used when
you greet friends or other people of the same age or status by placing
the budding lotus's hands on the chest.
-
Mouth Level: The second one is mostly
seen in the palms' positioning on the mouth. It is utilized to greet,
thank you, sorry, or say goodbye to people with higher statuses, such as
older relatives, bosses, and so on.
-
Nose Level: The third Sampeah is put at
the nose with a head bowing down a little bit. This gesture must be
used to show respect to parents, grandparents, teachers, or the
elderly.
-
Eyebrow Level: The fourth one is for
respecting the king, monks, or female and male monastics (bhikkhunī
& bhikkhus in Sanskrit)
-
Forehead Level: Last but not least, in the case of praying to Buddha, Gods, sacred statues, or temples.
Here Are Five Instances in Which You Should Deliver The Right Sampeah
Social status, ranking, and age are the first thing to
understand. People with the same level can Sampeah each other on the
chest. Moreover, If you are greeting your employer, senior individuals,
or someone you admire, your Sampeah should be placed below your mouth or
lips. For older families, like parents, grandparents, relatives, or
lecturers, you may want to Sampeah them by placing the fingertips
touching the nose. Other than that, if you happen to pass by the walking
monks, you should bow down with your palm close to your hands and
fingertips touching your eyebrows. In addition, you should do the same
behavior to kings and male and female nuns.
Now after you have met four different situations, let’s
explore the last one that is considered the superlative social status in
Cambodia. Temples (mostly are regarded as sacred places), sacred
statues, and Gods are the top respected rank. Therefore, you should
place your hands together up high with the thumbs touching the forehead
while bowing down as deep as you can (can be touching the floor).
For this reason, it is important to remember these five
different situations of greeting in order to ensure that you are
performing the right Sampeah gesture to the right people. In addition to
greetings like "hello" and "goodbye," the Sampeah may also be used to
express gratitude or apologies.
Hence, you should keep in mind these five ways of greetings
to make sure you are doing an appropriate Sampeah. Sampeah is not just
simply a form of saying hello or goodbye, it is also used to say thank
you in Khmer (Ar-Kun). Doing Sampeah is a way of expressing respect and
politeness, so it would be impolite to not respond back when people do a
Sampeah gesture to you. Being respectful and gentle by doing Sampeah is
an important part of Cambodian culture; however, if you do not respond
the same Sampeah back, you will be considered a rude person. For
example, if our Cambodian colleague says good morning in Cambodian
(Ar-Run-Sour-Sdey), then you need to reply with the same word with a
Sampeah gesture back to them to show respect.
Perception of Respect Regarding Head and Feet
Cambodians believe that the head is the most important
portion of the body since it is the headquarters of wisdom and spiritual
essence. A person's head is considered sacrosanct. As a result, patting
or touching someone's head is a serious insult. Feet, on the other
hand, are regarded as a less important portion of the body, so there are
not many insults towards feet.
Modern Cambodian Greeting Etiquette
Nowadays, Western cultural impact is now recognized in
Cambodia. Cambodian men often exchange handshakes. However, Cambodian
women are more likely to stick to the customary greeting and avoid
shaking hands with males, particularly of the opposite sex. Not just
Cambodia, Cambodian women living in the U.S. are still cautious about
shaking hands, particularly the new immigrants or the elderly.https://intocambodia.org/content/sampeah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampeah
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