Greetings, manners and hospitality
How people greet, host, give gifts and behave at the table.
Greetings, manners and hospitality are the small rules that tell people how to treat each other: how to say hello, how to eat, how to give a gift, how to refuse and how to leave. They differ in each culture, and a gesture that is warm in one place may be rude in another. EveryParampara gathers them by country, from the Thai wai and the Japanese bow to Ethiopian coffee, Iranian taarof and the Maori hongi, so that visitors and curious readers can understand what is going on.
Greeting and giving
Greetings may involve a bow, a handshake, a kiss, a hand on the heart or the joining of palms. Gifts have their own rules: both hands in East Asia, the right hand in much of Africa and the Middle East, no white flowers in China, no alcohol in a Muslim home. Wrapping, timing and the way a gift is received all matter. When in doubt, a small gift of food or sweets, given with a smile, is welcome almost anywhere.
At the table and at the door
Shoes off at the door, a seat of honour for the guest, the eldest served first, a refused offer pressed again: the rules of the table and the threshold are widely shared in spirit if not in detail. A good guest watches, thanks the host and does not rush. A good host feeds the guest, lets the guest leave with food, and walks them to the gate. These small customs make the visit a pleasure for both.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Greetings, manners and hospitality (kind of tradition). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇦🇫 Kabul, Afghanistan and 1 moreJirgaجرګه
A traditional consultative council of elders that settles disputes through consensusCeremony
🇮🇳 IndiaNamasteनमस्ते
A respectful greeting made with joined palms, spoken in South Asia and beyondEtiquette
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreLangarਲੰਗਰ
The free kitchen at a gurdwara, where all sit and eat together as equalsTable custom
🇮🇳 IndiaGamosaগামুছা
A white Assamese cloth with a red border, worn, gifted and laid under sacred textsDress
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreProstration
Bowing the whole body to the ground, in prayer and as a sign of respectSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaSadyaസദ്യ
A vegetarian feast from Kerala, served on a banana leaf at Onam, Vishu and weddingsTable custom · Lunch
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePujaपूजा (pūjā)
Hindu worship: light, flowers and food offered to a deity or a guestSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaGuru-shishya traditionपरम्परा
The lineage system passing spiritual and artistic knowledge from master to discipleSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreRemoval of footwear indoors
The widespread custom of leaving outdoor shoes at the door for cleanliness and respectEtiquette
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreShagoranaসাগরানা
A ceremonial wedding feast platter presented to the groom in BangladeshTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaPranamaप्रणाम
A traditional Indian gesture of reverent bowing, prostration, and touching the feetEtiquette
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 3 moreDupattaदुपट्टा
A traditional South Asian scarf worn across the shoulders, chest, and headDress
🇮🇳 IndiaIndian wedding invitationनिमन्त्रण पत्र/पत्रिका
Decorative ceremonial cards sent to announce marriages and invite guests across IndiaRite of passage
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Indian wedding invitation: Onef9day, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sadya: Augustus Binu / facebook, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Prostration: Meghan Breeze, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Langar: Harisingh at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Namaste: Ms Sarah Welch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jirga: Alpha4354747, Public domain, source
- Gamosa: Priyankoo at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Guru-shishya tradition: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Puja: Sakkhar21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Removal of footwear indoors: Sarang, Public domain, source
- Dupatta: Kinshuk Sunil, CC BY 2.0, source
- Shagorana: Caped CrusaderK, CC0, source