A secret handshake is a distinct form of
handshake
A handshake is a globally widespread, brief greeting or parting tradition in which two people grasp one of each other's like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up-and-down movement of the grasped hands. Customs surrounding handshakes ...
or greeting which indicates membership in or loyalty to a
club,
clique or
subculture. The typical secret handshake involves placing one's fingers or thumbs in a particular position, one that will be recognized by fellow members while seeming to be a normal handshake to non-members. This is most frequently associated in the popular consciousness with college fraternities, fraternal orders and
secret societies.
A secret handshake can also be a useful form of familiar interaction between friends, colleagues, and family members. Secret handshakes are shared only with select and elect peoples. Usually a secret handshake has underlying meanings that differ from person to person. Secret handshakes involve a precise, sometimes complex series of movements and contact between two individuals or even a group. Usually, these movements involve the primary use of hands, but could also involve touching feet, elbows, or in some cultures a friendly kiss.
Historical usage
Secret handshakes cannot be traced back to a specific dated origin, but it can be determined that it is as old as any form of greeting or identification. In the Roman mystery religion
Mithraism, members were initiated with a handshake, and members were known as ''syndexioi'' (united by the handshake).
[M. Clauss, ''The Roman cult of Mithras'', p. 42: "That the hand-shaken might make their vows joyfully forever"] The
Freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
organizations are among the long-standing users of secret handshakes.
The Freemasons have at least 12 known universal secret handshakes that were implemented in their society. However, there are believed to be many more unrecorded masonic secret handshakes. The secretiveness of this society is prevalent in their greetings. Fellow masons shake hands using secret handshakes, but within the society, apprentices and masters have distinctly different handshakes to identify one from another. Additionally, the Freemasons make use of the aforementioned secret signals to subtly indicate who is of what level. For instance, one handshake used between a master from an apprentice includes distinct touches on the knuckles.
Modern usage
Handshakes, secret and otherwise, are common in the modern Western world. The usage of secret handshakes in modern society is much more informal compared to the historical usage of secret handshakes. Where historically, a secret handshake would have a more formal, serious tone, today, secret handshakes are shared by mostly people in grade school who share a friendship type relational bond with one another. In an informal setting, one will see young school-aged children exchanging a complex, whimsical secret handshake on the playground during break time. Another modern form of secret handshake is
dap greeting, often involving a
fist bump in the sequence of contacts.
See also
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Collegiate secret societies in North America
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Gesture
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Kushta
In Mandaeism, kushta or kušṭa ( myz, ࡊࡅࡔࡈࡀ, lit=truth) can have several meanings. Its original literal meaning is "truth" in the Mandaic language, and is thus typically used to refer to the Mandaean religious concept of truth. The sa ...
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Shibboleth
A shibboleth (; hbo, , šībbōleṯ) is any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many societies as passw ...
References
{{Gestures
Greetings
Hand gestures
Secrecy