''Sampeah'' (, ) is a Cambodian greeting or a way of showing respect. Sampeah is based on the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n ''

Añjali Mudrā ''Añjali Mudrā'' () is a hand gesture mainly associated with Indian religions and arts, encountered throughout Asia. It is a part of Indian classical dance such as Bharatanatyam, yoga practice, and forms part of the greeting Namaste. Among th ...

'' used in '' namasté''. ''

Pranāma ''Pranāma'' (Sanskrit: प्रणाम; IAST: praṇāma; meaning: "obeisance, prostration or bowing forward") is a form of respectful or reverential salutation (or reverential bowing) before something or another person – usually one's elde ...

'' or ''Namaste'', the part of ancient

Indian culture Indian culture is the heritage of social norms and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse nation of India, pertaining to the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and the Republic of India post-1947. ...

and rites has propagated to

southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, which was part of

indosphere Indosphere is a term used for areas of Indian subcontinent, Indian linguistic influence in the neighboring Southern Asian, Southeast Asian, and East Asian regions. It is commonly used in areal linguistics in contrast with the Sinophone languages ...

greater India Greater India, also known as the Indian cultural sphere, or the Indic world, is an area composed of several countries and regions in South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself ...

, through the spread of Hinduism and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

from India. While performing the sampeah, the person places their palms together in a prayer-like fashion while bowing slightly. The word often spoken with the sampeah when

greeting Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between individ ...

somebody is (), while () is spoken when saying goodbye. Sampeah

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

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

culture. There are different ways of bowing when performing the Sampeah. When praying to the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

(who founded

), the person places their palms together close to their face and brings their hands toward the ground three times. Just like

n ''

'' '' namasté'', it is also important when one Sampeahs to elders. The higher the hands and the lower the bow, the more respect is shown. It is a sign of respect and politeness.

References

Culture of Cambodia Greetings Gestures Gestures of respect Bowing {{Cambodia-stub

See also

References