Indian head shake gif

In Thanjavur city, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, street markets are flooded with a particular type of bobblehead toy. The brightly painted clay bommai, usually the figure of a classical dancer or an old couple as a addons warmane, comes in two parts: the indian head shake gif body and the head that sits loosely on a small hinge extending up from the neck.

Open menu. By Ryan General. Indians wobbling their heads rapidly from side to side during a conversation may be perplexing to people who are not familiar with Indian culture; fortunately, understanding how the gesture works is not that complicated. It further confuses foreigners, as the side to side shaking we often attribute to convey the negative is instead portraying affirmation. With over 20 official languages and several hundred more dialects in India, nonverbal communication such as hand gestures and head wobbles allow for easier communication between people from different states. And while heads are wobbled differently from one region to another, what they portray are essentially the same.

Indian head shake gif

Besides the heterogeneous nature of being an "Indian", the wobble is just agreement. The person who's wobbling their head is agreeing to what is being said. It's mostly a "Go ahead and say what you want, I'll do what I want to do after you're done". I didn't grow up in India, so I can see it for what it is, but I am Indian, so the subtleties are visible to me. Take all of this with a huge grain of salt. That's roughly how I'd interpreted it from interacting with colleagues, an acknowledgement. Yeah, it's definitely not an agreement. Acknowledgement is the most apt description. Yes, it's an agreement, or like "sure yeah". As some from Yorkshire I like 'aye' it's an anachronistic affirmative yes, old people still use 'nay' as well.

So, no, there is no "Indian head wobble". A few years ago, one such video even went viralattracting more than a million views in just a week.

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The peculiar Indian head shake, wobble, or bobble is the source of much confusion and wonderment among foreigners, especially the first time one is confronted with it. It looks like a cross between a nod and shake, but does it mean "yes"? Or, does it mean "no"? Or, even "maybe"? The confusion is increased when the gesture is silent. However, once you discover the meaning of the head wobble and its many uses, what's really surprising is how infectious this gesture becomes. Anyone who's spent a considerable amount of time in India is likely to have caught themselves unconsciously wobbling their head. Even Indians who don't normally wobble their heads very much will automatically do so in response to another head wobble. A lot of the time, they don't even realize they're doing it! So, what's the mysterious head wobble all about?

Indian head shake gif

A video decoding Indian headshakes has gone viral, attracting over a million hits in a week. What does its popularity tell us about the way Indians see themselves? The film presents an array of headshakes and shows how subtle variations in velocity, vigour and amplitude of wobble denote different meanings, including: "yes", "no", "maybe", "what's up? Mathew admits that his headshakes have been somewhat exaggerated for comic effect, but maintains that it's a true picture of a national trait. The response on social media has been broadly positive. Love it : " reads one comment on YouTube. Other comments are a little more sceptical, with some saying that Indian headshakes are more prevalent in the south than the north of the country. BBC Monitoring's Vikas Pandey says that most Indians shake their head unconsciously, with many only realising they do it when foreigners ask them if they mean "yes" or "no".

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Angostura on July 24, parent next [—] Given the fact that you lack any Indian cultural references, and given that your interpretation seems to differ from those suggested in the article, what makes you think that your interpretation is anything other than something in your own head? Follow Us. But in IT hubs Hyd, Bng etc it does seems to a general behavior. I do it and I'm neither Indian nor have I worked in India. Share using Email. Hacker News new past comments ask show jobs submit. If you have to be that specific, perhaps the employee picked it up elsewhere? It is difficult to say without knowledge of the context. These would typically be interactions with bosses at work, elders within the family or leaders in the community. The way people constantly shook their heads to signal being attentive towards another person who is speaking, the way I saw an auto driver do a slow degree shake to signal "yes I'm familiar with the address" while I thought he was trying to say "I've never heard of that place in my life", we have nothing similar in Punjab or its neighbouring states. Gigablah on July 24, root parent next [—].

The head bobble , head wobble , or Indian head shake refers to a common gesture found in South Asian cultures, most notably in India.

We mumble incoherently, we smile sheepishly, we nod vaguely, all to put off making a firm commitment. Notice how the gesture is more than just shaking side to side, as the head is also tilted in arcs, while the chin moves like a pendulum. Just FYI - India is not a homogenous society. It is somewhat like an infinity sign, or a numeral eight lying down. Gigablah on July 24, root parent next [—] My colleague a Kerala native begs to differ :. Gigablah on July 24, root parent next [—]. It is difficult to say without knowledge of the context. Not all Americans are fat, you can still talk about the American obesity problem even if a few of the states are fitter than the European average. Balero on July 24, root parent next [—]. People talk about beer tasting German, but it's very distinct between Bavaria and Cologne. These would typically be interactions with bosses at work, elders within the family or leaders in the community. I'm from Punjab and the first time I travelled to Karnataka the head wobble was something of a culture shock to me. And I agree that he is overgeneralizing.