Mano (gesture)

For the film series entitled "Mano Po", see Mano Po (Filipino film series).

President Rodrigo Duterte extends his hand to skater Margielyn Didal who showed a gesture of respect to the President on September 12, 2018.

Mano (Tagalog: pagmamano) is an "honouring-gesture" used in Filipino culture performed as a sign of respect to elders and as a way of requesting a blessing from the elder. Similar to hand-kissing, the person giving the greeting bows towards the hand of the elder and presses their forehead on the elder's hand. Usually performed with the right hand, the person showing respect may ask "Mano po" or "[Pa-]bless po" to the elder in order to ask permission to initiate the gesture. Typically someone may mano to their older relatives upon entry into their home or upon seeing them.[1]

The word mano is Spanish for hand while the word po is often used in Filipino culture and language at the end of each sentence as a sign of respect when addressing someone older, akin to Thai (khab/kha) or English (sir/ma'am). Put together, mano po literally translates to [your] hand please as the greeting initiates the gesture of touching the back of the hand of an elder lightly on one’s forehead.[2] In Visayas the gesture is called amin and it is called siklod in Kapampangan.[3] An identical tradition is followed in neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia called salim and salam respectively, indicating the custom dates back to pre-colonial times and a historical and cultural connection with the Philippines and its Southeast Asian neighbors.[4]

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  1. ^ "Filipino Philosophy of Mano Po". Filipinowriter.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  2. ^ Jimenez, Gidget Roceles (2015). All About the Philippines: Stories, Songs, Crafts and Games for Kids. Tuttle Publishing. p. 51. ISBN 978-1462917259. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  3. ^ "Pamanyiklod Gamat anting Pamigalang (Hand-Kissing as Form of Respect)". SunStar. July 26, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2024 – via PressReader.
  4. ^ Haryono, S. R.; Putra, D. K. S. (2017). "Identitas budaya indonesia analisis semiotika Roland Barthes dalam iklan Aqua versi Temukan Indonesiamu" [Indonesian cultural identity semiotic analysis by Roland Barthes in the Aqua version of Find Your Indonesia]. Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi Acta Diurna (in Indonesian). 13 (2): 67–88.