{{short description|Indonesian greeting and gesture as a way of demonstrating respect and reverence}} {{Italic title}} {{Infobox performing art | name = Sembah | image = 257px | image_upright = | caption = ''Sembah'' as part of ''pendet'' dance movement | medium = | types = Traditional greeting | ancestor = Indonesian | descendant = | culture = Indonesia | era = Hindu - Buddhist civilisations }} '''''Sembah''''' ({{langx|jv|ꦱꦼꦩ꧀ꦧꦃ}}, {{langx|su| ᮞᮨᮙᮘᮃᮠ}}, {{langx|ban|ᬲᭂᬫ᭄ᬩᬄ}}) is an Indonesian greeting and gesture of respect and reverence performed by clasping the palms together solemnly in a prayer-like fashion, placing them in front of the chest and, while bowing slightly, moving the pressed palms up to either the chin, or until the thumbs touch the tip of their nose,<ref name="KBBI">{{cite web| title=Sembah | publisher= Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI)|url=http://kbbi.web.id/sembah| language = Indonesian| accessdate = 28 May 2015}}</ref><ref name=DBP>{{Cite dictionary|title=sembah|date=2017|dictionary=Kamus Dewan|publisher=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Malaysia|edition=4th|url=http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/Cari1?keyword=sembah}}</ref><ref name="Yousof">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AdZcCwAAQBAJ&q=royal+%22gesture%22+sembah&pg=PT158|title=One Hundred and One Things Malay|last=Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof|publisher=Partridge Publishing|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4828-5535-7|location=Singapura|pages=158|access-date=}}</ref> depending on the status of the person greeted.<ref name="Yousof"/>
''Sembah'' is endemic and prevalent in Nusantara regional cultures sharing dharmic heritage—such as Balinese, Javanese, and Sundanese. It is cognate to the Cambodian ''sampeah'' and Thai ''wai''. All of these greetings are based on the Indian ''Añjali Mudrā'' used in ''namasté''.
==Etymology== [[File:Javanese tembang and dance fusion performance, Sonobudoyo Museum, Yogyakarta, 2017-12-05 06.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Javanese ''susuhunan'', a gesture to convey respect]] In Indonesian and Malay, the term ''sembah'' means to pay the honour, obeisance, or homage, or to worship.<ref name="KBBI"/><ref name=DBP/> According to Indonesian writer Hamka in his book ''Dari Perbendaharaan Lama'', the word derives from a Javanese word ''susunan'', with the receiver of the ''susunan or sembath'' being referred to as the ''susuhunan'' or ''sesembahan''.<ref>HAMKA, Prof. Dr., ''Dari Perbendaharaan Lama'', Page 244, Cet. II, Pustaka Panjimas, Jakarta, 1982</ref>
==Origin== [[File:Borobudur - Divyavadana - 033 S, The King goes to Protect the Hermits (detail 3) (11701405255).jpg|thumb|upright|''Sembah'' depicted in a Borobudur bas-relief]] ''Sembah'' first appeared c. 4000 years ago on clay seals from the Indus Valley Civilisation.<ref>{{cite web | title = Economics of the Indus Valley Civilization | url = http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/fall97/2chd.htm | author = Chad Greenwood | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071226125638/http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/fall97/2chd.htm | archivedate = 2007-12-26 }}</ref> Images of ''sembah'' later appear in bas-reliefs of Javanese Candi, such as the 9th-century temples of Borobudur and Prambanan. From then, the ''sembah'' gesture was endemic in the region, especially in Java and Bali.
==Social and cultural significance== [[File:KITLV 3904 - Kassian Céphas - Serimpi of the Sultan of Jogjakarta a sembah prior to a dance called Semang I - Around 1885.tif|thumb|left|260px|A late 19th-century photograph of Bedhaya dancers performing ''sembah'' in ''keraton'' Yogyakarta by Kassian Cephas. ''Sembah'' is prescribed etiquette in Javanese courts.]] ''Sembah'' is a prescribed etiquette and much-preferred in ''keratons'' or the Javanese courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, where it is important to greet kings, princes, and nobles in this gesture. ''Sembah'' is expected among the Javanese aristocratic circle of ''ningrat'' and ''priyayi'', where the height of raised clasped-hand corresponds to the social stature of the person in question. The higher ''sembah'' hands are raised, and the lower the body is bowed, the higher the social stature of the person revered. In Javanese court tradition, the ''pisowanan ngabektèn'' ("visit to offer homage") ceremony is annually held during ''Lebaran'' (Eid al-Fitr), when Javanese kings receive from their subjects the ''sembah sungkem'' from their subjects, a kind of ''sembah'' performed by bowing the body low, then clasping the hands at the lap or knee of the revered person.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Liputan6.com|date=2010-09-11|title="Pisowanan Ngabekten", Penghormatan bagi Raja Jawa|url=https://www.liputan6.com/news/read/295819/quotpisowanan-ngabektenquot-penghormatan-bagi-raja-jawa|access-date=2020-08-10|website=liputan6.com|language=id}}</ref>
''Sembah'' also has become incorporated in standard protocol towards Malay royalty,<ref name="Yousof"/> and it is still continued in Malaysia<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.istananegara.gov.my/amalan-protokol-diraja/|title=Amalan Protokol Diraja|last=|first=|date=29 March 2019|website=Istana Negara|publisher=Government of Malaysia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628024452/http://www.istananegara.gov.my/amalan-protokol-diraja/|archive-date=28 June 2020|access-date=7 August 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Brunei. thumb|right|''Kramaning sembah'' worship gesture during Hindu Balinese ''sembahyang'' ''Sembah'' is also a common social practice in Bali, where the legacies of Hindu etiquette and customs, are still alive and well. In Balinese tradition, in the ''sembah'' for greeting the joined palms are placed lower than the chin, while in the high ''sembah'', usually reserved only for religious worship, the clasped palms are risen to over the forehead.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Artiningrat|first=Ketut Sri|title=Mantra Kramaning sembah|url=http://www.mantrahindu.com/mantra/mantra-kramaning-sembah/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423195158/http://www.mantrahindu.com/mantra/mantra-kramaning-sembah/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 23, 2016|access-date=2020-08-10|website=Mantra Hindu Bali|date=30 July 2015 |language=id-ID}}</ref>
In Sundanese tradition of West Java, ''sembah'' often replaces the modern handshake.<ref name="Suara-1">{{Cite web|date=2020-03-13|title=Cegah Corona, Ridwan Kamil Ganti Salaman di Jabar dengan Salam Sunda|url=https://jabar.suara.com/read/2020/03/13/143933/cegah-corona-ridwan-kamil-ganti-salaman-di-jabar-dengan-salam-sunda|access-date=2020-08-07|website=suara.com|language=id}}</ref>
Within the Minangkabau culture of West Sumatra, ''sembah'' is also known as ''salam sembah''.<ref name="Langgam">{{Cite web|date=2020-06-08|title=Kenormalan Baru, Gubernur Sumbar Wajibkan Warga Pakai Masker hingga Salam Sambah|url=https://langgam.id/kenormalan-baru-gubernur-sumbar-wajibkan-warga-pakai-masker-hingga-salam-sambah/|access-date=2020-08-07|website=Langgam.id|language=id-ID}}</ref> In Jambi, Sumatra, the gesture is called ''seloko'', or ''seloko salam sembah''.<ref name="Liputan6-1">{{Cite web|last=Liputan6.com|date=2020-06-12|title=Menilik Relevansi 'Seloko Salam Sembah' dalam Era Normal Baru|url=https://www.liputan6.com/regional/read/4277081/menilik-relevansi-seloko-salam-sembah-dalam-era-normal-baru|access-date=2020-08-07|website=liputan6.com|language=id}}</ref>
In Javanese and Sundanese, usually no words are spoken during ''sembah''. However, in the Balinese version, the words ''om swastiastu'', meaning "oh God, I hope all goodness (safety, happiness and prosperity) comes from all directions,"<ref>{{cite web |date=8 January 2012 |title=Om Swastyastu |url=https://baliround.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/om-swastyastu/}}</ref> are often spoken with the ''sembah''.<ref>{{cite web |title = How should I greet a Balinese? |url = http://www.baliadvertiser.biz/articles/kulturekid/2007/greet_balinese.html |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923181743/http://www.baliadvertiser.biz/articles/kulturekid/2007/greet_balinese.html |archivedate = 2015-09-23 }}</ref> In ancient Indonesia, the word "swasti" is said during ''sembah'', as shown by stone inscriptions, such as the Kedukan Bukit Inscription, found in Java and Sumatra.
==Contemporary practice== thumb|upright|Indonesian politician greeting attending crowds by performing the ''salam sembah'' Today, ''sembah'' is used in many ways, including in the hospitality industry in Indonesia. It is performed by Garuda Indonesia flight attendants to greet passengers prior to and after flights,<ref>{{cite web|title= The concept of Indonesian hospitality is applied into several icons to delight the five senses |publisher =Garuda Indonesia|url=https://www.garuda-indonesia.com/id/en/garuda-indonesia-experience/service-concept/index.page}}</ref> and also commonly used as welcome greetings by staff in Indonesian hotels, resorts and spas.
''Sembah'' is often performed by prominent figures, politicians, state officials, president, VIPs, or important persons during public visits to greet crowds. This is usually done when approaching and personally greeting each individual is not possible. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this non-contact social greeting was promoted to replace the common handshake to prevent direct contact and uphold social distancing.<ref name="Langgam"/><ref name="Suara-1"/><ref name="Liputan6-1"/>
==In dances== ''Sembah'' is often performed in ritualized Indonesian traditional dances, such as Lampung's ''tari persembahan'' and Palembang's ''tanggai'' dance, as well as its Malay variants. In Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese dances, ''sembah'' is often incorporated into dance movements, such as ''bedhaya'', ''serimpi'', ''topeng'', ''wayang orang'', ''panyembrama'' and ''pendet''.
==See also== {{Portal|Indonesia}} *''Sampeah'' *''Wai'' *''Namasté'' *''Sunan'' * Culture of Indonesia
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} * [https://sollervalley.com/2015/04/hundred-sculptures-of-sembah/ Hundred Sculptures of Sembah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304214341/https://sollervalley.com/2015/04/hundred-sculptures-of-sembah/ |date=2016-03-04 }} - the sculptures by Indonesian artist Purjito * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLMJdJMfXYI Sembah dance from Lampung]
{{Gestures}}
Category:Culture of Indonesia Category:Culture of Malaysia Category:Greetings Category:Gestures Category:Gestures of respect Category:Indonesian words and phrases Category:Malay words and phrases Category:Bowing