Love around the Globe…
This Valentine’s Day we thought we’d take a quick look at ‘love’ around the globe and explore some of the different traditions that exist when it comes to displays of affection…
Us Brits are pretty straightforward when it comes to letting somebody know that we love them – flowers, chocolates, romantic meals and plain old sentences like ‘I love you’, usually do the trick. We are also pretty direct and don’t think twice about sharing a kiss and a cuddle with the opposite sex, but many cultures are a lot more interesting than ours!
The Eskimo Kiss
Aw, the cute Eskimo nose rub! What’s known as the Eskimo kiss involves pressing or rubbing the nose and the upper lip against another person’s nose gently and sweetly. No lip action required here! Eskimo kissing in the modern western culture is based on a traditional Eskimo greeting known as kunik. A kunik is similar to an Eskimo kiss, only that it involves pressing the nose and upper lip against the skin (commonly the cheeks or forehead) and breathing in, causing the loved one’s skin or hair to be suctioned against the nose and upper lip.
China
The Miao people in Yunnan Province do things a bit differently. When a girl sets her sights on a young man, she will offer him some glutinous rice as a display of affection. The amount of rice she offers him demonstrates how deep her love is. If he fancies her too, he will accept the rice and inform his parents, who will then help him to put together a marriage proposal!
Also in Yunnan Province; the young men of the Dulong ethnic group will pledge their love with a Dagong (a 15cm disc woven from vines and bamboo splits). They fill this with food then hang it in front of the house of the girl’s family in the middle of the night. The girl will then have to guess who has left it for her (apparently, she should be able to tell by the style of the Dagong itself). If she works it out and decides that she likes the young man too, she will keep the Dagong and keep it upon her person to show that she has a boyfriend. If she doesn’t like him back, she’ll just leave it where she found it!
The ‘Sniff Kiss’
Similarly to the Eskimo Kiss, the ‘sniff kiss’ is popular throughout SE Asia. You will see this happen not just between a man and a woman, but also to indicate affection between parents and their children too. The “sniff kiss” is the most common form of affection and is best described as a noticeable intake of air through the nose whilst simultaneously pressing the closed lips to the recipent’s cheek or forehead. Not to be confused with the traditional Mauri greeting in New Zealand where people are said to ‘inhale the essence’ of the person they are greeting by joining foreheads and ‘sniffing’ deeply.
Laos
Now this is a strange one. Hmong Laotians (a diverse tribe found not only in Laos, but also in Northern Thailand, Burma and some parts of China) indulge in a risky form of role play, whereby a young male (once he has decided on a girl he would like to marry) will ‘kidnap’ the girl of his dreams with the help of his friends. She will be taken back to his family home for a few days ‘resisting’ his advances whilst negotiates for her release (and marriage) take place! They are then free to marry once she has been released!
Another courtship ritual that exists amongst the Hmong happens around new year.” Ntaus ntiv” is a game played by unmarried men and women, similar to badminton in which the winner flicks the loser’s ear. “Pov Pob” is another game which involves groups of young men and women tossing a ball – both are designed to allow young Hmong to get to know each other better and begin relationships which may one day lead to marriage.
Korean’s love all year round!
The 14th of every month marks a love-related day in Korea, although most of them are obscure. From January to December: Candle Day, Valentine’s Day, White Day, Black Day, Rose Day, Kiss Day, Silver Day, Green Day, Music Day, Wine Day, Movie Day, and (my personal favourite) Hug Day!
Filipino Culture
The parents of Filipino girls have definitely got it made – here, if a guy wants to be acceptable to the girl’s family he has to give them gifts (or pasalubong) every time he drops by their house!
The Courtship Dance
Most of us have seen the rituals performed throughout the bird kingdom, whereby birds will put on a fantastic dance display in order to attract a mate. But this sort of thing also occurs within the world of people, particularly within traditional tribes in places such as Papua New Guinea or the Philippines. Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies and here, tribesmen come together at Sing-Sings where they adorn themselves with the feathers of birds of paradise then mimic the dances that the birds themselves would do to find a mate.
Wherever you are in the world we hope that we’ve inspired you to do something a bit different this Valentine’s Day. But however you intend to celebrate, we’d perhaps recommend that you avoid the kidnapping option!
Just for Fun TravelPublished February 14, 2012 at 12:33 pm No Comments
