page_title: Salute
section_title: Greetings
hierarchical_section_title: Salute / Civilian salutes / Greetings
caption_attribution_description: English: Secretary General of NATO, Dr. J.M.A.H. Luns, tips his hat as a troop review of Headquarters Battery, 8th Infantry Division, takes place during the opening ceremonies for Reforger '83. Behind him is Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Bernard Rogers.
context_page_description: A salute is a gesture or other action used to display respect. When saluting a person, as distinct from a flag or a National Anthem or other symbolic melody, the gaze must be towards that person, also when returning a salute. Thus, the respectable salute includes a greeting. Not looking at the person, as with most gestured greetings, is likely to be interpreted as disrespect or an eye deficiency. Salutes are primarily associated with armed forces and law enforcement, but other organizations, such as girl guides, and boy scouts and other civilians also use salutes.
context_section_description: Many different gestures are used throughout the world as simple greetings.  In Western cultures the handshake is very common, though it has numerous subtle variations in the strength of grip, the vigour of the shake, the dominant position of one hand over the other, and whether or not the left hand is used.
  Historically, when men normally wore hats out of doors, male greetings to people they knew, and sometimes those they did not, involved touching, raising slightly ("tipping"), or removing their hat in a variety of gestures, see hat tip.  This basic gesture remained normal in very many situations from the Middle Ages until men typically ceased wearing hats in the mid-20th century. Hat-raising began with an element of recognition of superiority, where only the socially inferior party might perform it, but gradually lost this element; King Louis XIV of France made a point of at least touching his hat to all women he encountered.  However the gesture was never used by women, for whom their head-covering included considerations of modesty.  When a man was not wearing a hat he might touch his hair to the side of the front of his head to replicate a hat tipping gesture.  This was typically performed by lower-class men to social superiors, such as peasants to the land-owner, and is known as "tugging the forelock", which still sometimes occurs as a metaphor for submissive behaviour.
  In Europe, the formal style of upper-class greeting used by a man to a woman in the Early Modern Period was to hold the woman's presented hand (usually the right) with his right hand and kiss it while bowing, see hand-kissing and kissing hands.  This style has not been widespread for a century or more.  In cases of a low degree of intimacy, the hand is held but not kissed. The ultra-formal style, with the man's right knee on the floor, is now only used in marriage proposals, as a romantic gesture.
  The Arabic term salaam (literally "peace", from the spoken greeting that accompanies the gesture), refers to the practice of placing the right palm on the heart, before and after a handshake.
  A Chinese greeting, Bao Quan Li (抱拳礼 or "fist wrapping rite"), features the right fist placed in the palm of the left hand and both shaken back and forth two or three times; it may be accompanied by a head nod or bow. The gesture may be used on meeting and parting, and when offering thanks or apologies.
  In India, it is common to see the Namaste greeting (or "Sat Sri Akal" for Sikhs) where the palms of the hands are pressed together and held near the heart with the head gently bowed.
  Adab, meaning respect and politeness, is a hand gesture used as a Muslim greeting of south Asian Muslims, especially of Urdu-speaking communities of Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabadi Muslims, Bengali Muslims and Muhajir people of Pakistan. The gesture involves raising the right hand towards the face with palm inwards such that it is in front of the eyes and the finger tips are almost touching the forehead, as the upper torso is bent forward. It is typical for the person to say "adab arz hai", or just "adab". It is often answered with the same or the word "Tasleem" is said as an answer or sometimes it is answered with a facial gesture of acceptance.
  In Indonesia, a nation with a huge variety of cultures and religions, many greetings are expressed, from the formalized greeting of the highly stratified and hierarchical Javanese to the more egalitarian and practical greetings of outer islands. Javanese, Batak and other ethnicities currently or formerly involved in the armed forces will salute a Government-employed superior, and follow with a deep bow from the waist or short nod of the head and a passing, loose handshake. Hand position is highly important; the superior's hand must be higher than the inferior's.
  Muslim men will clasp both hands, palms together at the chest and utter the correct Islamic slametan (greeting) phrase, which may be followed by cheek-to-cheek contact, a quick hug or loose handshake. Pious Muslim women rotate their hands from a vertical to perpendicular prayer-like position in 
caption: The civilian Secretary General of NATO Joseph Luns tips his hat at a troop review in 1983, in lieu of a military salute.  This (the full gesture is shown here) was by then becoming old-fashioned as a general social greeting, but had once been normal.
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