Wai

The traditional Thai greeting gesture in which the hands are pressed together in a prayer-like position and the head is bowed, with the height of the hands and depth of the bow indicating the relative social status of the parties involved. The wai is an essential part of Thai festive etiquette, used during Songkran (Thai New Year) and Buddhist holidays, and simultaneously expresses greeting, gratitude, and reverence in a single culturally encoded movement.