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Sampeah Etiquette In Khmer

In Cambodia greeting is important. Greeting is one of

thoroughly implement in Cambodia culture. To greet each other, people place both palms together in a manner of praying and bow head. This style of greeting is called Sampeah in khmer language. In general, the higher the hands and lower the bow, the more respect is being shown. When meeting, Cambodians will Som Peah and say Choum Reap Sur (Hello). When departing, again they will Som Peah and say Choum Reap Lea (Goodbye). Cambodians use Som Peah for greeting and to display respect. When used for greeting, it would be impolite not to return a Som Peah; it is tantamount to rejecting an offered handshake in Western culture.
There are 5 different practices :

1. When we salute our Friends who have the same ages, we place our both palms together at the CHEST LEVEL.

2. When we salute our Bosses, Older persons, or Higher ranking people, we place our both palms together at the MOUTH LEVEL.

3.

When we salute our Parents, Grandparents, or Teachers, we place our both palms together at the NOSE LEVEL.

4. When we salute the King, or Monks we place our both palms together at the EYEBROWS LEVEL.

5. When we pray to the God or Sacred statues we place our both palms together at the FORHEAD LEVEL.

There are 3 steps to pray to the God or Sacred statues :

lady

Place your both palms at the Chest Level and sit on leg.

Place your both palms at The Forehead Level.

Bow your head to your hands and put your elbows outside your knees.

 Gentle Man

Place your both palms at the Knees down and push your right Chest Level and knees down hand to your left hand

Bow your forehead on your hands and do it 3 times