Mano (gesture)

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Mano (Tagalog: pagmamano) is an honoring gesture performed in Filipino culture as a sign of respect and as a way of requesting a blessing from elders. Similar to hand-kissing, the person giving the greeting asks for permission to initiate the gesture by saying "Mano po" or "[Pa-]bless po". They then bow towards the elder and touch their forehead to the back of the elder's hand. The person receiving the greeting usually offers their right hand and replies with a blessing, typically "God bless you". The word mano is Spanish for "hand", while the word po is a Filipino honorific appended to sentences to convey respect (usually when addressing elders). Put together, mano po literally translates to "[your] hand, please". The gesture is a form of greeting typically done for relatives that are older by at least one generation (grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles; but not older siblings or cousins). It is also commonly done for godparents, friends of older relatives, older relatives of friends or partners, and priests and ministers (traditionally at the end of mass). It can also be done for unrelated elderly acquaintances or strangers, especially when visiting their homes. The gesture is also known as amin among Visayans, and siklod among Kapampangans. In Philippine English, it is also generically referred to as "bless". An identical tradition is followed in neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia called salim and salam, respectively. This indicates that the custom dates back to pre-colonial times and is a shared tradition among cultures in Island Southeast Asia.