Poke me in the head for a coffee – Balinese Body Language Part IV
Some say avoid the ‘thumbs up’ in Greece because it can cause offence. In Bali, fortunately, it means the same thing as it does in many other countries. Some signs however, are not so universal. For example, holding up two fingers (palm-back); I like it that you can give the fingers to someone in Bali and they won’t blink an eye… This is simply because it doesn’t mean ‘up yours’ as it does in a number of countries. To a Balinese, it just means ‘two’.
Here are a few more interesting ones:
- To say you’ve got no money (no Balinese will believe you but you can try…), you can pat your back pocket; but make sure it doesn’t have a bulging wallet peering out of it…
- An amusing sign that’s used mostly in jest is the index finger pointing diagonally upward across the forehead to mean ‘crazy’. Some say that it represents a clock hand that is skewed off 12 o’clock (not quite straight up!).
- To say that someone talks or complains a lot people make a shadow puppet’s mouth with their hands.
- Someone who’s pissed off may use the upward fist sign, or they may pull out the ‘slit your throat’ sign (by miming slitting their own throat!) to mean that their blood is really boiling.
Bengkala Village in Singaraja has its developed its own peculiar sign language. Legend has it that a long time ago, this small, remote hamlet was cursed and all its inhabitants became deaf and dumb. Ethnomusicologist and anthropologist Pande Made Sukerta wrote a fascinating book about these people and their unique sign language.
Bengkala folk have quite a charming vocabulary. ‘Tea’: hold both hands in the shape of a pot of tea being heated over a flame. ‘A pregnant woman’: wave your hand down and away from your genitals (giving birth). My personal favourite is ‘coffee’: pressing your index finger on your temple, representing a symptom caffeine withdrawal: a headache!
