The famous Indian head nod or wiggle

SitaParityaga · Aug 17th, 2007, 09:03

Rama,

I loved the YT video! Didn't look extreme at all.

Diana · Aug 18th, 2007, 11:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rama

Head bobble fans everywhere, I present to you this video Indian Head Bobble

Wow! Priceless!

Yes, that's the extreme bobble used by salesmen throughout Kerala! Meaning, "you SO need this ___!" "it is perfect for you!" "Of course I will deliver!"

Amyth · Aug 18th, 2007, 12:03

As a child I would nod more than replying verbally to my parents, guess it's more of an Indian thing. It would annoy my Dad to no end and he would tell me with a straight face, "Isn't it a lot easier to move an oz of tongue rather than wobbling a ten pound logy head of yours?!! "

kalbarri · Oct 3rd, 2007, 13:32

why is there no 'HEAD WOGGLE" smiley?

safari vala · Jan 30th, 2008, 16:28

the punjabi tilt to one side to mean I get it or yes is something I do a lot and Indian body language is very hard to shake once it has you in its grip. I do it to goras here in oz and they take offence or misconstrue the import of its meanings.
The head bobble; I am very good at and do it often without thinking to non desis. he he hehe .

kalbarri · Feb 1st, 2008, 12:00

after living in india for 2 years in the 70s, i had gotten into the habit of staring, which was a common behaviour towards tourists by indians in those days. so when igot back to oz and was doing that here, it really made people feel uncomfortable although it wasn't done with negative thoughts in mind.

anarkali · Feb 3rd, 2008, 12:00

I used the head wobble to great effect in India, after I caught a very traditional and scary looking aunty in the next auto staring at me. I smiled and did a head wobble (just like Greg David Roberts suggests) and got an answering head wobble and smile with downcast eyes.

I used it throughout the month of our travels until I hit Mumbai, where I found myself being lampooned mercilessly by the hotel owner when I used it. And then, after asking directions from some teenage girls, one of them asked me: 'Why do you do that?...' <demonstrative wobble> 'You don't have to.' At the time I thought it was a urban/rural divide thing, but it's possible that as I'm aunty-age (37 at the time) it wasn't age appropriate to head wobble at a young one. Or Mumbai is simply a little too cool for school. Or head wobble.

Anyone else notice this?

shashank.aggarwal · Feb 3rd, 2008, 18:28

Head wobble had not to be used at every instance...you might have overdone it..

larsomat · Apr 28th, 2008, 21:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by daresendez

While sitting in an Indian restaruant in Barcelona, I noticed the waiter's noggin wiggling at me, so I wiggled back, and wouldn't you know the biggest smile I have ever seen in Europe flahsed across his face!

This is brilliant!

When I was in India 10 years ago (for 5 months) I picked it up as well. It really *is* contagious.

felonious_monk · Jun 2nd, 2008, 13:16

The universal NO is rotating your head around the vertical axis. The universal YES is rotating your head around the horizontal axis that goes from one side of your head to the other.
The wobble or the Indian Empathetic Nod rotates your head around an axis going from the back to the front of your head. It is the same as saying "That is SOOOO right" or "I TOTALLY understand/agree with you". Usually used in response to a statement. I have no idea how Gregory David Roberts got much of a response to it by itself(disconnected outside a conversation). One of the many things about his book that were a little suspicious. Just by itself it is kind of a "Oh YEAH". Frankly that would be just plain goofy, like making eye contact with a random person and yelling "DAMN STRAIGHT!"

Nick-H · Jun 2nd, 2008, 14:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by felonious_monk

The universal NO is rotating your head around the vertical axis. The universal YES is rotating your head around the horizontal axis that goes from one side of your head to the other.

Not so. Many Indians indicate 'yes' with a horizontal head rotation, though not the emphatic 'shake' of the head that the west uses. Believe me: even after three years it is still a cause of occasional misunderstanding between my wife and I! "Where's my tea?"; "But you said you didn't want one!"; "I said I did want one!!",

Quote:

The wobble or the Indian Empathetic Nod rotates your head around an axis going from the back to the front of your head. It is the same as saying "That is SOOOO right" or "I TOTALLY understand/agree with you".

It can mean that; it can mean a whole host of other things too. Whilst it can go a long way towards compensating for a lack of shared language, it really is necessary (as Dzibead said in a recent post on the same subject) to know what is going on!

felonious_monk · Jun 3rd, 2008, 08:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Not so. Many Indians indicate 'yes' with a horizontal head rotation, though not the emphatic 'shake' of the head that the west uses. Believe me: even after three years it is still a cause of occasional misunderstanding between my wife and I! "Where's my tea?"; "But you said you didn't want one!"; "I said I did want one!!",

It can mean that; it can mean a whole host of other things too. Whilst it can go a long way towards compensating for a lack of shared language, it really is necessary (as Dzibead said in a recent post on the same subject) to know what is going on!

Are you sure? I am Indian born and raised and now you've got me wondering what I have been missing?
There are two flavors of the wobble, one like a bobble head doll and the other a bit more chin heavy like the maharaja smiley which is more emphatic. In both cases the head is making clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations when looking directly at a person's face, unlike the up and down and side-to-side for yes and no.
(Now people in the cafe are wondering why I am wobbling my head so much

. Maybe I should tell them I am writing a treatise on Indian Head Wobbling

.)
So what are the other meanings? When I read about the random head wobbling in Shantaram my reaction was "there go those crazy firangs again"

chAos · Jun 3rd, 2008, 13:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by felonious_monk

Frankly that would be just plain goofy, like making eye contact with a random person and yelling "DAMN STRAIGHT!"

OK, you've inspired me; I want to try this..

Preferrably at a coffee shop with rude baristas, too...!

btw, I'm with you on the wobble, esp with regard to random usage. The only thing I'd add is that there are varying degrees of wobble, and sometimes it's so small, more like a twist really, it can make me wonder if I've seen it at all.

felonious_monk · Jun 3rd, 2008, 13:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by chAos

OK, you've inspired me; I want to try this..

Preferrably at a coffee shop with rude baristas, too...!

comedian ...
.
.
.

pam3lia · Aug 24th, 2008, 14:36

Is anyone else subconsciously bobbling their head as they read?

Aug 18th, 2007, 12:03	#93
Amyth Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Paradise Posts: 383	As a child I would nod more than replying verbally to my parents, guess it's more of an Indian thing. It would annoy my Dad to no end and he would tell me with a straight face, "Isn't it a lot easier to move an oz of tongue rather than wobbling a ten pound logy head of yours?!! " __________________ Smile -- it makes people wonder what you're up to

Oct 3rd, 2007, 13:32	#94
kalbarri kalbarri Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: WESTERN australia Posts: 346	head woggle.. why is there no 'HEAD WOGGLE" smiley?

Feb 3rd, 2008, 18:28	#98
shashank.aggarwal Mr. Badboy :D Join Date: May 2007 Location: ~ Dilli ~ Posts: 5,173	Head wobble had not to be used at every instance...you might have overdone it.. __________________ Travelogue - Around India Random Reviews

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Famous People you have met in India	rab	Chai and Chat	105	Feb 20th, 2008 22:05
The (in)famous Jackfruit Letter	steven_ber	Humour - It Only Happens in India	1	Jan 15th, 2006 11:27
The Indian "Head-Wiggle"	TerryM	Chai and Chat	9	Jun 19th, 2005 14:33
Famous Indians a Poll!	cyberhippie	Chai and Chat	40	Jun 7th, 2005 14:46

Aug 17th, 2007, 09:03	#91
SitaParityaga member in the forest Join Date: May 2003 Location: California Posts: 892	Rama, I loved the YT video! Didn't look extreme at all.

Jan 30th, 2008, 16:28	#95
safari vala Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 236	the punjabi tilt to one side to mean I get it or yes is something I do a lot and Indian body language is very hard to shake once it has you in its grip. I do it to goras here in oz and they take offence or misconstrue the import of its meanings. The head bobble; I am very good at and do it often without thinking to non desis. he he hehe .

Feb 1st, 2008, 12:00	#96
kalbarri kalbarri Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: WESTERN australia Posts: 346	after living in india for 2 years in the 70s, i had gotten into the habit of staring, which was a common behaviour towards tourists by indians in those days. so when igot back to oz and was doing that here, it really made people feel uncomfortable although it wasn't done with negative thoughts in mind.

Feb 3rd, 2008, 12:00	#97
anarkali Log mujhko space cowboy kehte hain Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts: 79	I used the head wobble to great effect in India, after I caught a very traditional and scary looking aunty in the next auto staring at me. I smiled and did a head wobble (just like Greg David Roberts suggests) and got an answering head wobble and smile with downcast eyes. I used it throughout the month of our travels until I hit Mumbai, where I found myself being lampooned mercilessly by the hotel owner when I used it. And then, after asking directions from some teenage girls, one of them asked me: 'Why do you do that?...' <demonstrative wobble> 'You don't have to.' At the time I thought it was a urban/rural divide thing, but it's possible that as I'm aunty-age (37 at the time) it wasn't age appropriate to head wobble at a young one. Or Mumbai is simply a little too cool for school. Or head wobble. Anyone else notice this?

Jun 2nd, 2008, 13:16	#100
felonious_monk Dhobi ka kutta Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 44	The universal NO is rotating your head around the vertical axis. The universal YES is rotating your head around the horizontal axis that goes from one side of your head to the other. The wobble or the Indian Empathetic Nod rotates your head around an axis going from the back to the front of your head. It is the same as saying "That is SOOOO right" or "I TOTALLY understand/agree with you". Usually used in response to a statement. I have no idea how Gregory David Roberts got much of a response to it by itself(disconnected outside a conversation). One of the many things about his book that were a little suspicious. Just by itself it is kind of a "Oh YEAH". Frankly that would be just plain goofy, like making eye contact with a random person and yelling "DAMN STRAIGHT!"

Aug 24th, 2008, 14:36	#105
pam3lia Itchy footed member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: For the moment: Auckland, NZ Posts: 13	Is anyone else subconsciously bobbling their head as they read?

User Name		Remember Me?
Password