Body Language & Gestures - Greetings In Different Cultures

The first thing that we do, in any cultures, when we meet a person we saying something and use some kind of gestures to be polite to an interlocutor, but as you probably know that every culture uses greetings differently. In America, we have the standard greeting: “Hello, my name is...” with a handshake. However, there are other greetings out there of which you should be aware because you may find yourself in an embarrassing situation or in confusion. I did the research on different greetings of the world, and I want to share with a couple of the most stand out, greetings of the world, that I've never seen.

Greeting in Tibet
As a child, I was taught that to stick out the tongue is the mark of disrespect, and I should not do it because it is impolite, and in the most Western countries people think in the same way. However, in Tibet, to stick out the tongue means an opposite meaning.
The greeting "sticking out the tongue", took roots from the 9th century. Tibetan king, Langdarma, known for the "anti-Buddhist and a follower of  Bon", had a black tongue because of some sort of disease, but as the legend has said that his tongue turned black in order to mark him as the villainous man that he was. As Buddhists, Tibetans believe in reincarnation, and they feared that this mean king would be reincarnated. Consequently, for centuries Tibetans have greeted one another by sticking out their tongues demonstrating that they do not have black tongues, and that they are not incarnations of the villainous king.

It turned out that the Tibetans do not extend their tongues as far out or for so long time as it is shown in the film Seven Years In Tibet. They would never extend their tongues as a group, either. "The interview excerpts dealing with the depiction of Tibetans sticking out their tongues in Seven Years In Tibet are exemplary of individual reactions of Tibetans to constructed images of themselves. Offense is taken by those recognizing the falsity of the constructions"(The American Occupation of Tibetan Buddhism, by Eve Mullen, page. 115). Ergo, it appears that Hollywood exaggerated a little bit. And this is one of the written proofs that I found, which portrays the fallacy of cultural custom. And by looking at those made up or exaggerated stereotypes, can change the understanding for other cultures that don't know the truth.
Nowadays, when Tibetans meet, they briefly extend their tongues as a greeting. The greeting sticking out one's tongue is used to show agreement, and over the past few years, this gesture has evolved into a sign of respect, friendliness, and positive intention.. So, if you will go to Tibet or you know that you are going to meet a person from Tibet, and they would stick out their tongues to you, don't think that they are impolite people. Now, you know the story, and you can show them your respect in their way; unless, you are comfortable to do it, and if you didn't eat the black dyeing candy ;)
Additionally, in Tibet, "to stick out the tongue" is not the only greeting, it just the most strangest greeting for Western countries, and here is more information about their society and customs.

Greetings In Saudi Arabia & Middle East

In Saudi Arabia, as in other Middle Eastern countries, people always use greeting gestures depending on the person with who they greeting with. Often they greet each other with a right handshake only ( the left hand is considered unclean) and the words "As-salamu alaykum" will be spoken. Men may follow this with different amount of cheek-kisses depending on how well they know each other or what are their relations. Or they may follow, after handshake and "As-salamu alaykum", with rubbing their noses.
"Noses kisses" is a tribal custom, mostly practiced by Arabs in the Gulf region. First of all of the explanations of why they doing it and what does it mean, I want to point out that in Arabs understanding those gestures are not consider to the signs of homosexual intentions. However, in the Western countries people would mostly assume that those stereotypical signs are the intention to the homosexuality. Although, It just the different understanding of the cultural customs. So, I found out that the nose has a valuable symbol for the Arabs because it is in the center of the face, and it represents the values of respect and pride.

Well, you would ask, what about women?
When a Western man is introduced to an Arab woman it is the woman's choice whether to shake hands or not; she must initiate the handshake. Women shake hands only using their fingertips. Do not touch their palm and do not kiss her hand. Women do not kiss a man’s cheek in greeting, it is considered immodest. The also practice "nose kisses" but it’s mostly done in private among family members.
Note that hand shake, cheek kissing, and nose rubbing between men and women are usually considered inappropriate in the Arab world, unless with the same family e.g. brothers and sisters.
Additionally, if an Arab does not touch someone he greets, he either does not like him or is restraining himself because he perceives the person is accustomed to being touched.
Be aware, failure to shake hands when meeting someone or saying goodbye is considered rude.

References

* "Body Language in Different Cultures." Stuff for Success Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://www.samdiener.com/2009/10/body-language-in-different-cultures/>.
* Michael, By Leigh. "Top of the Morning From the Tip of My Tongue." Top Of The Morning From The Tip Of My Tongue. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2016. <https://mangosalute.com/magazine/top-of-the-morning-from-the-tip-of-my-tongue>.
* Roba, By. "The Guide to the Ultimate Arab Greeting: Cheek Kissing." AndFarAway. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2016. <http://www.andfaraway.net/blog/2009/07/28/the-guide-to-the-ultimate-arab-greeting-cheek-kissing/>.
* @TheNationalUAE. "Ask Ali: Why Rubbing Noses Is More than Just a Custom | The National." N.p., 28 Dec. 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2016. <http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/ask-ali-why-rubbing-noses-is-more-than-just-a-custom>.