Culture Wire

We’ve all heard about the Indian head shake or head wobble, but I was not sure if it was something real or just a caricature that was invented by the colonial Europeans.

After moving to California, I made an Indian friend, and I noticed that she decidedly made certain head movements that were not part my conventional yes/no head-shakes. So one day, shyly, I decided to ask about it. She confirmed that there were, in fact, a wide variety of head movements with different meaning and regional nuances.

This cool video, made by Meen Fried Chicken Curry is a good introduction to this non-verbal communication.