Bowing (Urizen etiquette)

I’ve copied this from the Urizen Facebook group.

Three quick things:

  • bow depth or angle for these bows is mostly irrelevant
  • right hand gestures mark positive occasions
  • left hand gestures mark solemn occasions

The Formal/Respectful bow
Uses: Official meetings, meetings with other nations, when you can’t think if any other bow will do. This bow is also used to mark personal space. Popular with Torchbearers as it signifies being open.
Action: Right hand fingers touch the left shoulder, and then as bow begins the arm sweeps out with palm up, slowly and deliberately to the right in a wide arc. Sometimes the left hand is placed behind the back. Occassionally a backward step is taken during the bow.

The Thank You bow
Uses: An appreciative gesture. Often used in communal mealtimes towards the host, other times made to show agreement.
Action: Right hand palm upon chest, wait a beat, then bow and extend the arm outwards, palm up as if offering. Bow happens as hand is moving forward, and can be just a bowing of the head.
This bow is sometimes acknowledged by double-tapping the chest with a palm, which signifies ‘you’re welcome’

The Quick Greeting bow
Uses: When you want to acknowledge someone but you are otherwise engaged. It is considered good manners when receiving this bow not to detain the bower for too long. However it can also be used when you have a quick question which might otherwise interrupt an existing conversation.
Action: Right hand vertical in front of chest, palm facing to the left. Fingers are straight. Eye contact held during bow.

The Condolence/Sorrow bow
Uses: Funerals, moments of remembrance. An expression of regret but resolution to strive forward.
Action: Bow first, then left hand makes a fist and is placed lightly on the chest. Sometimes the right foot is placed forward, heel down and toe up.

I saw these on the Facebook group, I think, and am curious - how much use have they had in play? Have you seen/been people adopting them?

My usual bowing etiquette ends up something like a fairly informal Japanese one (from waist, hands at sides or holding whatever I have in hand at the time), but I’ve not interacted with other Urizen much in a formal situation, and bowing has usually been a case of trolling someone who has their hand out to be shaken. :slight_smile:

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I’ve been using a variation on the general-purpose bow - it fits my character’s strongly asymmetric body language to have an aysmmetric motion, and it evokes the kind of thing you’d do in a toga.

That is, right hand to left shoulder, sweep down and forwards, with the depth of the bow mostly indicating how pronounced I wish the gesture to be. Actually I’ve used the hand gesture alone, potentially with a nod or slight inclination of the upper body, for example when sitting - it also develops naturally from any ingrained OOC impulse to shake an offered hand.

The first event, I was using an attempt at a Japanese social bow, but I prefer the more unsubtle sweeping fantasy bow.

I always used the bow that I got taught when I did karate as it felt like it had the right flow for urizen. That the first part of the bow can be slightly adapted to be used instead to break wrist grabs was a subtle ironic head space bonus for the Urizen don’t like being touched vibe

IC (and also OOC) I assumed that different people bowed different in different regions/spires and while one spire might have a defined series of bows for different occasions other people from other spires probably wouldn’t know or care and in other spires everyone might bow differently.

Firstly, the top list is purely for flavour and not for any mandatory “bow shapes” ! It’s just for people to add to their game if they’ve not thought about it before and want to give it a go.

I’ve had a few civil servants and some from the Marches or Highguard pick them up when I’ve not shaken their hand, then they remember why, and that’s opened the door.

I think spires having their own bows are fine, but lets also find examples that work across the culture.

I tend to use the bow I was taught for tai-chi with my hands in front one over the other, thumbs together, just above the waist. though I do use the right hand/left hand positive/solemn relation for which is on top (as opposed to Tai Chi where i was taught it was based on sex.) unless I’m holding something in which case I’ll bow as best I can.

Yup, which is why I was wondering what various people had already adopted - the examples you listed are neat and it sounds like some people are using them, but I don’t think everyone is and I’m not sure there is anything that works across the culture other than what’s in the cultural brief (i.e. “bowing” as a general thing).

Is interesting to find out where people are getting theirs from. Also will be interesting to see on the field if/when people pick up cool-looking bows from one another, I reckon. :slight_smile:

Dave - I am PMing you about something unrelated