Below is an article I wrote for my old blog a few years ago. Since my kids are older now I don’t see as many ‘sniff kisses’ planted on them, but I have some fond memories of the joy that was shared with this incomparable Thai gesture of love and affection.
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| Hawms and hugs at a school Mother’s Day event. |
Hawm noi, na kha!
Since having children I hear this phrase a lot from people who meet our kids.
The rough translation is, “Let me give you a little sniff kiss, please!”
Before coming to Thailand I was unaware of this joyful little exchange, the hawm, or hawm gaem.
To give a hawm kiss is to gently press your nose against another’s cheek, then give a quick little sniff.
To show even more affection, you might give 3-4 hawms in rapid succession, or bury your nose in deep, nuzzle, and take in a longer breath. Hawm in Thai means ‘pleasant smelling’, while gaem means ‘cheek’, so this could also rightly be called a ‘sweet cheek’ kiss.
The neck, arms and belly are also ‘sweet spots’ for giving a hawm.
If you want to spread a little happiness around, do it by hawm. It’s a sensational sensory experience that kids especially respond to with great glee and giggles.
There would likely be a lot more peace in this world if we could all do a little more hawm-ing, a little less harming.
Don’t believe me?
Try it, and let me know the result!
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The sniff kiss is apparently common around Southeast Asia. In this cute video, a Filipina ‘auntie’ demonstrates how to do it.
