I have seen on Tv and movies that many in the West eat with their left hands.

Is this recommended practice or not?

I am curious because we specifically use the right hand to eat as the left hand is used for cleaning after going to the bathroom.

Thanks in advance:)

Wow. Never heard of using separate hands for different functions.

I am right handed so I eat with my right hand. My two sons are left handed. It is not a matter of using the left hand for toileting purposes but I do remember hearing that when I was growing up. When I was in school the nuns absolutely forbid anyone from using their left hand for writing or eating. But now? I really don't think people, in general, apply that rule too rigorously. However I am sure there are cultures or relgions that would teach the left hand purposes.

I'm right, one son lefty, one righty. Lefty and I shoot pool opposite, I shoot left, he shoots right. Eat with whatever is convenient. Fork in left if cutting with right, etc.

I have seen on Tv and movies that many in the West eat with their left hands.

Is this recommended practice or not?

I am curious because we specifically use the right hand to eat as the left hand is used for cleaning after going to the bathroom.

Thanks in advance:)
Well no you don't have to eat with your left hand I just think that is how they used to eat back then I mean if everyone had to eat with their left hand then most people would be outcasts!♥

In Latin, the word for "left" is "sinister" (from that comes bad, evil). The word for "right" is "dexter" (from that comes dexterous, skillful).

From that comes expressions like, "His right hand doesn't know what his left hand is doing". Thieves would steal with their left and transfer to their right. Cleaning oneself after using the bathroom would be done with the left hand; eating would be done with the right. (In Europe, in order to cut meat, one puts one's fork in the left hand to steady the meat while the knife in the right hand does the cutting. Then the fork stays in the left hand to eat a chunk of meat. The right then puts down the knife across the top of the plate and takes back the fork for further eating. That's probably why some of you have the idea of eating with one's left hand.)

There are many allusions to handedness (left vs. right, bad vs. good) in literature.

Throughout history, left has gotten a bad rap. Right is good.

When I was in school and printing, and later cursive, was being taught, if a student tried to write with his or her left hand, the teacher slapped it with a ruler. We all had to use our right hand with no argument. (This was in public school. Parochial school students had the same experience. Thank goodness I was a righty... )

We use our right hand as it is hygienic since we are recommended to clean ourselves with our left hand after using the bathroom.

I am not sure about writing and other things,but we do always use the right hand when giving or receiving things from people,shake hands,eat etc.

Shy,
I did not know that about the nuns forbidding using the left hand for eating.

Wondergirl,
I can see why the left vs right has been practiced from the very beginning of human civilization because I believe the rules must have come from the same source (Almighty).

Thank you all for your thoughts on this.

In Latin, the word for "left" is "sinister" (from that comes bad, evil). The word for "right" is "dexter" (from that comes dexterous, skillful).

From that comes expressions like, "His right hand doesn't know what his left hand is doing". Thieves would steal with their left and transfer to their right. Cleaning oneself after using the bathroom would be done with the left hand; eating would be done with the right. (In Europe, in order to cut meat, one puts one's fork in the left hand to steady the meat while the knife in the right hand does the cutting. Then the fork stays in the left hand to eat a chunk of meat. The right then puts down the knife across the top of the plate and takes back the fork for further eating. That's probably why some of you have the idea of eating with one's left hand.)

There are many allusions to handedness (left vs. right, bad vs. good) in literature.

Throughout history, left has gotten a bad rap. Right is good.

When I was in school and printing, and later cursive, was being taught, if a student tried to write with his or her left hand, the teacher slapped it with a ruler. We all had to use our right hand with no argument. (This was in public school. Parochial school students had the same experience. Thank goodness I was a righty....)

It's true that doing things with the left hand has gotten a pretty bad reputation throughout the years. Excellent post, Wondergirl! I tried to spread the "love" some, but could not.

I use my right hand as a preference. But, since I am a professional pianist, I tend to be ambidextrous. Sometimes there is no preference as to which hand I will use. For my culture, it doesn't matter which one I use for eating or for using the bathroom. There may be some activities where it might be frowned upon to use one hand or the other in my culture. But, I have not experienced what they might be yet. This includes the schooling that I have had.

Hello firm:

Different cultures do different things. Muslims also believe something, our culture doesn't, about showing the soles of one's shoes being an insult. I'm sure there's more, but I'm really ignorant about Islam.

Do you live in an Islamic country? Your English is so good I always took it for granted that you were a white Christian girl from NY who converted. Interesting how we make up stuff...

I love the differences between people. I celebrate them.

excon

PS> I tried to utilize my left hand in the bathroom... Useless...

It's not a "in the west" issue it's an islam issue I believe. There is no restriction as which hand to use outside of your religion as I understand it. After using the facilities one would hope that people wash their hands, both of them, that takes care of the hygiene issue.

I use both hands to eat, right hand for my knife and left for my fork. It is considered uncouth to use a fork in the right hand where I live, reserved only for informal occasions such as if you are eating on your lap. My left hand will do most food holding if I am doing something else so that my dominant hand is free.

I heard American soldiers got in trouble in Iraq by doing the thumbs up sign with their left hands to Iraqi civilians. They were trying to be nice but it was interpreted as an insult due to the hand. Is this an urban legend or did it happen?

There was a really good set of adverts for a bank of all places which showed cultural differences. It had people making mistakes like the OK index finger circle to thumb which is rude in some counties, showing of palms and soles of feet etc. It was quiet interesting.

NK,
I know what I practice in Islam.

And I know it is not an issue for many.
But as Shy said nuns also seems to forbid using the left hand for eating.

Tl,
Iraqis taking offense about the left thumbs up maybe more of cultural thing than religious thing as we do not take offense at any such thing,but the recommended practice is to prefer the right hand,giving,receiving,eating etc.

I know Indians also will not like to have us receive anything they give us with our left hand or for us to give them with our left hand, I am not sure of the reason though.
Maybe not all Indians,but the ones I met prefer it that way.

After using the facilities one would hope that people wash their hands, both of them, that takes care of the hygiene issue.

I am always shocked how often I see people not doing this! :eek: Makes me worry.

I know the tradition of eating with only the right hand is prevalent in many countries - I remember being "warned" about this before traveling to Indonesia, for example. And the tradition of not showing the soles of your feet is common as well - it's considered an insult in Thailand, for example - if you visit a temple you are advised to sit on the floor with your legs curled under you, because of you sit with your legs extended the soles of your feet will be pointing in someone else's direction.

We westerners have our own traditions. For example if someone burps while eating it is considered rude - we think that at the very least one should cover his or her mouth - but in many other cultures they think nothing of it.

Bottom line is to heed the old saying, "when in Rome do as the Romans do."

I know the tradition of eating with only the right hand is prevalent in many countries - I remember being "warned" about this before traveling to Indonesia, for example. And the tradition of not showing the soles of your feet is common as well - it's considered an insult in Thailand, for example - if you visit a temple you are advised to sit on the floor with your legs curled under you, because of you sit with your legs extended the soles of your feet will be pointing in someone else's direction.

We westerners have our own traditions. For example if someone burps while eating it is considered rude - we think that at the very least one should cover his or her mouth - but in many other cultures they think nothing of it.

Bottom line is to heed the old saying, "when in Rome do as the Romans do."

I do agree burping without covering their mouths or loudly is not too nice.
I too have heard of a culture which actually approves a burp after a meal as a guest (not sure which one though).

I have seen on Tv and movies that many in the West eat with their left hands.

Is this recommended practice or not?

I am curious because we specifically use the right hand to eat as the left hand is used for cleaning after going to the bathroom.

Thanks in advance:)

This is a great post FB! I am sorry I didn't see it sooner.

As others have said, years ago (in the U.S.), doing anything with your left hand was very much discouraged and the ruler was used to correct those that tried to use their left hand. My older brother was originally left handed and was forced by his teachers to use his right hand. Both my younger brother and I are left handed and were never forced to use our right hands. I do remember having a terrible time in school with those little scissors that were supposed to be made specifically for left handed people. I was forced to learn to do certain things right handed because the people teaching me were right handed. So although I consider myself left-handed, I am ambidextrous.

I remember reading what Wondergirl posted. I also remember reading that sometime around the Middle Ages the concept was created that if you were left-handed you were considered to have the mark of the devil upon you. I don't remember why and your posting here has made me want to research that again. I also remember reading that it was around the same time in which "Bless you" was instilled in western societies when someone sneezed. Supposedly, when you sneezed, you were off guard and were allowing the devil to enter into you and saying "Bless you" was a way to keep the devil from entering someone's body. Originally, from what I remember, the reason for the separation of eating and cleaning yourself with your right and left hand, was done to avoid fecal & urinary contamination of your food. With the advent of our sanitary laws and being taught from a young age, that we must always wash our hands after relieving ourselves, western society does not insist that we use one hand over the other anymore.

I am curious as to what is the specific law and the reasoning behind it, in Islam, that has you follow the right/left rules. If you have the time, you would post with that please?

I'm ambedexterous too. I can write script with my left, right, forwards and backwards (mirror image). The right is much better all because I don't haven't practiced enough. If it's more convientent to use my left, I will.

This is a great post FB! I am sorry I didn't see it sooner.

I am curious as to what is the specific law and the reasoning behind it, in Islam, that has you follow the right/left rules. If you have the time, you would post with that please?

I could be wrong here, but I don't believe it's a religious thing regarding which hand to use when you eat, but rather simply a cultural difference. As stated previously, the concept being discussed here is that you use the left hand to "facilitate" going to the bathroom and "cleaning up" afterwards (I hope I don't have to draw a diagram), and hence you do not want to use that same hand to eat with. Keep in mind that in many non-western countries the custom is to eat using your hands, not silverware or chopsticks. So it's important to make sure the hand you eat with is clean -- just as here in the west you wouldn't want to eat with a spoon that your waitress just pulled out of the toilet.

Thanks EB, but I do understand the reason for why this is done, so I will spare you from having to draw me any diagrams. LOL.

Whaa? You won't eat with a spoon your waitress just pulled out of a toilet? My how picky you are.

I know there are other cultures and countries that do not use utensils and follow this rule of using your right hand such as in Ethiopia. I guess that I assumed that since the British were very much in control of India for a period in history, that most of the people in the larger cities adopted the eating habits of the British. Well, I guess tomorrow when FB signs back on she can clarify if it is a religious or cultural difference. Perhaps both?

This is a great post FB! I am sorry I didn't see it sooner.

if you were left-handed you were considered to have the mark of the devil upon you.
I also remember reading that it was around the same time period in which "Bless you" was instilled in western societies when someone sneezed. Supposedly, when you sneezed, you were off guard and were allowing the devil to enter into you and saying "Bless you" was a way to keep the devil from entering someone's body. Originally, from what I remember, the reason for the separation of eating and cleaning yourself with your right and left hand, was done to avoid fecal & urinary contamination of your food.

I am curious as to what is the specific law and the reasoning behind it, in Islam, that has you follow the right/left rules. If you have the time, you would post with that please?

Ruby,
Thank you!
About being marked with the devil, we do not believe in exactly the same way,but we do believe that the devil eats and drinks with the left hand(also that the devil partakes of the food we eat when we resemble it's habits and blessings maybe lost due to this) ,hence to be different from the devil , we are recommended to put our right hand/feet first in all the honourable things we do (I hope that wasn't confusing).

Islam Question and Answer - Having the habit of eating with one's left hand (http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?QR=3020&ln=eng)
Like shaking hands,putting on clothes/shirts(we put in the right hand in first),putting on footwear,entering the mosque/home,ending prayers with tasleem to the right first,doing the ritual washing(wudh'oo) before prayers etc, we are either to start with the right hand or prioritise the right side.

For things like blowing the nose cleaning oneself after using the bathroom,entering the toilet, etc we are recommended to use the left .

Those with physical disabilities with using their right hand are not treated differently,but those who are able to use their right hand are to be reminded of the good habit and help them try to make it a habit.
I have not heard of being forced to write or that sort of thing,but we do remind our children make a habit of eating and drinking with their right hand.

About sneezing-
We believe that something of the germs entering our nose leaves when we sneeze,hence we praise the Almighty Al-hamdu Lillaah (praise be to Allaah), and the one who hears me praise the Almighty says 'Yarhamuk Allaah (May Allaah have mercy on you)
I replyYahdeekum Allaah wa yuslihu baalakum (May Allaah guide you and rectify your condition)
Islam Question and Answer - The etiquette of sneezing: praising Allaah, saying “May Allaah have mercy on you� and responding to the one who says that (http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=67805&ln=eng&txt=sneezing)

I know to those who have never done this,it does sound like a lot of work,but it has become a habit and we do not even realise that we say it when we sneeze.Sometimes we may forget to do this,after all we are human.

And I guess we just play it safe even if we wash our hands after,if we use one hand for one thing and not the other,there is more chance that the eating hand will be clean.
Islam Question and Answer - Muslim bathroom etiquette (http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=2532&ln=eng&txt=bathroom)


Well, I guess tomorrow when FB signs back on she can clarify if it is a religious or cultural difference. Perhaps both?

Islam being a way of life, there is little difference between cultural and religious practices.When we practice our religion as best as we can you will find that all the muslims around the world has similarities in the cultural practices we do.:)

I tried to spread the "love" some more for you firmbeliever, but could not. I just wanted to say that I think that you have provided an excellent answer above!

Thank you Clough..

I am considered a lefty.

What do you call those people that can also switch back and forth between left and right. I am one of those as well.


Joe

P.S. I thought that those days were long gone when they considered somebody a warlock or evil because they used their left hand. My mother was constantly wacked in the left hand by a nun to stop the evil habit. Oh my God, please forgive that nun.

What do you call those people that can also switch back and forth between left and right. I am one of those as well. Ambidextrous (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambidextrous).

On a related side note this whole discussion reminded me of a good book I've read. It is useful for anybody interested in the reasons behind right handed and left handedness

Right Hand, Left Hand - Chris McManus - Official Website (http://www.righthandlefthand.com/)

I found it very enjoyable and educational!

FB, thank you so much for explaining. It is very interesting. Do you know if any of the other cultures/faiths of India, follow the same rules or is this just in the Islamic culture?
By the way, I tried accessing all the links you provided and they all denied access.? I definitely have an interest in reading them.

So what happens when the form of punishment is the amputation of the right hand ?

I'm a lefty ,I eat with my left hand . Any sanitary issues are resolved by using soap and water .

Those people get to stinkin pretty bad.

Either that or they starve .

Tom, she answered that question here:

Those with physical disabilities with using their right hand are not treated differently,but those who are able to use their right hand are to be reminded of the good habit and help them try to make it a habit.


With all my blathering on about the subject, this probably became lost in my original post. It answered FB's question and she might not have noticed it. It states what you have said.
With the advent of our sanitary laws and being taught from a young age, that we must always wash our hands after relieving ourselves, western society does not insist that we use one hand over the other anymore.
I think the difference is that in Western society (at least in the U.S.) most of us tend to follow our social etiquette rather than religious/cultural. Of course, there are muslims here and I am sure that more than a select few follow the cultural/religious laws of Islam, as FB does.

FB, thank you so much for explaining. It is very interesting. Do you know if any of the other cultures/faiths of India, follow the same rules or is this just in the Islamic culture?
By the way, I tried accessing all the links you provided and they all denied access. ???? I definitely have an interest in reading them.

http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ln=eng
Try this link.
I am not sure why it is not accessible.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Islam+QA&btnG=Search&hl=en&safe=off&client=opera&rls=en&hs=Xju
The first three sites mentioned are the ones I linked to..

From what I know about Indians(all religions included), most of them prefer the right hand,giving or receiving things,eating.One of my teachers(a Christian) from India will never take anything if we offer it with our left hand, she would politely ask that we give it with our right hand.

http://www.indax.com/trculture.html
"Left hand right hand - A very important, yet subtle, factor in India is avoiding the use of your left hand when interacting with others. In India, you use your left hand to clean yourself after using the toilet so it has extremely negative associations. ALWAYS give and receive anything with your right hand, or at least with both hands together. If you give change, accept something, or eat something with your left hand, it will be noticed, though politely not commented on. Using your right hand only is one of the easiest things for Westerners to forget to do, but it makes a difference. A friend who has been coming to India for more than a decade, but only recently made it a point to only use his right hand, said he really noticed how much people appreciated him making an attempt. It may mean a bit of extra effort at first, but it will be appreciated, and will soon become automatic. Even if you are left handed, try and adjust as much as possible."

As India is a very mixed country as far as religions go, the practice of using the right hand could have come from any of them, Hindus,Christians,Muslims,Buddists,Sikhs etc.

It's a tradition that dates back to the days before soap was invented and I think it has more to do with table-manners than hygiene today. Think about it: Imagine that you are preparing food, you have a knife in one hand and food in the other.. which hand is the food in?

Besides the sanitary thing...

Up until the seventies teachers use to smack lefties hands if they tried to write with their left hand so left handed people tended to learn to use their right hand for everything.
They thought that if you used your left hand there was something wrong with you and they were correcting the wrong. Then they realized that many artists are left handed and quit making them change from their left.

Left handed myths and misunderstandings (http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/lefty_myths.html)

Howstuffworks "Are left-handers quicker thinkers than righties?" (http://people.howstuffworks.com/left-handed.htm)

Famous Left-Handers (http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/left.html)

Until I was 18 yrs. Old, I only used my right hand. Then an unfortunate accident left me with a broken right hand, and I had to learn how to eat, wipe, write, etc... with my left hand for 6 weeks. Over the years I've become quite talented with both hands. In some country's it is an insult to use the left hand for anything other than in the bathroom.

When I got bored in class, I practiced writing and printing using my left hand. That's what it takes practice. I use what's more convenient.

Feet is somewhat the same way. The right foot normally operates tha accelerator in a car. The left foot really doesn't really need any control until you put a clutch in the equation. Initially it's clumsy, but improves with practice.

Hi Firm,

A long time ago I heard an interesting "twist" on hand shaking from my grandfather:

He told me; acknowledging a person by shaking their right hand was a greeting. However by shaking the right hand you were somewhat assured that the other person could not use that hand to harm you and thus there was no weapon. Obviously; unless they were left handed but most people were and are now right handed. He said this was the origin of handshaking.

The Handshake: Interesting Thing of the Day (http://itotd.com/articles/296/the-handshake)

Left Behind
"I've read at least half a dozen contradictory accounts of the origin of the handshake. Because handshakes clearly predate written history, all these explanations are ultimately somewhat speculative. But the most popular story is that an open right hand showed you were not carrying a weapon; if two men met and displayed empty right hands, this presumably meant a basic level of trust existed that neither would stab the other. In one variant of this story, the handshake evolved from an elbow-to-wrist “patdown” to check for hidden knives; in another, the shaking motion was supposed to dislodge any sharp objects that may have been kept in the sleeve.

Of course, this explanation, while plausible enough, doesn't account for left-handed men, who presumably would have been happy to extend the right hand in greeting while wielding a dagger in the left. But in many parts of the world, since ancient times, the left hand has been considered the “bathroom” hand, the one never used for eating, giving, or receiving—nor, by extension, for greeting—whether you're left-handed or not.

Meanwhile, the “I'm-not-going-to-stab-you” story doesn't tell us why the handshake won out over other greeting gestures in the West. After all, in some cultures the standard greeting (even between people who don't know each other well) is a kiss on one or both cheeks; in others, people hug, rub noses, bow, or even stick out their tongues. Writer Margaret Visser suggests one possibility. As she noted in her book The Way We Are, at one time the English were more demonstrative with their gestures of greeting—for example, English men routinely greeted all women with a kiss on the mouth. As part of the Victorian behavioral “reforms,” public kissing of any kind became socially unacceptable and the handshake came into fashion for both men and women as a convenient way to keep a person at arm's length. So to speak."

But in many parts of the world, since ancient times, the left hand has been considered the “bathroom” hand
I'll bet a lot of "righties" cheat and wipe with their right hand. After all, who's going to know?

I'm not telling which hand I use.

Nohelp4u, I agree with you, with everything that you can carry away that is 'free" to the "touch"(and people not hand washing.) It is simply amazing that we even shake someone's hand, knowing where it probably was.

I agree with you, but did you ask yourself why those people prefer using the right hand for honorable deeds or not, and where does this idea come from. As I am muslim I know that it came from Islam. There are so many things that non muslim ignore, they recently started to find some answers in sicence but how come all these questions were already answered in koran before and they don't know, this must make a human think once again about humanity, Allah (God) and Islam.

Take care all.

Su

ALLAH (GOD) KNOWS.

Su,

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