General Information about Item:

• Genre: Gesture
• Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hanover NH
• Date Collected: November 9, 2019
• Country of Origin: Bermuda
• Informant: Rebecca Byrne

Informant Data: 

Rebecca Byrne is my mother, a 53 year old female born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She has traveled extensively and spent time living in England, Japan, Bermuda, Switzerland and the United States. She lived in Bermuda for ten years and visits occasionally to see friends. Rebecca currently lives in Montreal, Canada.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: Rebecca learned this gesture from a neighbor shortly after moving to Bermuda. She was notified that it is common on the island to lift a finger to acknowledge friends or acquaintances when passing them on the road. The gesture is used as a greeting, and is similar in meaning to waving but does not require the lifting of a hand off the steering wheel. It is a very popular gesture, to the extent that it would be seen as rude to pass someone you know while driving and does not perform the gesture. Rebecca has been informed by Australian friends that the gesture is also common in rural areas in Australia.
• Cultural Context: Bermuda is a small island with a population of 65,000. The island is a British Colony and geographically proximal to the United States, so the culture contains both British and American customs. Due to Bermuda’s small area, it is common for locals to run into people they know on the roads. Bermudians think of themselves as extremely friendly and pride themselves on creating a strong community on the island.

Item: The gesture is performed while driving by raising one’s forefinger off the steering wheel and rotating the wrist to move the finger back and forth. It is accompanied by eye contact with the person one is trying to acknowledge, and optionally, a sounding of the car horn or a verbal greeting yelled out the window

Associated file (a video):

Informant’s Comments: Rebecca noted that Bermuda has a local celebrity, Johnny Barnes, who, from 1986 to 2015, stood every morning on one of the busiest roundabouts to wave and blow kisses at traffic. She believes the phenomenon of waving at other drivers in this way may be linked to Bermudian’s appreciation of Johnny Barnes and tendency to wave to him.

Collector’s Comments: The fact that this gesture is common in both rural and island cultures makes practical sense in that someone who lives in a small community has increased likelihood of regularly encountering people they know while driving and needing a way to acknowledge these people. Since both Australia and Bermuda are influenced by British culture, it is possible that this gesture was originally common in the United Kingdom. While the reminder of friendliness that Johnny Barnes brings may make this gesture more popular, it likely stemmed from the need for a greeting that can be safely performed while driving within a close community.

Collector’s Name: Sophie Byrne

Tags/Keywords:

• Hand Gesture
• Bermuda
• Greeting