Kissing: the intimate act used to express feelings o f love, passion, affection, respect, friendship, greetings and many more. A kiss can vary widely in different cultures, for example, a kiss can be used in formal greetings, or ritual and traditional formalities, or for religious reasons, as well as being used as an intimate expression of love. But where did kissing come from? How has the act evolved over time?
Kissing Through History
Ancient Indian Kissing
The
earliest evidence of kissing came from Indian Vedic Sanskrit texts that
date back to around 1500 BC. In these texts there are descriptions of
people kissing. However, while the texts don’t mention the word ‘kiss’,
there are references to ‘licking’ and ‘drinking moisture of the lips’,
which historians believe refers to the act of intimate kissing. There is
also an epic Indian poem called ‘Mahabharata’ that describes the act of
kissing on the lips as a sign of affection. The ‘Mahabharata’ was
originally passed down orally for several hundred years, before being
written down and recorded properly around 350 AD. It was also around
this point in time when the Vatsyayana Kamasutra (better known as the Kama Sutra)
was established. Considered to be the standard work on human sexual
behaviors, the Karma Sutra included an entire section on the different
ways of lavishing kisses on a lover.
Roman Empire Kissing
Kissing doesn’t really surface in the Western world until the days of the Roman Empire,
where Romans would use kisses to greet family and friends, as well as
express feelings of love, and to pay their respects to ruler’s by
kissing their hand. The Romans had three differentcategories for
kissing, ‘Osculum’ was a kiss on the cheek, ‘Basium’ was a kiss on the
lips, and ‘Savolium’ was a deep kiss. The Romans are responsible for
beginning out modern day traditions when
it comes to kissing. In ancient Rome, a couple became betrothed by
kissing passionately on the lips in front of a group of people. The term
‘sealed with a kiss’ also comes from ancient Rome, where were used like
handshakes to seal legal and business agreements and even during
political campaigns.
Religious Kissing History
In
the early Christian Church, Christians would use kissing as a way to
greet one another. This greeting, known as an ‘Osculum Pacis’, or holy
kiss, was believed to transfer the spirit between the two people. It was
also used to establish family bond between the members of the church
and to strengthen the community, as well as separating Christians and
non-Christians.
Kissing in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, kissing was a demonstration of
a person’s social standing. Subjects of a King would kiss his ring,
robe, hands or even the ground beneath his feet to show respect. This
kind of respect was also shown toward the Pope. A kiss was also used as a
greeting between feudal lords and vassals as a show of trust. It was
also during this time that many men did not know how to read and write,
so a kiss was used as a legal way to seal contracts, as it had been done
in ancient Rome. An ‘X’ would be drawn on the line and kissed, making
it legal. This symbol of a kiss has been carried over into modern day,
with ‘X’ being written to represent a kiss.
Kissing Today
During
the Industrial Revolution, the kiss became replaced by the handshake as
a form of agreement between to people when it came to legal and business matters.
By 1872, Charles Darwin had theorized that due to the global diversity
and popularity of kissing, humans must possess an innate desire to want
to connect with others in this way. Darwin surmised that kissing is
rooted deep within our evolutionary past, but is influenced by our
social-cultural traditions, rules and customs.
The
term “French kiss” came into the English language around 1923 as an
insult towards the French culture which was thought to be overly
concerned with sex. In France, it’s called a tongue kiss or soul kiss
because if done right, it feels as if two souls are merging.
Kissing
occurs in most cultures around the world today, but there are many
different views on what is appropriate when it comes to displays of
affection. In Middle Eastern countries public displays of affection,
including holding hands, cuddling and kissing can be punishable by law.
In some Asian countries, while not illegal, kissing is considered a
private activity, and PDA is frowned upon.
Kissing Conclusion
Scientists,
scholars and anthropologists are divided over whether kissing is a
learned or instinctual behaviour. There are also many theories behind
where kissing evolved from, including when mothers orally passed chewed
food to their infants during the weaning period, or that kissing evolved
from prospective mates sniffing each other’s pheromones to
check for biological compatibility. Another theory suggests it was used
to judge a person as a potential mate. Whatever the reason for the
development of kissing, it has come through history as a symbol and
expression of human feelings.
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