Hospitality

For other uses, see Hospitality (disambiguation).

This article is about the social concept and practice of hospitality. For the commercial activity of travel services, see Hospitality management studies and Hospitality industry.

Bringing in the boar's head. In heraldry, the boar's head was sometimes used as symbol of hospitality, often seen as representing the host's willingness to feed guests well.^[1] It is likewise the symbol of a number of inns and taverns.^[2]

Trestles in the medieval House of Stratford coat of arms:
The trestle (also tressle, tressel and threstle) in heraldry is also used to mean hospitality, as historically the trestle was a tripod used both as a stool and a table support at banquets.^[3]

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Hospitality refers to the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes hospitality in the Encyclopédie as the virtue of a great soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity.^[4]

Hospitality ethics is a discipline that studies this usage of hospitality.

Contents

• 
  1 Etymology
  


• 
  2 Historical practice
  


• 
  3 Global concepts
  
  • 
    3.1 Ancient Greece
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 India and Nepal
    
  
  
  • 
    3.3 Judaism
    
  
  
  • 
    3.4 Christianity
    
  
  
  • 
    3.5 Pashtun
    
  
  
  • 
    3.6 Islam
    
  
  
  • 
    3.7 Celtic cultures
    
  
  


• 
  4 Current usage
  
  • 
    4.1 Anthropology of hospitality
    
  
  


• 
  5 See also
  


• 
  6 References
  


• 
  7 Further reading
  

Etymology

Derives from the Latin hospes,^[5] meaning "host", "guest", or "stranger". Hospes is formed from hostis, which means "stranger" or "enemy" (the latter being where terms like "hostile" derive). By metonymy the Latin word 'Hospital' means a guest-chamber, guest's lodging, an inn.^[6] Hospes is thus the root for the English words host (where the p was dropped for convenience of pronunciation), hospitality, hospice, hostel and hotel.

Historical practice

In ancient cultures hospitality involved welcoming the stranger and offering him food, shelter, and safety.^[7]

Global concepts

Ancient Greece

In Ancient Greece, hospitality was a right, with the host being expected to make sure the needs of his guests were met. The ancient Greek term xenia, or theoxenia when a god was involved, expressed this ritualized guest-friendship relation. In Greek society a person's ability to abide by the laws of hospitality determined nobility and social standing. The Stoics regarded hospitality as a duty inspired by Zeus himself.^[4]

India and Nepal

In India and Nepal hospitality is based on the principle Atithi Devo Bhava, meaning "the guest is God". This principle is shown in a number of stories where a guest is revealed to be a god who rewards the provider of hospitality. From this stems the Indian or Nepal practice of graciousness towards guests at home and in all social situations. The Tirukkuṛaḷ, an ancient Indian work on ethics and morality, explains the ethics of hospitality through its verses 81 through 90, dedicating a separate chapter on it (Chapter 9).^[8][9]

Judaism

Mosaic at San Vitale, Ravenna, Abraham and the angels, pre-547

Judaism praises hospitality to strangers and guests based largely on the examples of Abraham and Lot in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 18:1–8 and 19:1–8). In Hebrew, the practice is called hachnasat orchim, or "welcoming guests". Besides other expectations, hosts are expected to provide nourishment, comfort, and entertainment for their guests,^[10] and at the end of the visit, hosts customarily escort their guests out of their home, wishing them a safe journey.^[11]

Christianity

In Christianity, hospitality is a virtue which is a reminder of sympathy for strangers and a rule to welcome visitors.^[12] This is a virtue found in the Old Testament, with, for example, the custom of the foot washing of visitors or the kiss of peace.^[13][14] It was taught by Jesus in the New Testament. Indeed, Jesus said that those who had welcomed a stranger had welcomed him.^[15] Some Western countries have developed a host culture for immigrants, based on the bible.^[16]

Pashtun

One of the main principles of Pashtunwali is Melmastia. This is the display of hospitality and profound respect to all visitors (regardless of race, religion, national affiliation or economic status) without any hope of remuneration or favour. Pashtuns will go to great lengths to show their hospitality.^[17][18][19]

Islam

Islam highly recommends one another to say peace be upon you salam Wa Alaikum to one another as Muhammad had said,
Muslims are obliged to treat their guest with kindness and peace even prisoners (in war), As Muhammad had said in authentic sources and verses from the Quran

Abu Aziz ibn Umair reported: I was among the prisoners of war on the day of the battle of Badr. Muhammad had said, “I enjoin you to treat the captives well.” After I accepted Islam, I was among the Ansar (Inhabitants of Madinah) and when the time of lunch or dinner arrived, I would feed dates to the prisoners for I had been fed bread due to the command of Muhammad. al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr 18444

Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: 16:125 Quran

Good hospitality is crucial in Islam even in business According to another report, Muhammad passed by a pile of food in the market. He put his hand inside it and felt dampness, although the surface was dry. He said:
“O owner of the food, what is this?’
The man said, ‘It was damaged by rain, O Messenger of God.’
He said, ‘Why did you not put the rain-damaged food on top so that people could see it! Whoever cheats us is not one of us.” (Saheeh Muslim)

Celtic cultures

Celtic societies also valued the concept of hospitality, especially in terms of protection. A host who granted a person's request for refuge was expected not only to provide food and shelter for his/her guest, but to make sure they did not come to harm while under their care.^[20]

Current usage

In the West today hospitality is rarely a matter of protection and survival and is more associated with etiquette and entertainment. However, it still involves showing respect for one's guests, providing for their needs, and treating them as equals. Cultures and subcultures vary in the extent to which one is expected to show hospitality to strangers, as opposed to personal friends or members of one's ingroup.

Anthropology of hospitality

Jacques Derrida offers a model to understand hospitality that divides unconditional hospitality from conditional hospitality. Over the centuries, philosophers have devoted considerable attention to the problem of hospitality.^[21] However, hospitality offers a paradoxical situation (like language) since inclusion of those who are welcomed in the sacred law of hospitality implies others will be rejected. Julia Kristeva (1991) alerts readers to the dangers of “perverse hospitality”, which consists of taking advantage of the vulnerability of aliens to dispossess them.^[22] Hospitality serves to reduce the tension in the process of host-guest encounters, producing a liminal zone that combines curiosity about others and fear of strangers.^[23] In general terms, the meaning of hospitality centres on the belief that strangers should be assisted and protected while traveling.^[24] However, not all voices are in agreement with this concept. Professor Anthony Pagden describes how the concept of hospitality was historically manipulated to legitimate the conquest of Americas by imposing the right of free transit, which was conducive to the formation of the modern nation-state. This suggests that hospitality is a political institution which can be ideologically deformed to oppress others.^[25]

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Hospitality

Look up hospitality in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• CouchSurfing


• Hospitality management studies


• 
  Hospitality services, modern-day hospitality networks


• Hotel manager


• Maître d'hôtel


• Reciprocal altruism


• Reciprocity (social psychology)


• Reciprocity (cultural anthropology)


• 
  

References

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

1. 
   ^ Wade, William Cecil (1898). The Symbolism of Heraldry. London: G. Redway. pp. 31, 67. 
   


2. 
   ^ Lower, Mark Anthony (1845). The Curiosities of Heraldry. London: J.R. Smith. p. 73. 
   


3. 
   ^ Guillim, John. "A Display of Heraldry" 1724
   


4. 
   ^ ^ab Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de. "Hospitality." The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Sophie Bourgault. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2013. Web. [fill in today's date in the form 18 Apr. 2009 and remove square brackets]. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0002.761>. Trans. of "Hospitalité," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 8. Paris, 1765.
   


5. 
   ^ C. Lewis, Elementary Latin Dictionary (Oxford Univ. Press, 2000), p. 371.
   


6. 
   ^ Cassell's Latin Dictionary, revised by Marchant, J & Charles J., 260th. Thousand
   


7. 
   ^ Pohl, Christine D., Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1999 ISBN 9780802844316
   


8. 
   ^ Tirukkuṛaḷ Archived 2014-12-16 at the Wayback Machine. verses 71-80
   


9. 
   ^ Pope, GU (1886). Thirukkural English Translation and Commentary (PDF). W.H. Allen, & Co. p. 160. 
   


10. 
    ^ Kagan, Yisrael Meir (1888). Ahavath chesed : the Love of Kindness (2nd, rev. ed.). Warsaw: Feldheim. p. 284. ISBN 0873061675. 
    


11. 
    ^ Babylonian Talmud Sotah, 46B
    


12. 
    ^ Alain Montandon, L'hospitalité au XVIIIe siècle, Presses Universitaires Blaise Pascal, France, 2000, p. 12
    


13. 
    ^ Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 458
    


14. 
    ^ Lawrence Cunningham, Keith J. Egan, Christian Spirituality: Themes from the Tradition, Paulist Press, USA, 1996, p. 196
    


15. 
    ^ Gideon Baker, Hospitality and World Politics, Springer, UK, 2013, p. 159
    


16. 
    ^ J. Olaf Kleist, Irial Glynn, History, Memory and Migration: Perceptions of the Past and the Politics of Incorporation, Palgrave Macmillan, USA, 2012, p. 113
    


17. 
    ^ Banting, Erinn (2003). Afghanistan the People. Crabtree Publishing Company. p. 14. ISBN 0-7787-9335-4. Retrieved 2010-10-29. 
    


18. 
    ^
    Schultheis, Rob (2008). Hunting Bin Laden: How Al-Qaeda Is Winning the War on Terror. New York: Skyhorse. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-60239-244-1. 
    


19. 
    ^
    Hussain, Rizwan (2005). Pakistan and the Emergence of Islamic Militancy in Afghanistan. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 221. ISBN 0-7546-4434-0. 
    


20. 
    ^ Charles MacKinnon, Scottish Highlanders (1984, Barnes & Noble Books); page 76
    


21. 
    ^ Derrida, J. (2000). “Hospitality”. Angelaki: Journal of Theoretical Humanities,5(3), 3-18.
    


22. 
    ^ Kristeva, J. (1991). Extranjeros para nosotros mismos, trad. de X. Gispert, Barcelona, Plaza & Janes Editores (Hombre y Sociedad).
    


23. 
    ^ Graburn, N. H. (1983). “The anthropology of tourism”. Annals of tourism research, 10(1), 9-33.
    


24. 
    ^ Lashley, C. (1995). Towards an understanding of employee empowerment in hospitality services. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 7(1), 27-32.
    


25. 
    ^ Pagden, A. (1995). Lords of all the worlds: ideologies of empire in Spain, Britain and France c. 1500-c. 1850. Yale University Press.
    

Further reading

• Danny Meyer (2006) Setting the Table : The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business


• Christine Jaszay (2006). Ethical Decision-Making in the Hospitality Industry
  


• Karen Lieberman & Bruce Nissen (2006). Ethics in the Hospitality And Tourism Industry
  


• Rosaleen Duffy and Mick Smith. The Ethics of Tourism Development
  


• Conrad Lashley and Alison Morrison. In Search of Hospitality
  


• 
  Hospitality: A Social Lens by Conrad Lashley and Alison Morrison


• 
  The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg


• 
  Customer Service and the Luxury Guest by Paul Ruffino


• 
  Fustel de Coulanges. The Ancient City: Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome
  


• Bolchazy. Hospitality in Antiquity: Livy's Concept of Its Humanizing Force
  


• Jacques Derrida (2000). Of Hospitality. Trans. Rachel Bowlby. Stanford: Stanford University Press.


• James A. W. Heffernan (2014). Hospitality and Treachery in Western Literature. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.


• Steve Reece (1993). The Stranger's Welcome: Oral Theory and the Aesthetics of the Homeric Hospitality Scene. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.


• Mireille Rosello (2001). Postcolonial Hospitality. The Immigrant as Guest. Stanford University Press.


• Clifford J. Routes (1999). Travel and Translation in the Late Twentieth Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.


• John B. Switzer (2007). "Hospitality" in Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.


• Immanuel Velikovsky (1982). Mankind in Amnesia. Garden City, New York: Doubleday.


• Christian Hänggi (2009). Hospitality in the Age of Media Representation. New York/Dresden: Atropos Press.


• Thomas Claviez, ed. (2013). The Conditions of Hospitality: Ethics, Politics, and Aesthetics on the Threshold of the Possible. Bronx: Fordham University Press.

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