The Origin of
the Left Hand Shake.
The Left hand
shake goes
way back to the origins of Scouting, and was inspired
like many
original Scouting concepts by Baden-Powell’s Army career.
When Captain
Baden-Powell
entered the capital city of the Ashanti people in 1896 he
was met by
one of the chiefs who came to him holding out his left hand. B.P.
held
out his right hand in return but the Chief said "No, in my country the
bravest
of the brave shake with the left hand"
This was because
African
Warriors typically carried a spear in the right hand and a
shield in
the left. To shake left handed meant you had to put down your shield
and
put your life in the hands of the other person.
So began the
Left hand
shake of the World Wide Brotherhood of Scouting.
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Some Famous Scouts.
Did you know that King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden was en Eagle Scout?
And so are:
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| Australia |
Austria |
On my honour, I
promise
That I
will do my best
To do
my duty to my God,
and
To the
Queen of Australia,
To
help other people, and
To
live by the Scout Law. |
I promise,
To do my best,
To
serve God and my
country,
To
help my fellow people,
I
promise on my duty
And to
live according to
the Scout/Guide Law. |
| Brazil |
Chile. |
I promise, on my honour
To make the best I can to do my duty to my God and my country,
Help the other in any opportunity,
And, live by the Scout Law. |
I promise on my honour
To do all that I can to do my duty to
God and my country,
To help others at all times
And to obey the Scout Law.
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| China |
Israel |
I wish to join Boy Scouts of
China, and on my
honor,
I promise that I will obey the Scout Law,
and all my life do my best:
To do my duty to God, be friendly to the people and become a rightness
Chinese citizen.
To help others and serve the public at all times.
To strive to make myself rich in knowledge, perfect in character, and
healthy in physical constitution. |
I promise to do my
best to
fulfill
my duties to my God and
my country,
To help other people at all times,
And to obey the Scout Law |
| Turkey |
South
Africa |
On my honour, I will promise,
To do duties to God and my country,
To help others at all time
To obey the scouting laws,
To be physically strong, mentally awake and morally strong. |
On my honour, I promise
That I will do my very best To help others at all times
And to obey the Scout Law. |
The Scout
Promise in other lands!!
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Did
you know that there is a memorial in Washington DC commemorating Scouts
and Scouters?
This memorial to the Boy
Scouts of America stands on the site of the first Boy Scout Jamboree in
1937. It is one of the few memorials in Washington, D.C. commemorating
a living cause. The funds to build this memorial were raised by Scout
units throughout the United States, and each donor signed one of
several scrolls that were placed in the pedestal of the statue. The
memorials  was unveiled in a
ceremony on November 7, 1964. The statue was accepted for the country
by Associate Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark, who noted that the day
marked his fiftieth anniversary as an Eagle Sco ut.
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The bronze statue consists
of three figures. The Boy Scout represents the aspirations of all past,
present, and future Scouts
throughout the world. The male figure exemplifies physical, mental, and
moral fitness, love of country, good citizenship, loyalty, honor, and
courage. He carries a helmet, a symbol of masculine attire. The female
figure symbolizes enlightenment with the love of God and fellow man,
justice, freedom, and democracy. She holds the eternal flame of God's
Holy Spirit.
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