While performing the sembah, one clasps their palms together solemnly in a prayer-like fashion called suhun or susuhun in Javanese; or menyusun jari sepuluh ("to arrange the ten fingers") in Indonesian and Malay, placing them in front of their chest and moving the pressed palms up to their chin, or all the way up until their thumbs touch the tip of their nose, while bowing slightly.

[3] Sembah is endemic and prevalent in Nusantara regional cultures that shares dharmic heritage — such as Balinese, Javanese, and Sundanese even as far as Malay as the testament of Indonesian Hindu-Buddhist past.

[4] The term sembah, however, curiously sounds similar and cognate to Cambodian sampeah, which suggests their common origin or shared connections.

The word sembahyang in Indonesian and Malaysian Malay today is made synonymous with the Islamic salat ritual, meaning prayer or worship.

The sembah originated from an ancient greeting of reverence that was done to show neither involves prostration, or clasping the hands palms together and bowing to the ground.

By the 6th to 9th century, Hindu-Buddhist civilization stood firmly in Java, Bali and Sumatra, as the kingdom of Srivijaya and Medang Mataram rose.

Sembah is expected among Javanese aristocratic circle of ningrat and priyayi, where the height of raised clasped-hand corresponds to the social stature of the person in question.

[8] Sembah also has become incorporated in standard protocol towards Malay royalty where forehead level is preferred;[3] it is still continued on in Malaysia (particular in functions related to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong)[9] and Brunei.

In Balinese version however, the word often spoken with the sembah when greeting somebody is om swastiastu,[14] which is cognate to sawatdee in Thai, both originated from Sanskrit svasti.