Cultural costumes signifies the vibrant reflection with the traditional garments of different ethnic groups of the country. It’s a powerful symbol of history, cultural identifications, heritage and social status. Cultural garments play a vital role in expressing the values, norms and cultural beliefs. Cultural garments have their own stories and memories regarding the ancient days. It helps to foster the belongings and unity of the people living in the country. Nepal has had a wide range of cultures since ancient days. Nepalese have different cultural dresses varying according to their caste and ethnicity. The National dress of the country is Daura Surwal for men and Gunyu Cholo for females.
National Cultural costume of men in Nepal
Daura surwal is the national dress of men living in Nepal. This dress has its own significance since ancient days and has been following the trend till date in Nepal. It is worn in every function like festivals, weeding ceremonies, governmental official ceremonies and while taking part in cultural programs abroad which resembles the values and norms.
Typically, “daura” means clothing of the upper body wear and “surwal” like the lower body wear like trouser. Old age people in Nepal are fond of wearing daura surwal as daily wear as they are familiarized with this dress since their forefathers. This dress has two ties in the shoulder and two ties in the waist. Surwal is loose in the thigh part and fits around the ankles. The round neck of the daura resembles the snake god around the neck of Lord Shiva. Especially, the chest and stomach are double layered while tying in the shoulder and waist which provides warmth and comfort.
In the present context of Nepal, men do not wear daura surwal because of difficulty and they are more influenced by foreign dresses like jeans, pants, T-shirt, jacket to look more modern and civilized. Many garments from other countries are entered in the country with varying cost and quality.
Along with daural suruwal, dhaka topi is also worn for the complete outfit. The fabric was imported from Dhaka (capital city of Bangladesh). Since then, it was recognized as dhaka topi. It has two layers, one is dhaka and the inner layer is thin. Mostly dhaka topi is used by Nepalese officials on different festive times as well as in official events. During the rule of King Mahendra had made the traditional dress code of Nepal for government events. There is a badge of Khukuri infront of the dhaka topi which have specific meaning. Dhaka topi diwas is celebrated every year in Nepal which aims to promote and respect the cultural customs of Nepal.
Historical Significance of Daura Suruwal
Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana; during his official visit to United Kingdom in 19th century which signifies the history of the dress and brought prominence to use daura surwal as a special dress in Nepal. During his visit, the Queen of England had gifted the coat and he wore it over the daura. Since then, wearing coats over the daura came on trend in Nepal.
National Cultural Dress of Women in Nepal
Gunyo cholo is one of the national dress for women in Nepal which symbolizes Nepalese history, cultural values and norms. It has a full sleeve blouse and skirt below. But nowadays, sarees are mostly worn in various functions in Nepal. It is given in one of the ceremonies of the girls, who are around 7 or 8 which signifies the transition period from young girl to a woman. The girl is gifted this dress and they wear it the whole day during this ceremony being beautiful with makeup and gold ornaments.
Traditional and cultural costumes according to various ethics
There are various cultural dresses according to ethnic groups from different communities of different belts of Nepal.
Newari costumes
The population of Newars mostly reside in Kathmandu. They typically wear their cultural dress during religious events, weeding, festivals and official events. It reflects their identity in the community. Newar women wear Hakku Patashi; a black cotton sari along with the red border, a white waistband and a shawl. They wear the ornaments paired with the dress and looks beautiful. This dress have the social identity as unmarried and widows avoid because of the red borders. Red is the symbolic representations of the fertility and menstrual blood in order to honour the life giving aspects of women of Newar community. But nowadays, unmarried girls wear it during various occasions without any hesitation. Men wear tapalan; a knee length double-breasted shirt and suruwal with fitting around the ankles along with a waistcoat and a topi. These words hakku patasi and tapalan are Newari words.
Sherpa costumes
Sherpas are the ethnic groups who live in himalayan part of Nepal. Mountainous regions have extreme cold environments. So, they have warm costumes accordingly made of thick wool. Male Sherpa wear a chuba; a long robe like clothes which wraps around the body keeping them warm. Sherpa Women wear dongra bakhu which is tied at the waist with a sash. These dresses are easy to wear on every occasion. Their cultural dresses attract many tourists in himalayan region especially in Khumbu region which reflects the culture and tradition of Sherpa people which signifies their positivity in preserving it.
Gurung Costumes
Gurung have their own cultural dress which signifies their own identity, values and norms. The traditional dress for men are blouse type shirts (bhoto) and kilt like garments (jama). Bhoto is tied up across the front of the body and jama is wrapped around the waist tied with a belt to fix a khukuri. In this dress, Nepali topi suits more and adds more charm in this dress. Woolen blankets are worn on top of the costumes during the winter season which keeps them warm. Nowadays, they wear these clothes only during festive times, weddings and official events. Gurung women wear blouse (velvet or cotton), tied at the front and phariya, handwoven wrap or shirt along with chaubandi cholo and a headscarf.
Tharu costumes
Tharu people are the habitat of Terai region of Nepal which is very hot for which they have their own costumes which is suitable for this kind of environment. Male tharu wear Mardani (dhoti) and Phad (kachhad-a piece of cloth to cover the lower part of the body). Choli is worn on top and Nahagi is a white dress and Uporona is wrapped around the chest. As the climate is very hot and people have to engage in the field. Farming is their major occupation. They love wearing short and thin clothes because of the hot climate. They wear ornaments made from gold and silver in this dress which looks more unique in comparison to their dresses.
Tamang costumes
Tamang are the natural habitat of the central hilly and himalayan region. They wear a blouse of red or black colour with blue and red sari with horizontal patterns and a patuka of yellow color. Men wear a bhoto (vest), lungi(wrap around pants or skirt) and a hanju (scarf). Nowadays, Tamang dresses are mostly worn during their biggest festive time as Sonam Lhosar which symbolizes the beginning of Tamang new year. Both men and women wear a cap on their head.
Limbu Costumes
Limbu are the habitat of Kirati communities from the eastern part of Nepal. Their dresses represent the vibrant cultural identity of the Kirati community. Men wear shirts and vests where as Women wear a mekhli (wrapped around skirt) with a blouse (chaubandi cholo). They wear these dresses in festivals like Chasok Tangnam. They wear jewelry in this dress which looks more unique and has their own identity.
Magar Costumes
Magar are the largest ethnic group in Nepal and are famous for their vibrant cultural heritages, cultural dresses and distinct identity. Men wear bhoto (vest) and daura suruwal where women wear gunyo cholo (a wrap) decorated with different ornaments.
Rai Costumes
Rai is from the Kirati community from the eastern part of Nepal which have rich representation of their tradition, costumes and cultural values; and norms. Mostly, women have the handcrafted gunyo cholo, fariya printed with flowers (lungi). Cholo or blouse is made of fabric (Dhaka). They look more beautiful when they are well decorated with traditional accessories like bulaki, sirbandi, patuka. Men have the daura suruwal outfit along with a waist coat and scarf. These dresses are worn in dance programs, festivals and wedding ceremonies.
Cultural costumes are not worn for joys and looking good; it has powerful representation of the history, artistic dimensions and cultural values and norms of the certain ethical groups associated with varying geographical regions. Priority should be given for these dresses which should be worn on special days like traditional festivals, theatrical performances, religious ceremonies and official events which influence cultural diversity. Schools in Nepal prioritize their students to wear various cultural dresses according to their caste on school programs like Teej, children’s day, parents day and cultural programs. It helps young generations to understand the importance of cultural dress and passing the trend in future generations.
