'Dauda' costume wear by unmarried girls is on the verge of extinction

By Our Correspondent,Humla, Feb. 2: The Dauda dress, worn by unmarried girls in the rural parts of the southern region of Sudurpashchim Province, has nearly disappeared.

With the increasing availability and popularity of “modern” clothes, girls in these areas have stopped wearing this native dress. Kali Bahadur Thapa of Adanchuli Rural Municipality–2, who is also a local media person, said that the traditional 'Dauda' costume was going extinct.

The garb, which was prepared from cotton using indigenous weaving techniques, used to be reflect that a girl was unmarried. 

Married women would wear ‘Dhoti’ and ‘Choli’.

“Families used to have two sets of Dauda made for each of their daughters,” Thapa reminisced. Especially in festivals and fairs, young women would look attractive in the same type of dress.

Thapa said that due to attraction towards modern fashion, this and other traditional attires had disappeared. Although modernity has its place, he believes that clothes that reflect the identity should also be preserved.