Shorts History of Dhaka.
Dhaka is a textile that holds special significance in Nepal. It was once only made in a place called Palpa, in Western Nepal. It is where it gets its name from that is Palpali Dhaka. Dhaka is a beautiful hand-woven fabric from Nepal, with infinite color and pattern possibilities! It was traditionally hand-woven on wooden looms in Palpa and the hilly areas of Eastern Nepal passed down from one generation to the next.
Funnily enough, Dhaka is actually the capital of Bangladesh. Back when Prime Minister Junga Bahadur Rana ruled Nepal (1846-1877), his daughter Damber Kumari lived in Banaras(Varanasi) in India. She uses Chamua Dhaka fabric for her clothes. This particular fabric was adapted from a textile called Dhaka that was Hand-woven in, Dhaka, then in the undivided Indian province of Bengal. The cloth was soft, fine, and fairly colorful, and Dambar Kumari loved the fabric.
The Legacy of Dhaka
Dhaka is an exquisite, one-of-a-kind cotton fabric creatively hand-woven into an infinite variety of inspired geometric patterns and designs that feature sumptuous color combinations. Dhaka, in essence, is a truly indigenous and traditional form of artistic expression that exemplifies the Nepali mastery of craftsmanship. Dhaka fabric can be used for interior decoration, such as upholstery, curtains, table runners, table mats, wall hangings; for one of kind attire, including designer outfits found in boutiques; and for clothing accessories such as scarves and handbags.
Dhaka is a traditional fabric of the indigenous Limbu people of eastern Nepal. At present, it is gaining popularity in all cultures and around the world. It has its origin in the Tehrathum district of Nepal. People from this generation teach the next generation about the tradition of making Dhaka. Dhaka fabric represents a Limbu cultural dress. Furthermore, the Nepali Topi of men and traditional Nepali women shawls are some popular Dhaka fabric products.
Knowledge of traditional weaving skills had been quickly fading in Nepal with the introduction of power looms, but some of the groups such as are helping to create a resurgence of this kind and thus protecting and maintaining such skills for present and future generations. Anyone who has visited Nepal will see the geometric Dhaka designs on the traditional Nepalese clothing, shawls or traditional men’s ‘Topi’ hats, a well-known heritage symbol of Nepalese cultural dress. The designs are all very different and the weaver usually does it by eye, creating the patterns from small bobbins of yarn pulled through the loom warp, using many.
