Rai Topi, White Suiting Cap with Gold Ribbon Band

Rai men wear a tall white topi with their traditional dress at Sakela, the Kirat festival danced at Ubhauli in spring and Udhauli after the harvest, and at weddings and community gatherings in eastern Nepal, Darjeeling and Sikkim. The Kirat Rai headdress, known as the sayamsang or pagari, is described as being arrayed on the head like a crown, and this cap is the tailored form of that idea: white, upright and finished in gold.

The body is white suiting cloth stitched in horizontal ridges that give the cylinder its structure, with a gold brocade ribbon running around the base. At the front a tall rectangular crest of the same white cloth, edged in gold ribbon, stands upright above the brow, and two long gold-edged tails fall from the back of the cap down the shoulders, moving with the wearer in the Sili dances.

Wear it with the Rai men’s dress for Sakela, or with a white daura suruwal for a wedding; it completes the complete set of Nepali topis for festival days. For everyday festival wear across all communities, the printed dhaka topi in seven designs is the companion piece. Each cap is stitched for Bhutib in the Eastern Himalayan hills.

Questions buyers ask

What is the upright panel at the front? A stiffened crest of white cloth edged in gold ribbon, sewn to the front of the crown. It is what gives the Rai topi its crown-like line in the Sakela dance.

When is it worn? For Sakela, the Kirat Rai festival held at Ubhauli in spring and Udhauli in November or December, and for weddings and cultural programmes.

What size is it? One free size that fits adult heads; the ridged body holds the cylinder upright. For a child or a closer fit, order the free size and give us the head measurement when Bhutib confirms your order, and we tailor-make the cap to that size.