In Nepal an ornament often says something before anyone speaks. A green-beaded tilhari tells you a woman is married; a jantar shows that a family has asked for protection; a tayo marks a Newar girl passing through a rite of life. The designs change from valley to hill to plain, but almost every one of them carries a meaning as well as its weight in gold.
This is a short history of those ornaments: what they mean, where they come from, and how they are made.
In this guide
Jewellery that carries meaning
| Meaning | Ornaments | How |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage | Tilhari, pote, phuli, naugedi | Given by the groom’s side during the wedding and worn for life |
| Rites of life | Tikma, sheerbandi, tayo, tuki | Worn at Newar Ihi and Bahra ceremonies, weddings and old-age Janko |
| Protection | Jantar | A square amulet holding a mantra written by a priest or monk |
| Devotion | Tayo, crowns, necklaces for deities | Statues of gods and goddesses are dressed in jewellery; the Kumari wears a tayo |
| Belonging | Kantha, chepte sun, bulaki | Worn with a community’s traditional dress |
| Family wealth | Heavy 22K and 24K pieces | Kept, passed down and remade for the next generation |
Where the styles come from
Nepal runs in three belts from north to south: mountains, hills and the Terai plains. Most of the country's distinctive jewellery comes from the hill communities and the Kathmandu Valley.
Map
Regional jewellery traditions
- 1
Kathmandu Valley · Newar
Tayo, luswan, sheerbandi, nyapu shikha, tikma, kalli anklets, tutibaggi
- 2
Pokhara and the western hills · Gurung, Magar
Kantha, naugedi, chepte sun, dhungri, bulaki
- 3
Eastern hills · Limbu (Kirat)
Kantha, bulaki
- 4
Terai plains
Bichhi silver toe rings, worn especially by married women
The Kathmandu Valley: Newar ornaments
Newar jewellery is the most elaborate in Nepal, and much of it belongs to ceremonies. The best known piece is the tayo, a hollow six-sided pendant hung on a necklace of decorated panels. Scholars link its design to the founding legend of the valley in the Svayambhu Purana, in which a lake is drained and the Svayambhu stupa is built. A pair of donor statues from 1804 at Kwa Baha in Patan already show a woman wearing one.
Around the tayo sit other ornaments: the crown-like luswan (“golden flower”) worn by brides, the three-row sheerbandi across the forehead, the five-chain nyapu shikha, the green-stoned tikma necklace that families without one can hire for the day, heavy silver kalli anklets, and the tutibaggi, which the father-in-law places on the bride's feet.
Pokhara and the western hills: Gurung and Magar traditions
In the hills around Pokhara, Gurung and Magar women wear the kantha, a necklace of gold beads joined by small pads of red felt, with their traditional dress. Other hill ornaments include the nine-bead naugedi, flat chepte sun earrings of embossed sheet gold with sun motifs, the flower-shaped dhungri set with rubies, emeralds or pearls, and the bulaki, a nose ornament whose pendant reaches the lips.
Marriage ornaments across the country
The tilhari, pote and phuli are worn by married women across the hills and the Terai. In the Terai, married women also wear silver bichhi toe rings.
Inside a tayo necklace
A tayo necklace, called tayo-bizakani, is built from several named parts, each with its own symbolism. This diagram follows the description of a 19th-century example in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Diagram 1
Anatomy of a tayo-bizakani
- 1
Tayo
The hollow, six-sided pendant. It may hold five unbroken grains of rice or nine gems.
- 2
Nagpas (snake heads)
Always an odd number, usually five to thirteen, each crowned with a gem. Said to guard riches.
- 3
Biza (panels)
Twelve panels, each with a peacock raised in repoussé.
- 4
Paka (clasp)
A round clasp with a twenty-petal flower and a dragon.
- 5
Central gem
Pancha-rashmee: the five directions, five colours and the Five Buddhas.
Ornaments through a Newar woman’s life
Diagram 2
Life rites and the ornaments worn at each
- Childhood
Ihi
A girl’s symbolic marriage. She wears the sheerbandi, the tikma necklace and the silver sathwacha in her hair.
- First menstruation
Bahra
A period of seclusion; the sheerbandi and tikma are worn again, and in some families the tayo.
- Marriage
Wedding
Tayo, luswan or sheerbandi, and the tutibaggi placed on her feet by her father-in-law.
- Old age
Janko
Old-age rites; the first is held at 77 years, 7 months and 7 days. Women who have celebrated Janko traditionally wear tuki ear ornaments.
How traditional pieces are made
Most traditional ornaments are still made by hand, in steps that have changed little over generations.
Diagram 3
From raw gold to finished ornament
- Step 1Designsize, weight and motifs agreed
- Step 2Alloygold melted to the chosen purity
- Step 3Formrolled to sheet, drawn to wire or cast
- Step 4Decoraterepoussé, filigree, granulation
- Step 5Assembleparts soldered, stones set
- Step 6Finishpolished bright, matte or antique
| Technique | What it is | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Repoussé | Metal hammered from the back to raise a design in relief | The peacock panels of a tayo |
| Embossed sheet gold | Thin gold sheet pressed with a pattern | Chepte sun earrings |
| Granulation | Tiny balls of gold fused to a surface to form beaded borders | Borders around the turquoise of a tayo |
| Filigree | Fine twisted gold wire soldered into open, lace-like patterns | Earrings, pendants, bridal sets |
| Stone setting | Gems held in gold collars or claws | Rubies, emeralds and pearls in dhungri; turquoise and coral in Newar pieces |
| Bead stringing | Glass beads, gold beads and felt threaded into strands | Pote, tilhari, naugedi, kantha |
| Fire gilding | Gold and mercury applied to copper alloy, then heated; an older method for ritual pieces | Historic Newar ornaments (mercury is poisonous, so it is not used today) |
Old forms, new wearers
Tastes change. Some old ornaments, such as the dhungri earring and the bulaki, are now seen mostly on older women in remote areas. Others have joined the tradition only recently: the mangalsutra came to Nepali weddings from India in the last few decades, the rani haar has become popular with brides, and chokers, once optional, are now part of most bridal sets.
| Then | Now |
|---|---|
| Heavy pieces made once and kept for life | Lighter versions of traditional designs that can be worn more often |
| Community-specific designs | Designs borrowed across communities, often with an antique finish |
| Pote and tilhari as the main wedding necklaces | Pote and tilhari alongside chokers, rani haar and mangalsutra |
| Old gold melted and remade | Heirloom pieces restored and worn as they are |
Siddhartha Jewellers: our part in the story
Siddhartha Jewellers was founded in Pokhara in 2008. Since then we have served families in the city and the surrounding hills with gold, diamond and silver jewellery, from everyday pieces to complete bridal sets, along with silver plates, idols and puja items.
| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Where | Pokhara, Nepal |
| Collections | Gold, Diamond, Bridal, Antique and Silver Items |
| Open | Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM |
Questions and answers
What is a tayo?
A tayo is a hollow, six-sided gold pendant worn on a necklace of decorated panels and snake heads. It is a Newar ornament worn by brides, by girls at life-cycle rites, and by the Kumari.
What jewellery do Gurung and Magar women wear?
The best known is the kantha, a necklace of gold beads joined by red felt, worn with traditional dress. Other hill ornaments include the naugedi, chepte sun earrings, the dhungri earring and the bulaki nose ornament.
What is a jantar?
A jantar is a square gold or silver amulet that holds a mantra written by a priest or monk. It is worn for protection and good fortune.
Which nose ornaments are traditional in Nepal?
The phuli, a small nose pin worn on the left side, is worn by women of most communities. The bulaki, whose pendant hangs to the lips, is traditional among Magar, Limbu and Thami women.
Sources
- Rubin Museum of Art, Project Himalayan Art Katherine Anne Paul, Tayo-bizakani ritual necklace with naga, peacock and dragon motifs (2023)
- Bhaktapur.com Traditional Newa Jewelry
- Onlinekhabar English Nepal’s 10 most popular jewellery items for women (6 February 2022)
- Onlinekhabar English 11 jewellery items that you cannot miss at weddings in Nepal (1 February 2022)
Written by the team at Siddhartha Jewellers, Pokhara. Facts about history and customs are taken from the sources above; customs vary between families and communities.