Ved_Prakash_-_Solang_Valley_2014-05-10_2547

Himachali cap (Bushehri topi, Pahari topi, Kinnauri topi) is a distinctive

headdress Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or fo ...

associated with Himachal Pradesh's culture. It is a part of the traditional dress of many Pahari inhabitants.

History

Stamp of India - 2017 - Colnect 753869 - Himachali Cap

The Himachali cap is historically related to

Kinnaur Kinnaur district () is a mountainous district located in the northeast part of the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. Kinnaur district borders Tibet (China) to the east, the state of Uttarakhand to the south, Shimla district to the southwest, Ku ...

that was formerly part of the Bushahr Kingdom. It reached other parts of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

via the princely state of

Bushahr Bushahr, also spelt as 'Bashahr' and 'Bussahir' or 'Bushair' was a Rajput princely state in India during the British Raj. It was located in the hilly western Himalaya promontory bordering Tibet. Bushahar was eighty four miles long, sixty two ...

and

Kullu Kullu () is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about north of the airport ...

, since Bushahr kingdom traded with many neighboring regions Including Tibet. The weaving style and materials used for these caps differ from each other. Kinnaur's traditional cap also called Thepang, feature two distinct velvet variations: Maroon and green, historically signifying different caste affiliations. Green for

khas Khas peoples or Khas Tribes, (; ) popularly known as Khashiya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, in what is now the South Asian country of Nepal, as well as the Indian stat ...

or Khashiya, while the maroon for

Doma (caste) The Doma (), also known as ''Dom'', ''Domra'', ''Domba'', ''Domaka'', ''Dombara'' and ''Dombari'', are castes, or groups, scattered across India. The Doma/Dom were a caste of drummers. According to Tantra scriptures, the Dom were engaged in the ...

. Typical green colored Kinnauri/Bushahri cap is also worn in the adjoining areas of

Garhwal Himalayas The Garhwal Himalayas are mountain ranges located in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Geology This range is also a part of the Himalayan Sivalik Hills, the outer most hills of the Himalaya located in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Major p ...

, especially in

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

(

Jaunsar-Bawar Jaunsar-Bawar is a hilly region in Garhwal division of Uttarakhand, northern India. It is located in the north-west of Dehradun district, along the border with the state of Himachal Pradesh. Ethnically, Jaunsar-Bawar comprises two regions, inh ...

Uttarkashi Uttarkashi is a town and the headquarters of Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India. Geography Uttarkashi is located at . It has an average elevation of . Demographics India census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is t ...

and

Tehri Garhwal Tehri Garhwal is a district in the hill state of Uttarakhand, India. Its administrative headquarters is at New Tehri. The district has a population of 618,931 (2011 census), a 2.35% increase over the previous decade. It is surrounded by Rudrap ...

. A similar, but different variety of red colored cap is worn in Uttarkashi and the neighbouring areas of Garhwal. These caps are more prevalent in the upper districts of Himachal and Garhwal. In Garhwal these caps are also known as Sikoli.

Material and Shape

Himachali caps are one of the popular

arts and crafts of Himachal Pradesh Among arts and crafts that come out of Himachal Pradesh state in India are carpets, leather works, shawls, metalware, woodwork and paintings. Pashmina shawl is the product which is highly in demand not only in Himachal but all over the country. ...

. The Himachali cap is usually made of

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

, and the shape is typically round or boat shape.

Traditional wear

The Himachali cap is an ingrained part of daily wear in Himachal, and it is commonly worn during local festivities, religious functions and marriages. Himachali caps are a representation of cultural identity. People in Himachal consider the cap as a point of pride, like a turban for

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. This topi (Hindi for cap) is a representation of HP’s cultural identity and is considered a symbol of pride for the Himachalis.

Political identity

The colour of the Himachali caps has been an indicator of political loyalties in the hill state for a long period of time with

Congress party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement t ...

leaders like

Virbhadra Singh Virbhadra Singh (; 23 June 19348 July 2021) was an Indian politician who served 6 terms and 21 years as the 4th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. A leader of the Indian National Congress party, he was elected 9 times as a Member of Legislati ...

donning caps with green band and the rival

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Since 2014, ...

leader

Prem Kumar Dhumal Prem Kumar Dhumal (pronounced ; born 10 April 1944) is an Indian politician who has twice served as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, from March 1998 to March 2003 and again from 1 January 2008 to 25 December 2012. He was the Bharatiya Ja ...

wearing a cap with maroon band.

Gallery

File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi dedicates to the nation the World’s longest Highway tunnel - Atal Tunnel, in Manali, Himachal Pradesh on October 03, 2020 (7).jpg,

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

in Himachali cap File:Prem Kumar Dhumal.jpg,

in Himachali cap. File:Virbhadra Singh HP.jpg,

in Himachali cap. File:JRThakur.jpg,

Jai Ram Thakur Jai Ram Thakur (born 6 January 1965) is an Indian politician, and was the Chief Minister of the state of Himachal Pradesh from 2017 to 2022. He is serving his sixth term as MLA in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, winning continuously ...

in Himachali cap. File:A. K. Antony.jpg,

A. K. Antony Arackaparambil Kurien Antony (born 28 December 1940) is an Indian lawyer, attorney and statesman who served as the Minister of Defence of India from 2006 to 2014, making him the longest serving Defence Minister in India. He previously served as ...

in Himachali cap. File:Himachali Caps (87069779).jpeg, Himachali Caps

References