Damai Tribe: The Nepal Caste of Tailors and Musical Bands

I was once invited to the village of a Damai person I knew, where I spent some time eating a meal at their home; although the exterior of the village appeared very cluttered and even had a somewhat ruined atmosphere compared to other settlements, the interior of the house was very well maintained and thoroughly cleaned, and the food was delicious. My impression of the Damai people was that they were friendly and somewhat reserved.

Traditional Occupations of the Damai

The Damai tribe is one of the Aryan ethnic groups based in the hilly regions of Nepal, and they belonged to the Dalit category under Nepal's old caste system. Even today, when the abolition of the caste system and the elimination of caste discrimination are promoted, the reality is that they still face contempt. The Damai were a caste responsible for tailoring clothes and playing in traditional musical bands, and many Damai people still work as tailors today. Since many people in Nepal still wear traditional ethnic clothing, there are many fabric shops and tailoring shops. In these places, Damai people often run their own tailoring businesses or work as tailors alongside shops that sell fabric; nowadays, their business styles are carried out freely. Furthermore, while the musical bands involve playing traditional instruments, because they are familiar with music, they are often active in the music scene as accompanists for folk music. However, people from all castes participate in the media industry as musicians, singer-songwriters, and music producers active in Nepal's entertainment world, so it is not a situation where the Damai are leading.

In particular, the Damai tribe are invited to perform music at weddings of all castes. The music played at weddings always has a specific base melody, which is called Panche Baaja. Panche means five, and Baaja means musical instruments.
There is a caste related to music called the Gaine tribe; while the Gaine's family business is singing as minstrels using a small guitar-like instrument called a sarangi, the Damai are different in that they perform more formal and ritualistic music.

The appearance of the Damai people

There appear to be two distinct lineages in the facial features of the Damai people: those resembling South Indian populations and those resembling Western populations. Occasionally, individuals possess very unique and striking features. There are also instances where they are indistinguishable from other Aryan castes in the hilly regions. In general, their physical stature seems robust compared to other groups, which may be attributed to a diet relatively high in meat consumption.

Damai Surnames and Their Link to Work

Within the Damai community, surnames were determined by the occupations people held; for example, Pariyar meant a tailor, and Nagarchi meant a musical performer. Other surnames include Ghaley, Bardewa, Dholi, Nepali, Sundas, Sunam, Das, and Darji.

Caste Discrimination Against the Damai Still Exists

Caste discrimination against the Damai people still exists. To give an example from my own experience, one day when I was living in a small country town, a middle-aged Damai woman, who was a friend of my landlord and curious to meet the Japanese person in town, came to see me. She invited me to visit her home, and I was very happy to go because I wanted to see the different lifestyles of the local people, so I accepted immediately. The landlord, who was there at the time, was also smiling. A few days later, I visited the Damai person's house as invited. Although the exterior of the settlement felt a bit more neglected than others, the interior of the house was better equipped with various items than other homes. They told me to eat, and since I was hungry, I accepted their meal straight away. It contained meat. Since we did not eat meat dishes at the landlord's house, I was glad to eat meat for the first time in a while. While I was eating inside, two or three young Damai people came to see me and we talked a little. They also seemed excited. They were very friendly and easy-going, but also good at understanding people's feelings. However, after I returned to where I was staying, the landlord asked, "Did you go to that house??" and when I replied, "Yes, I had a delicious meal and a good time," the landlord opened their eyes wide and scolded me, saying, "You shouldn't have gone there, and you even ate their food!?" It is a sad thing that this is a true story.