Kira
In its own language: དཀྱི་ར་
Bhutan's national dress for women, an ankle-length woven cloth wrapped and pinned
The kira is Bhutan's national dress for women. It is an ankle-length garment made from a rectangular piece of woven cloth, folded and wrapped around the body, pinned at the shoulders and bound at the waist, and worn with a blouse inside and a short jacket over it.
In Bhutan, the kira is what women wear as the country's national dress. It is a single long rectangle of woven cloth, wrapped and folded around the body and reaching the ankles. Brooches at the shoulders and a belt at the waist hold it in place, and other garments go under and over it.
What it is
The kira is Bhutan's national dress for women. It is an ankle-length garment made from a single rectangular piece of woven fabric. To wear it, a woman folds and wraps the cloth around her body: it is held at both shoulders, usually with silver brooches, and tied at the waist with a long belt. Because it is one length of cloth rather than a cut and sewn garment, its shape comes from the way it is wrapped and fastened. In Dzongkha the kira is written དཀྱི་ར་ and དཀྱིས་རས་, romanised as dkyi-ra and dkyis-ras.
The whole outfit
The kira is not worn by itself. Underneath it goes the wonju, a long-sleeved blouse. Over the top goes the toego, a short jacket, written in Dzongkha as སྟོད་གོ་ and romanised as stod-go. Silver brooches called koma hold the shoulders. A long belt is tied around the waist, and a narrow piece of embroidered cloth, the rachu, is draped over the left shoulder. Each of these pieces is named in the material on the kira, and each has its place in the finished outfit.
Related garments
The kira is named alongside a set of other garments: the gho, the kho, the chuba, the toego, the wonju, the pathin, the phasinh, the rigwnai and the longyi. These are given as related pieces rather than as parts of the kira itself, and the material on the kira does not describe them. Within that group the kira is singled out as Bhutan's national dress for women, and it is described as a Bhutanese garment throughout.
How Kira is kept
Women in Bhutan wear the kira as the country's national dress. Putting it on starts with the length of cloth, which is folded and wrapped around the body. It is then held at both shoulders, usually with silver brooches called koma, and a long belt is tied around the waist. A wonju blouse sits underneath and a toego jacket goes over the top. Finally a rachu, a narrow piece of embroidered cloth, is draped over the left shoulder.
When and where
The kira belongs to Bhutan, where it is described as the national dress for women. Bhutan is the only country named in connection with it. No particular town, district or festival is named as its home, and it is not described as an established tradition anywhere outside Bhutan.
Questions people ask about Kira
What is a kira?
It is the national dress for women in Bhutan. A kira is an ankle-length garment made from a rectangular piece of woven fabric, folded and wrapped around the body and held with pins at the shoulders and a belt at the waist.
Where is the kira worn?
In Bhutan, where it is described as the national dress for women. Bhutan is the only country named in connection with the kira.
What is worn with a kira?
A wonju, a long-sleeved blouse, goes underneath, and a short jacket called a toego goes on top. Silver brooches called koma pin the shoulders, a long belt ties the waist, and a rachu is draped over the left shoulder.
How is a kira held in place?
It is held at both shoulders, usually with silver brooches known as koma, and tied at the waist with a long belt. The cloth is folded and wrapped around the body before the brooches and belt are put on.
See also
Butter lampA lit candle made from clarified yak butter, kept in Tibetan Buddhist temples to aid meditation and symbolize enlightenm
Archery in BhutanBhutan's national sport, played with bamboo bows at targets 145 metres away
LosarThe Tibetan Buddhist New Year festival of renewal, offerings, and family feasts
Guru PurnimaA sacred South Asian festival honouring spiritual guides, teachers, and mentorsGood reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Kira (Bhutan)", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.
More from Bhutan
All the traditions of Bhutan
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreButter lampདཀར་མེ (Tibetan)
A lit candle made from clarified yak butter, kept in Tibetan Buddhist temples to aid meditation and symbolize enlightenmSpiritual
🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanArchery in Bhutanམདའ (da)
Bhutan's national sport, played with bamboo bows at targets 145 metres awayGame
🇧🇹 Bhutan and 4 moreLosarལོ་གསར་
The Tibetan Buddhist New Year festival of renewal, offerings, and family feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreGuru Purnimaगुरुपूर्णिमा
A sacred South Asian festival honouring spiritual guides, teachers, and mentorsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
The same idea elsewhere
All of this kind
🇳🇴 Norway and 3 moreGákti
A traditional coat worn by the Sámi people across northern Scandinavia and Russia, signaling origin and status through cDress
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTzitzitצִיצִית
Knotted ritual fringes worn on a four-cornered garment, a reminder of the commandmentsDress
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreʻIe tōga
Precious woven mats exchanged in Samoan ceremonies to honor family ties and chiefly status.Dress
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTraditional tattooing
The ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesDress