Nepal · Basketry / Grass Craft
थारू बुनाइ (Tharu Bunai)
Tharu bamboo and grass weaving is the functional basketry and mat-making tradition of the Tharu people of Nepal's Terai lowland — the country's most biodiverse zone, adjacent to Chitwan National Park. The Tharu tradition is distinguished by the use of Terai-specific grasses (moonj grass, Saccharum munja) alongside bamboo — the moonj grass is coiled and stitched into storage pots, winnowing trays (sup), and sleeping mats. The coiled grass storage pot is a form unique to the Tharu within Nepal: grass coils are stitched together with split bamboo in a continuous spiral from base to rim — the bamboo stitching tool is a pointed bone or horn awl that creates a consistent hole spacing calibrated to the grass coil diameter. The awl hole spacing — 'one finger width between holes' — is maintained by feel, not measurement.
Risk level: Endangered · Nepal national ICH list
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