Traditional “nón lá” (palm-leaf conical hat) of Vietnam

For a long time, "nón lá" has become a traditional symbol of Vietnamese people. It has been associated with Vietnamese like an object and its shadow, without discriminating sex, age, or social position. It is a common friend of all people. That is the reason why people have considered it as a typical icon of Vietnamese.

According to the old people, in the past they divided into three types of ancient hats with the names of "nón mười" (or hat "ba tầm", hat "quai thao"), medium-sized hat, and head-hat. Basically, the hats in those days have flat, round and wide brims. The outer brim has a border that makes the hat's shape similar to a gong. In the middle is a small bangle knit by thatch which fits the head of a person wearing it. Hat "ba tầm" has the biggest brim among these. In the old time, women often wear this kind of hat to go to festivities or pagodas. Head-hat is the smallest one and has the lowest selvage. In that time, people also classified the hats according to the owners' levels. Some kinds were for the old; hats were used by the rich and mandarins; hats for kids; hats for troops; bamboo hats worn by monks; aged, durable hats of farmers needing them to shelter from the rain and the sun, etc. Each type has its own shape and special manner; sometimes the shape of hats depends on the beneficiaries or private purposes.

In all three regions the North, the Middle, and the South of Vietnam, there are areas that are famous for making hats and each category of hats produced in each location contains private nuance: Lai Chau (Lai Châu) hats used by Thai (Thái) people; Cao Bang (Cao Bằng) hats red-painted of Tay (Tày) ethnic group; Thanh Hoa (Thanh Hóa) hats consisting of 16 - 20 brims; Ba Don (Ba Đồn) hats (in Quang Binh) which are slender, light and refined; soft, elegant hats of Huế due to lining with thin leaves; Chuông Village's hats (in Thanh Oai, Ha Tay) which are considered as the most long-wearing and beautiful in the delta area of the North.

Materials to make hats are not sophisticated. A hat is made from stuffs which are available everywhere in out country such as fan-palm leaf, macaw leaf, bamboo frame, hooking rope, etc. "Tàu lá nón" (a kind of big leaf) must be green and is ironed by putting it on a piece of metal fired and pushing by a piece of cloth until flat. The fire needs to be moderate. If it is too hot, the leaf will be burned; otherwise, if too cool, the leaf will be wrinkled after a while. People fire match to make the leaf turn white and to prevent from mould.

They choose pointed, long pipes of bamboo and dry them in order to make the hoop of hat. The beauty of the hat is upon to cleverness and skill of the craftsman. The person stitching hats is compared as a seamstress. The bamboo hoop is then laid on a mould and leaves are arranged. After that is the sewing step. Hooking threads to sew often have different lengths. To stitch continuously, when a thread is nearly finished, they need to join it with another thread right away. And the skill of the sewer expresses on hidden joining points which make people only see very straight seam when having a look at. After 16 rounds going through with the threads, a charming hat is taken into shape.

Vietnamese girls nurse their hats as jewelry; sometimes they become exchanging objects of girls' affection and feelings. People stick a small mirror on the top of the hat to help girls discreetly preen. The most meticulous skill is drawing under the leaf-layer sunk designs, pictures of bamboo or paddy field, or even lyric lines of verse. These pictures and letters can only be seen under the sun light; therefore, this kind of hat is called "nón bài thơ" (poem-hat).

Vietnamese hat is not just made for sheltering from the sun and rain; it is also used with function as a fan in hot and muggy summer days, a betel tray when meeting friends, and even a keepsake for the other to memorise. Nevertheless, its uses are not stopped at that; it has become a cultural part of Vietnamese life. On a long way in a scorching day or at the time resting after farming, sitting beside a row of bamboo tree, people use "nón lá" to fan to stop perspiring. Beside a limpid well, in the thirst, a hat can become a gigantic tumbler to contain water so the farmer can bring down the hot with it.

"Nón lá" has been a close-knit object of Vietnamese people, so it is not surprised when every foreigner wants to take some hats coming back when ending their trips to Vietnam.

Source: Vietnam Simple