The legend of the conical hat is related to maternal love
and the history of rice growing in Vietnam.
Once upon a time, the legend says, when a deluge of rain
was falling there descended from the sky a giant woman wearing on her head four
huge round leaves as large as the sky itself and stitched together by bamboo
sticks. The leaves protected humankind, then still naked, from the rain. The giant
messenger from the sky twirled round the leaves on her head to dispel clouds
and rains. Those who followed her were taught by her how to grow crops. One day
mankind dozed off as they listened to stories narrated by her. When they woke
up the goddess was gone. The Vietnamese built a temple in her memory and
honored her as the Rain-shielding Goddess. Following her example, people went
into the forests to fetch broad and round leaves (palm) which they stitched
together on a bamboo frame. This was to become an indispensable headwear for
the farmers on the fields, boat women carrying passengers across rivers,
travelers under the blazing sun...
Vietnamese girls
become more elegant and more delicate when they put on your head a hat,
which gives shelter to their blushing cheeks like a crowing bud protected from
sun, rain or rough wind. Vietnamese women also use the conical hat to fan off
the heat of summer, as a container for a bunch of vegetables, and even as a
bowl to relieve the thirst when passing by a well, etc. Romantically, young
couples can veil their kisses behind this traditional conical hat during their
dates.
The shape as well as the size of the conical hat has
evolved greatly. As a rule, the broad-rimmed hat was reserved for women while
men wore hats with a higher cone and smaller rims. Then, there were hats made
specifically for wealthy and powerful people, hats for children, hats to equip
the army, hats for the Buddhist clergy, for the mourners..., more than 50 types
in all. Undoubtedly, the two best known and best liked are the conical hat of
Chuong village in Ha Tay province, north of Hanoi, and the Hue,
The prototype of "Lang Chuong" hat is a large
disk-like bamboo frame covered with palm leaves and perpendicularly bent on its
rim to form a band of about four inches. At the centre is placed a small bamboo
frame to fit the head. The strap is usually very elaborately made of silk, adorned
with yellow tassels also made of silk. This hat used to be worn by upper-crust
families during visits to pagodas or festive occasions.
The making of a conical hat is a one-hundred-percent
handicraft. The leaves used to cover the hat are brought from the forest. Then
they are exposed to the dew for one night to soften them. When the leaves
become dry but still soft they are flattened either by hand or by ironing. Only
young leaves are selected. Old or dark ones are discarded. A hat usually
consists of 16 to 18 rims made from a special kind of bamboo. In order to have
a well-made hat, it must be knitted together with a peculiar kind of thread
called "doac" made from the leaves of a special kind of reed.
Finally, the hat is trimmed and painted with a coat of attar oil to keep it
clean and smooth.
The skill of the craftsman (who in this case is more
likely a woman) can be judged by the regularity of the leaves arranged on the
hat. The roundness of the rim and particularly the fineness of the stitches which
must be so done as to reveal no knot.
Although the conical hat is no longer the cities woman's
everyday costume, it remains the ubiquitous head wear in the countryside. And a
young girl with her conical hat, quite charming in her four-flapped long dress,
is always a popular image of Vietnam and the Vietnamese people
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