History and Legend in their Hands
Trip Start
Aug 04, 2009
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115
152
Trip End
Ongoing
Chuong, Vietnam
Monday, March 14, 2011
So "why this hat?" Like nearly everything Vietnamese it's history is steeped in legend. The legend of the conical hat is related to maternal love and the history of rice growing in Vietnam. 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 mankind, 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 her stories. When they woke up the goddess was gone. 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 the indispensable headwear for the farmers on the fields and boatwomen carrying passengers across rivers.
I should mention that, Vietnamese girls do not like just any conical hat ,they prefer the one referred to as "Poetical Leaf". These contain random poetic verses and Hán tự (Vietnamese word for Chinese characters) which can be revealed when the hat is help above one's head in the sunlight. I bought one of these hats from a gentleman that learned this art from his father when he was 15. Shortly there after in the same year of his 15th birthday he became a soldier and fought the French. H'e's now 85 and can do every facet of his creations although his wife has taken over the task of the internal stitching. While visiting the first woman with her daughter she told us to visit this man, Pham Tran Canh. "He is the most famous in their village for making conical hats and everyone knows him," she said. After purchasing a couple of her hats we drove down the road to find him. We overshot his house but when we asked a guy on the street for directions he pointed his house out as back about 45 meters. We drove back and their sitting just inside the door on a tatami mat was Mr Tran Canh, working in the sunlight of the day.
I pulled up and Hang spoke to him. He looked out at me, smiled and waved me in. He told us to first go to the back of the house to meet his wife and watch her do the stitching. We did just that and she did it with so much ease that she could talk and sew at the same time, while frequently not even looking down at what she was doing. Yet her accuracy with the stitch was almost magical - every letter was exact and color weave perfect. Even though her work was interesting I really wanted to go back to watch him, so we were polite and watched as she worked for a short time and then I went back down the few stairs to watch and talk to him. Along the way was a bed with several styles of what I later learned has over 50 styles of this hat. The bed held 5 different styles. I wanted to buy one of each especially the largest ones but I didn't think it was fair to Hang to have to carry on the back of my bike. So I picked the two I liked the most not counting the biggest one, that I passed on - next time maybe.
Through conversation we learned that Mr Tran Canh had lost his right leg in the war with the French. But this obviously hadn't slowed him down in working with his craft. Some of you might be wondering how would losing a leg slow down his work. Well these craftsmen use there toes to hold and turn the hats.
To look at a hat, it would seem easy to make - wrong! To make a proper hat it requires the maker's talent and experience. Bamboo leaves must be split into very thin strips during the dry season. 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. All of this is done on a special hand made wood frame.
I was told that Chuong hats are different from hats made in other provinces which are "revolved" only two times, with the second being in a reverse direction, Chuong village hats are revolved three times, two times with white palm and once with bamboo leaves. It's because of this additional layer of bamboo leaves that makes Chuong hats more solid and durable.
Conical hats have become an inseparable multi-purpose item for Vietnamese women especially in the countryside. It is used as a shield to protect them from sun and rain, a glass to get water when they are thirsty, a fan when they are hot, and a basket when they have nothing else with them to carry things.
Tran Canh's wife also added that romantically, young couples can veil their kisses behind this traditional conical hat during their dates. That brought a hearty laugh from her husband. Then she leaned over with a hat in hand and demonstrated it for us, as she kissed her husband.
To that, I smiled widely.
**Remember to click on the photos, many have more detail enclosed.
