Non la – Vietnamese conical hat

The traditional Vietnamese conical hat called Non La in Vietnamese.

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History of Non La Vietnam

Non La appeared a long time ago, around 2500-3000 BC, images of Non La were carved on Vietnamese antiques such as Ngoc Lu bronze drum, Dong Son bronze drum, on Dao Thinh bronze jar

The true origin of the Non La is still just a story passed down orally from generation to generation. The story goes: "Once upon a time, in a certain countryside, it suddenly started pouring rain one day. The rain lasted for weeks, causing houses and land to flood and preventing people from going outside. Life became extremely difficult.

During the heavy rain, a graceful goddess suddenly appeared from the sky. She wore a giant hat made from four large leaves sewn together with bamboo sticks. This hat was so big that it could protect people from all the rain. Wherever the goddess went, the dark clouds would disappear, the weather would become cool, and people could go out to work normally.

Vietnamese conical hat in daily life

The goddess even taught people many things, including farming. One day, after hearing the goddess teach her lessons, everyone fell asleep. When they woke up, the goddess was gone."

To commemorate the goddess's merits, the Vietnamese built a temple to worship her and tried to create a model similar to the goddess's hat by stringing palm leaves together. Then people started wearing hats made from leaves every time they went to the fields. Since then, the image of Non La has become extremely familiar and close to Vietnamese farmers.

The meaning of Non La Vietnam

Non La has become a cultural symbol of Vietnamese people

– Over time, Non La became associated with the lives of Vietnamese people and crept into folk songs, poems, and sentences. The image of a graceful Vietnamese girl in an ao dai and a Non La hat has become a typical beauty, both in poetry and everyday life.

The charming beauty of Non La Vietnam

– To this day, Non La is no longer an item just used to protect people from the rain or sun, but it has become a symbol of national culture. Non La is not only a symbol of the gentleness and simplicity of Vietnamese women but also the soul and essence of the beauty of a thousand years of civilization.

What is Non La Vietnam made from?

The materials to make the hat are palm leaves, silk thread, hooks, and bamboo for the frame. Conical hats have a simple structure but also require a skillful hand from the craftsman. The cone has a regular pyramid shape, the walls are surrounded by rims that curl around in many layers.

Making Vietnamese conical hat

The brim of the hat is made of bamboo, rounded like a frame supporting the graceful shape of the hat. At the bottom of the hat there is a curved brim, stronger than the brims above. Whether the brim of the hat is hard or brittle will determine the hardness and durability of the hat.

But the most important part of the hat is the two layers of palm leaves - the main material to form a hat. Palm leaves must be young leaves, dried completely white. Lining between two layers of palm leaves is a layer of bone marrow, dried, taken from bamboo and cork leaves. All materials used to make the hat must be waterproof and leak-proof to withstand the beating rain and erratic hot sunny days.

Where Non La Vietnam is made?

Chuong village – Hanoi city

Chuong Village is a traditional craft village famous for making conical hats located in Phuong Trung commune, Thanh Oai district, about 30km from Hanoi center. Chuong village is also known by another name Thanh Oai conical hat village.

A young girl is making conical hat in Chuong village

This ancient conical hat village located next to the Day River always exudes the traditional beauty of the Northern countryside, attracting tourists from far and wide to explore the beauty and history of this village.

Chuong village's conical hats cost an average of 50,000 VND to 100,000 VND each, depending on their complexity and design. These hats have been highly appreciated for their exquisite craftsmanship as well as their aesthetic beauty. Family villages produce thousands of hats every day, meeting domestic and export demand.

My Lam village – Hue city

My Lam village belongs to Phu My commune, Phu Vang district, Thua Thien Hue province. Located along Nhu Y River, along Provincial Road 10A, 8km east of Hue city center, My Lam Village is still known for its long-standing conical hat craft.

The making conical hats has been associated with My Lam Village, Phu My commune, Phu Vang district, Thua Thien Hue province since 1860.

Over the past 150 years, with many ups and downs of history, the profession of making conical hats has also provided a living for many people in the village.

Although in modern life, the conical hats are no longer a normal image of rural girls or young women in urban areas, but the conical hats are an indispensable gift for local and foreigner tourists when coming to Hue. Therefore, the My Lam conical hat village is still growing and regularly has about 500 people participating in making the conical hats, each day supplying the market with over 1,000 conical hats to serve tourism, festivals and customer tastes.

Thoi Lai town – Can Tho city

Xeo Xao conical hat village is located in Thoi Thuan A hamlet, Thoi Lai town, Thoi Lai district, Can Tho city. This place has a history of making conical hats for more than 70 years.

In this village, they are making two types of conical hats in, hats for going to the fields and hats for going to the market.

The hats for going the the field are made thicker, sturdier, and have wider brims. And the hats for going to the market, the leaf stems are meticulously selected, much more beautiful and elaborate.

Making a hat is a long process with many different steps from making the frame, sharpening the brim, weaving leaves... all of which require skill and meticulousness.

After being completed, the conical hat will be coated with a layer of varnish mixed with gasoline to waterproof, increase the shine and durability of the product.

Related article:

AO DAI - Vietnam Traditional Dress