Nón Lá

 

Non La – Rural Vietnam

Is there anything more iconic of Vietnam than the Nón Lá or conical hat?

For most foreigners when they first think Vietnam they usually think of the conical hat.

They usually picture in their mind the image of some rural person wearing the distinctive conical hat as they toil away in the green rice fields.

And while the conical hat is not really unique to Vietnam, the association between Vietnam and the conical hat is so strong that, along with the Áo Dài, the conical hat has become the unofficial symbol of Vietnam.

In Vietnamese the conical hat is called the Nón Lá.

The words Nón Lá literally mean leaf hat, and while no one really knows when the first Nón Lá was worn in Vietnam, no doubt it dates back to Vietnam’s earliest inhabitants.

In fact images of today’s Nón Lá predecessors can be seen etched on the surface of the Ngoc Lu bronze drums, which dates back two or three thousaand years.

Over the years there has also been a great deal of variation in the design of the palm-leaf hats worn as well.

In the 18th century the design often reflected the age, occupation and social position of the wearer.

For instance an elderly person would wear a different design of palm-leaf hat from a student, while a city dweller would not wear the same design as a farmer and so on.

Through the 19th century the design of new palm-leaf hats only continued to increase and evolve.

The new designs often deriving their name according to the materials used, their shape, or their place of manufacture.

The “painted hat” for example was made from bamboo plaits and painted with a thin coat of lacquer.

The “painted hat” design was often made for seafarers who had to brave stormy seas.

Another example is the “nón quai thao.”

Quai thao refers to the fringe of the hat which tends to give the hat the shape of a bamboo basket.

In fact prior to the 1930s Vietnam had over 50 different styles of palm leaf hat, sadly many of these early designs do not exist today.

The design that you see everywhere today is the conical hat, which is often thought to have derived from the Nón Bài Thơ.

The Nón Bài Thơ is a design of Nón Lá that comes from the old imperial capital of Huế.

Nón Lá from Huế are famous for having poems woven into their design, which is why they are named Nón Bài Thơ.

The words Nón Bài Thơ literally mean Hat Poem.

In making Nón Bài Thơ poetry or decorations are placed between the layers of leaves, so that when you hold them up to the sun you can read the silhouette of the words or see images hidden in the leaves.

Because of the popularity of conical hats, with both locals and foreigners, there are still whole villages in Vietnam that specialize in making Nón Lá.

The most famous of these villages is the village of Chuong.

Located about 30 kilometers southwest of Ha Noi, Chuong villagers have been making Nón Lá for a few centuries now.

It is a place where traditional Nón Lá making techniques are still practiced, and is also one of the few places where you can go and see some of the older designs such as the nón quai thao still being made.