Introduction about Hue Conical Hat:
Nón Lá (Conical Hat or Rice Hat) in Hue Vietnam: Lying on the southern bank of the An Cuu River in the centre of the former imperial capital of Hue. Phu Cam Conical Hat (Nón Lá) Making Village is famous for its traditional way of making Conical Hat (Nón Lá). Since hundreds of years, Hue Conical Hat (Nón Lá) has become an integral part of Hue culture.
Phu Cam Conical Hat (Nón Lá) in Hue has not only a beautiful form but also modest color. It is light and so thin that light seems to pierce through it. Through natural light, visitors travling in Vietnam can see Hue landscapes with verses engraved on paper placed between two layers of leaves.
Phu Cam handmade hats look graceful, soft and thin as silk. Hue landscapes or even poems can be seen clearly through the hats in the sunshine. It takes woman much time to make the frame and iron leaves before young girls start sewing. The beauty of a hat depend much on the frame (made of 16 brims from the hem to the top). Artisans use sharp knives to prepare the brims. And make the frame that needs skills, techniques and experiences. As well as mathematical calculations which have been handed down for generations.
Leaves to make hat play a vital part, leaves have to be blue-white, neither too young nor too old. They dry the leaves in the sun. Then ironing to make it flat on a steel- plank above a kiln, cleaned with a towel. After all this, cut the leaves to fit the frame.
It is not easy to arrange the leaves on to the frame. Each hat needs 50 leaves. And put color papers with pictures or paintings of landscapes, or even poems between the leaves. Hat-makers are hardworking and careful and diligent. Hats are with silk-threads and the chin-straps made of colored silk (black, white, yellowish, purple, violet, etc) to harmonize with Hue climate and beauty.
Poem-hat or “Non bai tho” is a distinctive feature of culture in Hue. Locals say they like to do the job not only to earn money. But also to preserve their age-old tradition. As poem-hats have been absorbed into folk music and songs. Today locals still use the hats to shade their heads in the sun. And also to make them look more graceful in the traditional long dress “Ao Dai”.
Therefore, when visiting Phu Cam Conical Hat Village in Hue City, tourists will have a chance to know and even to join to make Traditional Hue Conical Hat (Nón Lá) in Thuy Xuan Village – an integral part of Hue’s culture.
More Useful Articles for Hue Travel:
- Nguyen Dynasty – The last Royal Family in Vietnam with 13 Kings
- Discover Hue Royal Tombs of the Nguyen ‘s Emperors in Hue City
- Learn about Life of Vietnamese Eunuchs in the Nguyen’s Dynasty
