Arranging the palm leaves to the frame.

Non quai thao was seen in the traditional costumes of Vietnamese women in the early 20th century.

At a love duet festival in Bac Ninh.

The craft of making non (conical hat) has been practised in Chuong Hamlet (Ha Tay province) since the 11th century. However, in its early days, the villagers only made the non quai thao (the flat palm hat with fringes).

Like people in many other rural craft villages in Vietnam, the villagers of Chuong Hamlet mainly do farming work. But the sideline craft of making hats is in fact the main income that helps the villagers build houses, roads and other facilities, and bring up their children. In particular, Chuong villagers became famous thanks to their unique product, the Chuong hat. In the 1920s, renovation of the traditional several layer flapped dress and brown loose trousers to become the ao dai (long dress), modern trousers and shirts made the non quai thao unsuitable to daily life, and the craft of making non quai thao declined. The conical hat from the Central region penetrated into the North, and the Chuong villagers shifted from making non quai thao to making the conical hat.

Formerly, most of the Chuong villagers, old and young, knew how to make the non quai thao. But nowadays, only a few of the old villagers preserve this craft. They make non quai thao to orders from artistic groups, who use the hat as stage props, or to meet requirements from the museums to restore valuable showpieces.

Non quai thao is made with palm leaves, which are abundant in the northeastern forests. The palm leaves are dried a bit so that they become soft and pliable. Then they are pressed flat. The frame of the hat is made of bamboo sticks, which are curved round, dried and put into water for termite resistance. The frame is varied according to the hat size. Formerly the palm leaves were sewn to the frame by the rough and black fibres of the moc tree, but now, with nylon thread which is white, smooth, durable and easy to sew. The innermost layer of the leaves, without veins, must be arranged flat and covers the entire hat face. The hat edge is curved round and decorated with sewn designs or animal figurines. The outer layer of the hat includes leaves grafted together from the centre of the hat to its brim.

When seen directly from above, the hat is like a beautiful flower with rays as the leaves’ veins. The hat string is made of yellow silk, which helps embellish the beauty of the wearer. Today, non quai thao is not used in daily life, but it is still a “must” for the artists, who perform at the love duet and folk singing festivals in the northern delta areas. And Le Thi Viet, 83 years old from Chuong Hamlet, still has the opportunity to hand down the craft of making non quai thao to her children and grandchildren, contributing to preserving a cultural product with national identity.

Reprinted with permission from Nhan Dan Newspaper