Vietnamese conical hat or better known as Non La has become the casual traditional custom in ancient as well as modern Vietnam. Easily found in the countryside, the image of mothers and grandmothers are accompanied with it. It is seemingly attached to daily life, but how many of us might know how it was made?!
On a given occasion, I have the chance to visit and learn about Nghia Chau conical hat craft village in Nghia Hung town, Nam Dinh province, Vietnam.
By
Phuong May
Time
12.2022
Editor
Ha Thu Pham
Nghia Chau commune is located 17 km away from the centre of Nam Dinh province, the way to get there is quite easy. Some elders in the village said that Chu Van Phan – an old man that has many years practising the craft – takes the greatest credit of forming the conical hat craft making here. After the national revolution in August 1945, Mr.Phan and his two friends travelled to Chuong village, where traditional conical hat was made and to be famous for(in Phuong Trung commune, Thanh Oai town, Hanoi), to gather hat and sell it back in his town. Agriculture was the dominant labour, the hat was the indispensable object for the people who worked out in the field under either on sunny or rainy days. Having realised the needs, He thought of coming back to Chuong village to learn more about the craft. In 1946, he returned to Chuong village, hired the best men he found so that they could bring them back to his village to teach other generations in his family with some of his neighbours. The hat of Nghia Chau was formed from the same frame as Chuong village’s, fabricated from a 20-hem frame, the 5 bottom ones were smoked until blackened, the last hem was stitched 3 to 4 cm apart each stitch with black threads. Then people from Dao Khe village renovated a 16-hem frame conical hat with whited threads and rim. From 1975 until now, it has been developed to a 15-hem frame hat with plastic threads in white or colour.
Nowaday, people in Dao Khe hamlet (Nghia Chau commune) are still passionate about their hat making craft. Children’s ages from 13 to 14 are guided by their mamas or grannies to involve in some beginning steps of hat making. It is frequently seen in Dao Khe the scene of people gathering around at 1 place and crafting hats together. Hat making is a long-process work, some open leaves, the next one irons leaves, others do the sewing part, they work and chat with each other in a very casual daily atmosphere. I was lucky enough to take part in a group of old, middle aged ladies making hats in Mrs Tuoi’s house – a woman who dedicated 50 years of her life crafting hats. Most of the ladies are over 50 years old, there’s one 75 with her sleight of hand stitching constantly.
Sitting there watching them do their work, they said there are 2 main kinds of Non La: the slow-detailed-made one and the fast-made one. The category of the hat is based on the consumer’s needs and purpose of use. The detailed one takes time to make with meticulous care: small and thick and gradual stitches, high quality selected materials such as good flexible yet firm bamboo slats, ivory white leaves, etc…
The main materials are bamboo(in Northern Delta region), some other regions(Quang Binh, Ha Tinh) have their hats air dried and go through different processes to enhance the whiteness of the leaves. The palm leaves are bought from mountainous provinces, they are then put in a rubbing machine and sundried until the colour turns to ivory white. To flatten out, the leaves are ironed on a warmed plow-share, the woman will use a cloth to smear the leaves on the warm surface in quick motion in order to give the material a dry but flexible feel.
In contrast, the fast-made hat is made with sparse stitches, materials at medium quality. The making process is the same as the detailed ones. It takes many steps to finish a single conical hat. Not until that moment, I have realised that the Non La my mother used to wear underwent such a journey. I stayed in Mrs.Tuoi’s house for the whole day and learnt how to open the leaves. This step requires a certain attention so that it is easy to iron quickly and flat. Mrs.Tuoi smiled and told me while stitching: “Most of us here are old but we like detail, sometimes it takes us a whole day just to finish a single hat”.
Mrs.Nga who was opening the leaves added: “I am busy looking after my grandchildren, so it could take me 3 days to make one. But what can I do? Now I am old so I do things slowly, having some money to buy treats for my grandchildren makes me happy enough.”
Dao Khe market is busy in early mornings.
I was especially impressed by the life of Dao Khe market when it was only at 5AM that it started out with white and pale neon lights. Right from the gate is where ladies take their place for selling Non La materials. Different people sell different things from threads, leaves, bamboo. The fair starts from 6am and ends at around 8am. Talking with Mrs Van – a vendor who sells bamboo – that I know about the reason why people only gather for that short while. They are busy with their office work, house chores and then spend their time on making hats also. Buyers follow sellers so they have to be there early to get what they prefer for their hats. When the fair was almost over, it’s time for me to leave Dao Khe.
While waiting for my bus, thinking back to the scene when the ladies were making hats whilst chatting in delight, a sudden joy grew in me. I fell in love even more with Non La, with my country’s tradition.
Witnessing the life of things that fabricate Non La in Dao Khe, I believe more that with the love and the bond to Non La, people here will continue on preserving and developing the crafts to many more generations. When one truly sees and understands the smallest things, one may find appreciation to crafted products traditionally made of our nation, in general, and the conical hat of Nghia Chau, in particular.
