If
you look at a hat,
it seems that it is easily to
make. It is wrong! To make a
proper hat it is not only
required the maker's talent but
also their experience. Bamboo
cataphyll must be split into
very thin strings during the dry
season. They then must be
quickly submerged in water to
preclude tearing and breaking.
Main rings (the largest) must be
even, smooth and shiny. The most
sophisticated work is treading
the palm material. The makers
buy dark green palms, then clean
them by sand and work them with
a light touch or otherwhile they
will tear. After the step of
treading the palms, they
sun-season them. The palm will
go from dark green to white. The
stronger the sun the whiter the
palms will become. Before using
the palms, makers expose them
briefly to sulfur to make them
whiter and to preserve the
color. Finally, before using
them, they are exposed to frost
to make them soft, then they are
split and ironed. From the palms
and ring, using silk thread, you
only to have to sew it together.
It is easy to say than to do.
Sewing and decorating are very
sophisticated too. You have to
sew small and even stitches what
mean you need time and have to
be very patience. For
professional purposes, Chuong
hat-makers do not accomplish all
the stages but specialize -
building upon a frame made
somewhere else. The local
hat-makers complete the hats
with an aesthetic appeal
suitable to customer's taste.
Chuong hats are different from
hats of other provinces which
are revolved only two times,
with the second being in a
reverse direction, Chuong
village's hats are revolved
three times, two times with
white palm and once with bamboo
cataphyll. Thank to the addition
layer of bamboo cataphyll,
Chuong hats are more solid and
durable. Show them what revolve
mean.
Since the first images of Non
were etched into Ngoc Lu bronzes
drums 3000 years ago, it has
become an inseparable
multi-purpose item for
Vietnamese women. It is used as
a shield to protect them from
sun and rain, a glass to get
water when they are thirsty, a
fan when they are hot, and a
basket when they have nothing
else with them to carry things.
Due to its popularity, each
region in Vietnam has, for
itself, a well-known non-making
village. The non of the Tay
ethnic group has a distinctive
red colour, while Non in Thanh
Hoa differs from others with its
20-hem frame. Hue's Non is thin
and elegant, in contrast with
the thickness of those from Binh
Dinh.
Chuong artisans make two types
of Non: the traditional
flat-top, known as Non quai thao,
and the cone-shaped Xuan Kieu
that appeared in the 1930's.
Women in the village learn to
make Non since as teenagers.
Anywhere and anytime, you can
find them wrapped up in their
work, stitching the white palm
leaves.
"Non making is work of
painstaking precision", said 83
year-old Le Thi Viet, the oldest
master of Chuong village.
Palm leaves, the raw material of
Non are bought from Thanh Hoa
and Quang Binh in the Central
region, or Phu Tho and Son La in
the North. After being sun
dried, the leaves are flattened
by hand, and then ironed with a
hot ploughshare until they turn
absolutely white.
The skeleton of Non is formed by
round bamboo hems. A Chuong
village Non always has 16 hems,
to make it firm and easily
identified among others.
It is said by another 90
year-old artisan that in the
past Chuong village produced
three types of the hats; Non ba
tam, Non nho and Non dau. The
classic Non was large and flat,
with a small hummock in the
centre that fits the head.
Vietnamese women used to wear
the traditional three-tailed or
seven-tailed dress. The tails
come in various tints: they may
have the colour of a peach
blossom, a day-lily flower, a
Tonkin bunch, or a lemon.
In the old days, Non quai thao
were sported with a pair of
buffalo-leather bow shoes or
painted wooden clogs. A light
pink or yellow belt makes a
perfect match during festivals.
In the late half of 20th
century, the flat-top hat was
gradually replaced by the
cone-shape, just as change has
affected the basic ingredient;
the palm leave. A new material,
lui leaves from Nghe Tinh and
Quang Binh province, make each
Non Chuong lighter, and
therefore more elegant.
Non are no longer built from the
ground up by the tinkers of
Chuong village. The process is
divided into several phases, and
the less important parts, such
as skeletons and edges, are now
farmed out to nearby villages.
Todays Chuong artisans only
undertake the roofing and
sewing.
Such specialisation, however,
may be a little misplaced, as
women of modern times find Non
less than practical for day to
day life in the urban
environment.
But the little girls of Chuong
village are still sewing Non,
and the hearth of the Non will
always be warm.