The materials for making Non are simple, including leaves of a species of palm for making the top, fibre from the bark of Moc tree (that is now replaced by nylon threads) for stitching the leaves together and bamboo for making the brim. First, artisans have to make the palm leaves flat by placing them on a hot iron plate and pressing them with a handful of cloth at a precise temperature so not to burn or discolour the leaves, whereas to cold the iron plate will not achieve the flatness required. The leaves are smoked with sulphur to be white and resistant to mould. The long bamboo pieces used to make the hat brim must be put on the smoking-shelf to resist worm.
There are many
Non-making villages in Vietnam. Of which, Chuong Village in Thanh
Oai District, Hanoi is famous nationwide for its beautiful products. The
village’s products have 16 layers of rings. The number of rings has
remained unchanged for many years. The beauty of Non depends much on the skilful hands of artisans
who create regular stitches and hide any irregularity and knot in the
layer of palm leaves.nbsp;
Making the
frame of a Non.
Preparing palm
leaves to make Non.
Foreign tourists learn
about the Non-making craft
of Vietnamese people.
Drawing patterns on
Non.
There are many kinds of Non, such as Non chop nhon dau (spiky conical hat), Non thung
rong vanh (basket-shaped conical hat), Non ba tam (flat palm hat with fringes) which help protect those who live in the sunny and rainy areas from the blazing sunlight and rain. Non sometimes has a mirror attached to the inside. Artisans also sandwich patterns or images of bamboo grove, rice field and poems in the middle of layers of leaves that can be viewed when held up to the light. This kind of Non is called Non bai tho.
For Vietnamese women, Non is considered an indispensable part of their traditional attire, including Ao dai (long dress), loose-fitting blouse, black silk skirt, red brassier, etc. It helps highlight the beauty, femininity and gracefulness of Vietnamese women. Under the conical hat, the eyes, smiles and neck of the wearer seem to be more attractive.
Almost all Vietnamese people feel close to and have deep attachment to Non. The image of girls in traditional long dress and Non has been absorbed into folk music and songs and becomes a beautiful symbol of Vietnam.
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nbsp;Story by Tran Tri Cong
Photos by Tat Son – Files
