Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Asian conical hat

Cone-shaped hat worn in parts of Asia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Asian conical hat
Remove ads

The Asian conical hat is a style of conically shaped sun hat worn in China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. It is kept on the head by a cloth or fiber chin strap, an inner headband, or both.

Thumb
Caping worn by a farmer in Indonesia
Thumb
These women at the Awa Dance Festival in Japan wear the characteristic kasa of the dance
Thumb
Fresco by 15th century Italian artist Piero della Francesca depicting a Persian soldier as an East Asian wearing a conical hat.
Remove ads

Regional names

English terms for the hat include Chinese hat, sedge hat, rice hat, paddy hat, bamboo hat, and coolie hat.[1]

In Southeast Asia, it is known as do'un (ដួន) in Cambodia; caping or seraung in Indonesia; koup (ກຸບ) in Laos; terendak or siung in Malaysia; ngop (งอบ) in Thailand; khamauk (ခမောက်) in Myanmar; salakót (ᜐᜎᜃᜓᜆ᜔), sarók, sadók, s'laong, hallidung, kallugong, and tabungaw among other names in the Philippines; and nón tơi or nón chằm lá in Vietnam.[citation needed]

In East Asia it is called dǒulì (斗笠, literally meaning a "one-dǒu bamboo hat") in China; kasa () in Japan; and satgat (삿갓) in Korea.

In South Asia, it is known as jaapi in Assam (India); in Bangladesh it is known as mathal (মাথাল).[2]

More information Country, Local name ...
Remove ads

Use

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
A straw cone hat worn by a Japanese buddhist monk
Thumb
Japanese jingasa worn by samurai
Types of Japanese hats

Asian conical hats are, throughout Asia, primarily used as a form of protection from the sun and rain. When made of straw or other woven materials, it can be dipped in water and worn as an impromptu evaporative cooling device.[3]

China

In China, conical hats were typically associated with farmers, while mandarins wore tighter circular caps, especially in the winter.[4] There were several conical hat types worn during the Qing dynasty (see Qing official headwear).

Japan

It is also widely understood in East Asia, most notably Japan, where they were known as kasa, as a symbol of Buddhism, as it is traditionally worn by pilgrims and Buddhist monks in search of alms.

Sturdier, even metal, variants, known as jingasa (battle kasa), were also worn by samurai and foot-soldiers in Japan, as helmets.[5][6]

Malaysia

Thumb
Sumazau performances by Papar Kadazans with siung at the Monsopiad Heritage Village

In the Papar District of Sabah, the conical hat is worn during the sazau or sumazau dances during the harvest festival of Kaamatan by the Kadazan people, while it is also hung in homes as decoration.[7] In the past, it was commonly worn by the Kadazan females of the Papar District for protection against sunlight and rain during their agricultural activities.[8][9] Different types of siung also carry their respective meanings; for Kadazan sumandaks who are still unmarried, it is usually with feathers; the flower one usually means already married, while plain either means widowed, a grandmother or elderly.[10] Another hint is the silver belt (antique British trade dollar); unmarried Kadazan females usually with four coins, while those married wear only two.[10] The siung is further paired with black velvety fabric of sia with gold weave designs and a belt called ikat pinggang and dastar headdress with the same fabric.[11]

Philippines

Thumb
Spanish military uniforms in the Philippines in 1862 showing the salakot (right) worn as part of the traje de campaña (campaign uniform) and Rayadillo. This later evolved into pith helmet in British India.
Thumb
Filipina farmer wearing a salakot

In the Philippines, the salakót is more commonly a pointed dome-shape, rather than conical, with a spike or knob finial. Unlike most other mainland Asian conical hats, it is characterized by an inner headband in addition to a chinstrap. It can be made from various materials including bamboo, rattan, nito, bottle gourd, buri straw, nipa leaves, pandan leaves, and carabao horn. The plain type is typically worn by farmers, but nobles in the pre-colonial period (and later principalia in the Spanish period) crafted ornate variations with jewels, precious metals, or tortoiseshell. These are considered heirloom objects passed down from generation to generation within families.[12][13]

The salakót was also commonly worn by native soldiers in the Spanish colonial army. It was adopted by Spanish troops in the early 18th century as part of their campaign uniform. In doing so, it became the direct precursor of the pith helmet (still called salacot or salacco in Spanish and French).[14]

Vietnam

Thumb
Nón lá - the most popular traditional head hat in Vietnam

In Vietnam, the nón lá, nón tơi ("hats"), nón gạo ("rice hat"), nón dang ("conical hat") or nón trúc ("bamboo hat") forms a perfect right circular cone which tapers smoothly from the base to the apex. Special conical hats in Vietnam contain colourful hand-stitch depictions or words. The Huế varieties are famous for their nón bài thơ (lit. poem conical hats) and contain random poetic verses and Chữ Hán, which can be revealed when the hat is directed above one's head in the sunlight. In modernity, they have become part of Vietnam's national costume.[15]

Others

In India, and Bangladesh,[16] the plain conical hat was worn by commoners during their daily work, but more decoratively-colored ones were used for festivities.

Remove ads

See also

References

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads