Asian conical hat
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.
Regional names
[edit]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 (笠) 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]
| Country | Local name | In Native Script |
|---|---|---|
| India (Assam) | Jaapi | জাপি |
| Bangladesh | Mathal | মাথাল |
| Cambodia | Do'un | ដួន |
| China | Dǒulì | 斗笠 |
| Indonesia | Caping, Seraung | |
| Japan | Kasa | 笠 |
| Korea | Satgat | 삿갓 |
| Laos | Koup | ກຸບ |
| Malaysia | Terendak, Siung | تريندق |
| Myanmar | Khamauk | ခမောက် |
| Philippines | Salakót | ᜐᜎᜃᜓᜆ᜔ |
| Taiwan | kue-le̍h-á | 瓜笠仔/kue-le̍h-á |
| Thailand | Ngop | งอบ |
| Vietnam | Nón lá, Nón tơi | 𥶄蘿, 𥶄𥵖 |
Use
[edit]
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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]
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
[edit]
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
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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
[edit]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.
Gallery
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A selection of conical hats in Hainan, China -
Souvenir nón tơi for tourists from Vietnam -
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A silver inlaid Filipino salakót -
A Korean man in traditional mourning clothes and satgat -
Making conical hats (nón tơi) in Huế countryside, Vietnam -
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See also
[edit]- Ba tầm, a traditional Vietnamese flat palm hat
- Fulani hat
- Gat
- List of hat styles
- List of headgear
- Mokoliʻi, an island in Hawaii with a nickname "Chinaman's Hat"
- Ngob
- Pilgrim's hat
- Pointed hat
References
[edit]- ^ "Coolie hat - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary".
- ^ "Bamboo Craft". Banglapedia.
- ^ "Conical Hats". Nguyentientam.com. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 55–559, see page 558, lines 3 to 5.
The term 'mandarin' is ...[applied]... only to those who are entitled to wear a 'button,' which is a spherical knob, about an inch in diameter, affixed to the top of the official cap or hat
- ^ Tanaka, Fumon (2003). Samurai Fighting Arts: The Spirit and the Practice. Kodansha International. p. 46. ISBN 978-4-7700-2898-3.
- ^ Ratti, Oscar; Westbrook, Adele (1991). Secrets of the Samurai; A Survey of the Martial Arts of Feudal Japan. C. E. Tuttle. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-8048-1684-7.
- ^ "SAZAU PAPAR [Introduction and history]". National Department for Culture and Arts, Malaysia. Archived from the original on November 10, 2025. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ^ AN, Nazihah (February 22, 2025). "Ini Kraf Tradisional Yang Unik Hanya Ditemui Di Sabah" [This is a unique traditional craft only found in Sabah]. ILoveBorneo.my (in Malay). Archived from the original on November 10, 2025. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
- ^ "Hat [Collections]". National Heritage Board, Singapore. Archived from the original on November 10, 2025. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ^ a b "Kadazan Traditional Costume Of Papar". Sabahnites. February 14, 2022. Archived from the original on November 10, 2025. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ^ Suraya Ismail, Melissa (April 4, 2022). "Did You Know Each Malaysian State Has Its Own Special Traditional Baju Designs?". The Rakyat Post. Archived from the original on November 11, 2025. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
- ^ Peralta, Jesus T. (2013). Salakot and Other Headgear (PDF). National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) & Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP), UNESCO. p. 232.
- ^ Nocheseda, Elmer I. "The Filipino And The Salacot". Tagalog Dictionary. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ Antón, Jacinto (December 5, 2013). "La romántica elegancia de Salacot". El País. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2018 – via elpais.com.
- ^ "Vietnamese Costumes: Non toi".
- ^ মৃত্যুঞ্জয় রায় (April 17, 2022). "বাংলার মাথাল" [Mathal of Bengal]. Daily Naya Diganta (in Bengali). Dhaka, Bangladesh. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
External links
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