1. Tay Ho Village - A place to preserve and recreate history through images of hats and poems
Tay Ho village is quietly located on the Nhu Y river, in Phu Ho commune, Phu Vang district, Thua Thien - Hue province. The village is not too far from the city center, only about 12km. For a long time, Tay Ho has been extremely famous for its conical hat making profession. This profession was formed and developed hundreds of years ago. The village is also one of the witnesses witnessing the cultural beauty of conical hats. Poetry appeared in the late 50s - early 60s of the twentieth century, but to this day, conical hats and ao dai have become characteristic beauty features, impressing friends around the world.
As soon as you enter the village gate, you will be immediately impressed with the extremely quiet space, conical hats appear everywhere, maybe in shops on both sides of the road or houses making conical hats with attractive colors. Eye-catching, vibrant, diverse patterns for you to choose from.
The village is not only a favorite tourist destination for people from outside the province, but indigenous people also love this place. Because Tay Ho village still retains many traditional cultural beauties, associated with the story of our ancestors in the past, skillfully conveyed through the unique beauty and uniqueness of the poem hats. At the same time, coming to Tay Ho village, you also have the opportunity to see and contemplate the process of making hats with 15 extremely skillful and delicate stages.
The hats depicted in the poem are extremely impressive. They are an indispensable item in any performance related to Hue.
2. Process to complete a standard Hue poem hat
The main material to make a card hat is the young leaves of the eucalyptus tree (or in some places, coconut leaves or palm leaves). After being picked, the leaves are dried until they gradually turn yellow, thin but still have an elastic feel, which is definitely fine.
However, making a perfect hat is not easy. If you are not familiar with it, when knitting or sewing the leaves may be skewed and uneven. For each hat, the frame must be made up of 16 slats, meticulously polished from bamboo fibers. The hat frame will be made of old bamboo, the bamboo branches are flexible and durable, and the men need to trim and split them to make them very thin, so that when assembled into a frame, the hat will be light. Then carefully bend it into a round shape.
After drying, the leaves are ironed. Next is the conical hat making process, this part is usually done by the sisters, because it requires skill, meticulousness as well as perseverance. Small, familiar hands move quickly through each spoke of the cone mold to fix the leaves to the cone frame. Just do the same until you reach the end of the leaf or frame. To make the stitching straighter and more even, the worker will sew from top to bottom, with 3 transparent stitches for every 1cm. As for the last rim, sew with white thread, with 2 needles 2cm apart to be more secure.
If you want the inner cone to be thicker and sturdier, you can do the same thing twice. And when the stitching is completed, to make the hat neat and not reveal too many joints, people will often add a "mango" on the top of the hat, which not only helps cover the uneven tip, but also is the highlight that enhances the beauty of the hat. The final step is to brush oil on the outside of the hat to make the hat's surface shiny, smooth and more durable in the sun and rain.
Usually in a family making Tay Ho traditional conical hats, the whole family, young and old, men and women, will gather together to work and chat, so it is very interesting, it can be said that this activity seems to be attached to their daily lives, becoming a part of their daily work.
3. Interesting things in Tay Ho village are waiting for you to discover
The image of the poem hat in Tay Ho village is sparklingly beautiful, imbued with traditional beauty
Each conical hat product in Tay Ho village is not simply a commercial product but is also embedded in the cultural beauty and traditional symbol of the dreamy land of Hue by the craftsmen.
Each handmade poem hat born from Tay Ho village is not only famous for its thought as well as its sophistication and thinness, but also impresses with the precision of each needle and thread. Harmonious colors and cleverly designed motifs recreate the complete image of a poem and famous attractions in Hue. Among them, images of the Perfume River and Ngu Mountain are popular motifs often chosen to be placed next to poems on hats.
Immerse yourself in the peaceful space of Tay Ho village
After exploring the complex and sophisticated hat-making process of the people, relax your mind a bit with the scenery around the village. Tay Ho Village is truly a traditional village, still retaining the beauty and rustic simplicity of a Vietnamese village.
Walking around the village, you will see many vast, golden rice fields, or immerse yourself in the green natural scenery, rustic and peaceful countryside. Here, the image of the conical hat is recreated more closely to life. The image of people wearing sun, wind, and dew with conical hats on top will certainly make you very impressed.
Choose to buy a poem hat as a gift
Hue poem conical hats are one of the indispensable unique souvenirs for most tourists when traveling to Hue. Especially when you visit Tay Ho village, this gift is even more meaningful.
You can easily find and buy hats everywhere in the village, be it souvenir shops or some homes where people sell their own. You can also find some places that help you decorate to your liking to personally complete a poem hat in your style and with great meaning!
Tay Ho Village, with its continuous development in expertise and skills, is increasingly developing and producing countless quality, sophisticated, meticulous, and extremely impressive products. LV Travel believes that this is an attractive attraction that you will enjoy if you visit, not simply visiting a craft village, but this is also an opportunity for you to feel and participate in the daily life of the people. here. And finally, don't forget to buy yourself a few poem hats to give to your loved ones!