Tien Dien conical hat making - a glorious time
Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs are a type of folk performing art that occupies an important position in the cultural life of the people of Nghe Tinh. On November 27, 2014, at the 9th Session, held in Paris (France), the United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. In particular, Tien Dien Conical Hat Vi and Giam singing is a unique type in the treasure trove of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs. However, this type has faded away and needs to be preserved and promoted in contemporary life.
Based on many sources of documents, Tien Dien village has a long history. Books such as Nghi Xuan Dia Chi and Nghi Xuan Huyen Thong Chi all believe that this village may have existed since the Ly - Tran dynasties. "Some local excavations have found coins of the Thuan Thien era (Ly dynasty) and ceramic bowls with Ly dynasty patterns. Professor of history and archaeologist Ha Van Tan, during his visits to Tien Dien, also determined that there were many Ly dynasty ceramics in these villages" [1] . In addition, Tien Dien village also worships a god who had the merit of opening up and protecting the security of many villages in Nghe An in the 11th century. That was Ly Nhat Quang, the eighth son of Ly Thai To, who was an official in Nghe An, had a good reputation, was upright in politics , and was famous in the court.
According to the elders, the conical hat making profession has existed for a long time in Tien Dien village. “Conical hats are produced in Tien Dien (4 villages: Bau Ke, Luong Nang, Van Truong and Vo Phan” [2] .
Hat makers have to go through many steps from going to the forest to pick leaves, choose leaves, wash leaves, iron leaves; split bamboo, trim rattan; choose frames, bend brims, roof leaves, sew, cut leaves, crack brims, cut threads... to the final step of polishing and preservation. According to documents, Tien Dien area is in the middle of the plains, but people here are used to going to Hong Linh mountain to get conical leaves to make hats. Making hats has become the profession of the whole village. Every year, in Tien Dien, there is still a custom of commemorating the death anniversary of hat makers who had an accident while going to the market to sell hats and their boat capsized.
Tien Dien conical hat products are sold at markets in and outside the province, especially Vinh market. The profession has developed strongly and the proof of that is the birth and development of the conical hat guild organization. This is a fairly tight organization, linking the rights and responsibilities of the members. The conical hat guild has set out specific regulations on techniques, materials, prices, and responsibilities of members to the guild. Tien Dien conical hat guild clearly reflects the nature of a craft guild and also has the nature of a commercial organization "buying with friends, selling with the guild". The guild has a common responsibility to its members. The guild leader has almost absolute authority in the guild. All members must comply with all requests of the guild leader. Children of members when getting married must pay a gift and ask for the guild leader's opinion before going to the village. Every year, people admitted to the ward must pay a sum of money and a basket of rice to use in times of famine, difficulties in production, trading, etc. The ward's public fund is used for ceremonies, to provide subsidies for members who are sick, in difficulty, or who encounter funerals, weddings, etc.
Besides being a professional organization, the conical hat guild is also a gathering place for community cultural activities, singing, and festivals. In Nghe Tinh village in general, and Tien Dien village in particular, in the past, there were many singing guilds that coexisted according to different spaces, living and working time, they used many melodies in the guild's performing arts activities, but perhaps the melodies most often used by the conical hat guild's artisans were still the vi songs.
The Tien Dien conical hat singing group was born and has become a very unique form of folk art and folk performance of the local residents, including those inside and outside the conical hat group:
Before visiting the hat making profession
After meeting you, meeting the ward
Wallet, looking for lover
We are in the same hat making guild,
You and the hat making guild.
“Usually held in the evening by the light of a lamp or under the moonlight or in the home garden. The hat makers sing to forget their hardships and fatigue, to express their feelings as couples, their love for their homeland... Sometimes they sing alone while working; sometimes they sing with people in the house or more broadly, with the hat-making guild. Occasionally, boys from other villages come to sing in response and exchange love songs” [3] .
Hat vi and hat guilds initially took place indoors - outside the alley or in a yard of a house. The women made hats and sang. The men were guests, standing or sitting to sing; but if they were in the same guild, they could shave bamboo, split rattan and sing at the same time. The hat guild was also ready to sing in response to other guilds such as hunting guilds, firewood guilds, fabric guilds, etc.
The art of singing Vi is increasingly regulated. The procedure for singing Vi is divided into three stages - the first stage is singing for introduction, greeting, celebrating and asking; the second stage is singing riddles and counter-songs; the third stage is singing invitations and ending songs. Below is the opening and inviting song of a young man in the conical hat group:
Oh people... how often do men and women sit next to each other?
Let the men write a couple of sentences and let the women write a few sentences…
Next will be the "first stage", "inviting" lyrics of the female:
Hey man… my friend comes to invite you into my home
Here is some good tea for you to drink, here is a flower mat for you to sit on...
Then there are the following "stages", where men and women in the ward will sing and compete in improvisational talent..." [4].
Nowadays, the hat making profession in Tien Dien has faded away, but people still always mention "Vi phuong conical hat" - a type of traditional cultural activity, which is now gradually being restored, contributing to improving the spiritual and cultural life of the people:
(Men's wallet)
Oh, those are the ladies from the conical hat village!
Don't go for a walk under the moonlight
Just sit and poke up and down
Hat with me that trouble
Wallet (men's)
When can I see the full moon?
Come out and sing, or you'll waste your time and effort.
Wallet (women)
Someone's voice is echoing somewhere
The rude person first, please come inside.
It is necessary to promote the value of singing in Tien Dien conical hat guild in tourism development.
In order to promote the value of singing in Tien Dien conical hat guild in tourism development, in the coming time, it is necessary to implement the following solutions:
First of all, restore the hat making craft village to produce souvenirs to sell to tourists visiting the Tien Dien cultural land, the Great Poet Nguyen Du Memorial Site - a special national monument. At the same time, this is also a solution to contribute to restoring the performance space of the form of singing vi of Tien Dien conical hat guild.
Maintain and develop the Tien Dien Vi and Giam folk song club with many different forms, focusing on the form of singing Vi and Giam in the conical hat guild. In particular, build a separate space for the performance of the conical hat guild as an address in the tourist itinerary when coming to Tien Dien. Select good singers, sing live Vi and Giam folk songs in the space of the conical hat guild.
Connecting to build a tourism program that combines singing of the Non Ward in the Tien Dien - Lai Thach tourist route, following the road Nguyen Du used to go from Tien Dien to Truong Luu. Tourists can experience visiting and listening to the Non Ward singing directly at the special national relic site of the great poet Nguyen Du. After that, tourists can visit some historical - cultural relics ranked as provincial historical - cultural relics in Tien Dien commune.
It is necessary to include the singing of the conical hat guild in the curriculum. Focus on developing the singing of the conical hat guild in Tien Dien in relation to the singing of the fabric guild in Truong Luu. Tourists can exchange these two types of Vi Giam folk songs on their journey to Ha Tinh.
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References:
[1] PTS Nguyen Quoc Pham, Traditional and modern culture of Tien Dien village, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, p. 19.
[2] Association of Literature and Arts (2025), Vo Hong Huy's works - Volume II: Famous scholar Hong Lam, The Gioi Publishing House, Hanoi, page 272.
[3] Phan Thu Hien, Nghe Tinh folk songs - representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity, Vinh University Publishing House, Nghe An, p. 167.
[4] Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Pham, Tien Dien, Nguyen Du, a land of talented people, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, p. 61.
Source: https://baohatinh.vn/phat-huy-gia-tri-hat-vi-phuong-non-tien-dien-trong-phat-trien-du-lich-post296564.html
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