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**Ba tầm**
Ba tầm
	Woman in an áo ngũ thân with nón Ba tầm.
	Depiction of the people of Tonkin, a woman wearing a nón Ba tầm is shown.
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	nón Ba tầm
Chữ Nôm	𥶄𠀧尋
Literal meaning	Three tầm hat

A nón Ba tầm is a traditional Vietnamese flat palm hat.^[1]^[2]^[3] It should be distinguished from other traditional Vietnamese headwear such as the conical nón lá and the coiled turban, khăn vấn.

The nón Ba tầm is traditionally worn by Vietnamese women as an accessory to finer garments, as opposed to the more functional clothes associated with farm work.

The hats worn by shamans traditionally had silver ornaments hanging from silk strings around the brim.^[4]

Origin of the hat

According to documents from the French at the end of the nineteenth century, Ba tầm was translated into French as Le chapeau de trois tầm (literally "the hat of three tầm").^[5]^[6] A tầm (尋) was an ancient unit of measurement used in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, equivalent to an arm span. According to Vũ trung tùy bút, the Ba tầm hat is a combination of styles of dậu, mền giải, and viên cơ hats. The hat has been attested in literature since the 18th century, but its origin could be much older.

Nón mền giải^[7] (Also referred to as Ngoan Xác lạp 黿殼笠 and Tam Giang lạp 三江笠) – was worn by the elderly during the Revival Lê dynasty, which then fell out of fashion.
Nón vỏ bứa (Also referred to as Toan Bì lạp, 酸皮笠) – was worn by the poor, is a simplified version of the nón mền giải, where it was made smaller. During the Nguyễn dynasty, it was referred to in literature as Thủy Thủ lạp (水手笠).^[a]
Nón dậu (Cổ châu lạp, 古洲笠) – was worn by elderly relatives of mandarins, middle-class men and women, scholars and commoners in the capital. The top is pointed and has a flat rim with a few beams of thao thread, a type of silk.
Viên cơ lạp (圓箕笠) appeared in Hoan Châu province (Modern-day Nghệ An province). During the Revival Lê dynasty, it was worn by soldiers during the Arrogant Soldiers Rebellion (Loạn kiêu binh) during the Later Lê dynasty, with a long design, it almost like a winnowing basket (nia). During the Nguyễn dynasty, it was redesigned as a small hat, similar to the nón thúng, but with a square bevel, hats smaller than nón Ba tầm called a nón Nghệ (referred to in French, Le chapeau de Nghệ-an) was typically worn by women. Nón thúng (Chapeau en forme de panier) was worn by men and women, and had a bronze tapered design when compared to Nghệ hats.^[7]

Construction of the hat

Ba tầm hats are covered with palm leaves or gồi leaves, and are shaped like a parasol or mushroom/ They have a flat top, with a cone diameter of about 70–80 cm and a brim 10–12 cm higher or more. The inside of the hat is attached with a funnel-shaped rim called a khua or khùa (摳) to reinforce the hat on the user's head.^[8] In addition, people often tie colorful thao thread to the brim of the hat to make a charm. Nón quai thao is often used to refer to a nón Ba tầm, it was because of an improved design by writer Kim Lân and his son to be more compact and suitable for artistic activities. This type of hat was later adopted by female Quan họ singers where it became more popular.^[9]

Gallery

Men and women wearing Nghệ hats at a nhà trò (performing arts centre) in Quảng Nam, 1793
Men and women wearing Nghệ hats at a beach in Danang, 1793
Woman wearing Nghệ hats during explorer Jean Dupuis' voyage.
Women wearing nón Ba tầm watch the execution of a pirate chief by the Hoàn Kiếm Lake, 1886
Sketch of a Tonkinese wearing nón Ba tầm, 1899

A Tonkin girl wearing nón Ba tầm.
A Tonkinese girl wearing nón Ba tầm, photographed by Charles-Édouard Hocquard in Hanoi, 1885
Vương Thị Phượng wears a nón Ba tầm in photo taken in the early 20th century.
Two farmers Tonkin wearing thúng hats, 1919
Tày woman wearing a thúng hat, 1931
A girl wearing Áo ngũ thân and a Lòng chảo hat in Thăng Long Cổ trấn

Picture of nón quai thao.
Nón quai thao with traditional male and female dresses for Quan họ.
A Quan họ female artist holding a nón quai thao at Lim festival, 2010
A Quan họ ensemble holding quai thao hats duiring a performance at Đô temple, 2014
Dancers perform with quai thao hats.

References

^ Đi tìm chiếc nón cổ của người Việt – Ngọc An // Báo Thanh Niên, 27.06.2016, 06:11 (GMT+7)
^ Kirsten W. Endres, Andrea Lauser – Engaging the Spirit World: Popular Beliefs and Practices in Modern Vietnam 2012 "The Ten Girls were each allocated one two-storied house, three sets of clothes, one box of adornments, one flat palm hat (nón quai thao) and one traveling case in which to store everything."
^ Minh Hương Hội An quê tôi: hồi ký, tạp văn, giai thoại 2000 "Nào nón lá, nón Gò Găng, nón thúng (nón quai thao), nón nỉ, nón cối, giay, dép, guốc, (") Cúp tóc Phong trào hô hào cắt lóc ngắn."
^ Maurice M. Durand – Technique et panthéon des médiums viêtnamiens (Đông) 1959 "Chapeau de femme avec des attaches en argent (chiến) où sont suspendus des cordons de soie, giày thao. C'est le nón quai thao."
^ "Nón quai thao và nón ba tầm". Danang newspaper.
^ "Nón ba tầm – nét đặc trưng vùng Bắc Bộ đang dần biến mất". Dân Việt. 28 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b G, N. "Nón đội". Góc Nhìn.
^ Vũ, Từ Trang (2001). Nghề cổ nước Việt. Văn hóa dân tộc. p. 92.
^ "Nón quai thao, xôn xao miền Quan họ". Bắc Ninh newspaper.