Non la (palm-leaf conical hat) is a traditional symbol of Vietnamese people without age, sex or racial distinctions.

Like many other traditional costumes of Vietnam, Non la has its own origin, coming from a legend related to the history of rice growing in Vietnam. The story is about a giant woman from the sky who has protected humankind from a deluge of rain. She wore a hat made of four round shaped leaves to guard against all the rain. After the Goddess was gone, Vietnamese built a temple to commemorate her as the Rain-shielding Goddess.

Non la is made out of such simple and available materials as palm leaves, bark of Moc tree and bamboo. Non la is abundantly sold and there are many traditional villages where tourists can get high quality conical hats. For example, the Chuong village – 30km South West of Hanoi, is best-known for its handmade palm-leaf conical hats for centuries. Especially, ‘Non bai tho’ (poem hat) – a famous Non of Hue, has a picture of bamboo or even lyric lines of verse under the leaf-layer sunk designs, which is only seen under the sunlight.

Non la can serve numerous uses such as a personal sun proof, a basket for women going to market, a fan of a ploughman in hot summer days, or even a keepsake to memorize. The image of a young lady wearing Non la and Ao dai is a beautiful symbol of Vietnam; Non la is also an object which, as part of the national spirit, closely links Vietnamese people, so many travelers enjoy taking a Non la as a special souvenirs from Vietnam.