User:Blackrosie vn/Khăn vấn

Khăn vấn (Nôm: 巾抆), khăn đóng (Nôm: 巾凍) or khăn xếp (Nôm: 巾插), is a kind of garment wear on head of Vietnamese people which was popular used from 18th century.

The word vấn means wrap around, coil around. The word khăn means scarf.

History[edit]

According the Ngàn năm áo mũ's author Trần Quang Đức, from Revivel Lê dynasty and earlier, sometimes people in Annam used head scarf to wrap hair following the custom of "Trung Châu" (China). However, after the Trịnh-Nguyễn war, the residents in Quảng Nam (the Southern) began to adapt to some customs of Champa, one of those was "vấn khăn" - wrap the scarf around head. Firstly, wrapping scarf around head can avoid intense hot climate in South Central Coast. Secondly, the purpose of that act is to preen. In 1744, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát of Đàng Trong (Huế) decreed that both men and women at his court wear trousers and a gown with buttons down the front. That the Nguyen Lords introduced ancient áo dài (áo ngũ thân). The members of the Đàng Trong court (southern court) were thus distinguished from the courtiers of the Trịnh Lords in Đàng Ngoài (Hanoi), who wore áo giao lĩnh with long skirts and loose long hair. Hence, wrapping scarf around head became an unique custom in the south then. From 1830, Minh Mạng emperor force every civilian in the country to change their clothes, that custom became popular in the whole Vietnam.

Characteristics[edit]

Khăn vấn is a textile rectangle long and quite thick, được quấn nhiều vòng quanh đầu và không phân biệt giới tính cũng như tuổi tác người dùng. Cứ theo các sắc lệnh của triều Nguyễn được chép trong Đại Nam thực lục, ban sơ người An Nam vẫn trung thành với lối vấn khăn kiểu Champa, nhưng dần dà được cách tân cho phù hợp với mỗi thời và mỗi đẳng cấp xã hội. Thậm chí, từ thế kỷ XX còn xuất hiện thêm các kiểu giả khăn vấn bằng gỗ, nhựa, kim loại... tuy nhiên thói quen này thường bị báo giới chê là kệch cỡm.

Có rất nhiều dạng khăn vấn, nhưng căn bản được phân theo 3 kiểu:

Basic khăn vấn: Only for men, handy and casual. Use a thick or thin cloth (as you like to fix your bun) and wrap it 1-2 times around your head for a neat fit, except for yellow (that only emperor can wear), all other colors are allowed.
Rí or khăn lươn: Only for women, also handy and casual. A piece of cloth that is not too long, with padded hair inside, is wrapped around the head to keep hair neat. Young women when going to the festival also prefer to have ponytail for increased charm. Except for yellow (for royalty) and pink (for singers and prostitutes), other colors are popular.
Mũ mấn or khăn vành dây: Used on formal occasions. The very long, thick cloth was wrapped around the head like a funnel: include yellow (for empress), blue (for bride and groom), white (for shaman).

In addition, according to the law of Nguyễn Dynasty, the problem of being too short and thin was prohibited, but too long and thick was also criticized as ugly. Therefore, the problem of neat and beautiful towels is considered a general trend to evaluate the quality of each person.

Variants[edit]

In the Mekong Delta region, there is a popular variant called khăn rằn, which combines the traditional khăn vấn of Vietnamese with the kerchief of the Khmer. But unlike the red color of the Khmer, Vietnamese towels are black and white. Towels usually 1m2 long, size 40–50 cm. Because it is only popular in the South, it is temporarily considered a characteristic of this place.

Nghệ thuật hóa[edit]

Chèo Lới lơ

Ta đi chợ dốc ngồi gốc cây đa

Thấy cô bán rượu

Mặc áo nâu già

Thắt dây lưng xanh

Khăn xanh có rí đội đầu

Để thương để nhớ để sầu cho ai

Tóc vấn trần
Áo dài

Reference[edit]

Liên kết ngoài[edit]

[[Category:Vietnamese clothing]] [[Category:Scarves]]