124 PEOPLES OF THE PHILIPPINES 
protecting the feet. At present, the hat is perhaps the 
most striking article of wear throughout the archipelago. 
Other than the Mohammedan, who clings to the turban 
style of headdress, and a few of his neighbors, there is 
scarcely a brown people in the islands that does not 
habitually affect something that may properly be called 
ahat. With the tribes of [gorot affiliation, this is quite 
rudimentary: a basket about four inches in diameter, or 
even a wooden bowl, worn on the back instead of the 
top of the head, and serving either wholly as ornament 
or as a receptacle in which useful little things are 
carried. ‘Those of the northern pagans who border on 
Christian peoples wear hats that shield from sun and 
rain; and the Christians put on a great variety. These 
always differ as between one nationality and another, 
and often several types are in use among the same 
people. They are made of basketry, palm leaves, 
gourds, or wood. Some are fully as large as a parasol, but 
nearly flat. Others are rounded and attain considerable 
height. The simpler forms show only a single curvature; 
but in many parts there is a definite distinction between 
crown and brim. There appear to be considerably more 
than a hundred hat types worn in the archipelago, and 
their thorough classification promises to be of great 
interest. There is perhaps no other manufactured 
article whose distribution is so universal, and in whose 
making fancy and style are accorded so large a range. 
At the same time, it is possible that this entire de- 
velopment has taken place in less than four hundred 
years. The first Spaniards described nothing that 
might properly be called a hat, but had much to say 
about kerchiefs or head cloths, usually called by their 
Tagalog name, potong. This appears to have been a 
band or fillet of some width which was wound around 
the head. Among the Bisaya, wealthy men sometimes 
