PHILIPPINE HATS. 
95 
being taught at many places, and through this, already has reached the 
commercial stage in some towns where previously it did not exist. It 
is probable that in the course of a few years, their number will greatly 
be increased. 
HISTORY. 
From a variety of sources, it has been possible to obtain considerable 
light upon the history of hat making in the Philippines. The earliest 
data have chiefly been taken from the translations by Blair and 
Robertson 3 of documents, whose originals have in most cases not 
been available for consultation. The references here cited are to the 
translations. 
The story goes back at least to the date of the first visit of Europeans to the 
Islands. In Pigafetta’s narrative of the Magellan expedition, he writes the fol- 
lowing regarding their stay at Cebu, in 1521. 4 5 The queen “wore a large hat of 
palm leaves ( in the manner of a parasol ) , with a crown about it of the same 
leaves, like the tiara of the pope (and she never goes any place without such 
a one).” Later, in a description of the queen going in state to mass, he says: 
“Three girls preceded her with three of her hats in their hands * * * and 
she had on her hat.” But the women in the procession had no further covering 
for the head than a small scarf. On a subsequent call by Pigafetta, he found 
the queen weaving a mat, 3 The description of the king's costume 6 shows that 
he did not wear a hat, so that in the beginning, the hat habit in the Philippines 
was feminine, although today it is definitely the opposite. 
Mat making can be traced still , further. Chao Ju-Kua’s description of the 
Philippines, 7 the exact date of which is not known, but almost certainly before 
1300, notes the Philippine traders as selling fine mats, although they imported 
a kind of basket woven from rattan. 
Although the hats of Cebu were indexed as having been made from 
the coconut palm, it is much more likely that they were of buri or some 
species of Livistona. Indeed, these two genera of palms, the latter espe- 
cially, suggest a possible theory of the origin of hats in this part of the 
world. The leaves of Livistona are not unlike a flattened umbrella, the 
petiole corresponding to the handle, the numerous midribs to the ribs, 
and. the lamina, which is continuous nearly to the margin, supplies the 
covering. To this day, these leaves are frequently used as a shelter, and 
make an excellent substitute for an umbrella or parasol. It would have 
been an easy advance to have attached a light framework, and thus made 
a permanent hat. As a matter of fact, the third type of hats indicated 
above, known in most dialects as salacots, are often now made in exactly 
3 Blair, E. H. & Robertson, J. A. The Philippine Islands. 55 vols. 1903-1909. 
4 B. & R. 33: 159, 161. The clauses here put in parentheses are not found 
in all manuscripts. 
5 B. & R. 33: .205. 
6 B. & R. 33: 147. 
7 B. & R. 34: 189. 
