Women's headdress

One of the subgroups of the Dao people (also called Mien or Yao) is called "Coin Dao” (Dao Tien) due to the numerous coins or their imitations sewn onto their clothing and hats. The Dao are considered highly developed people in northern Indochina: they have their own hieroglyphic writing, their own system of religious beliefs and gorgeous icons, which are highly valued in urban markets. By the number of silver ornaments on clothing the Dao are second to none, although in recent decades, their women are increasingly selling their traditional outfits and make new ones, but from inexpensive white metals. So is this hat: by tradition it is made from long woven braids of its owner, with a silver ornament resembling an antenna on top. The two long thin rods that this peculiar piece was attached to the hair with were made of silver as well. Today in the town of Sapa the heads of the Coin Dao are adorned with copies of this headdress made of plant fibers and aluminum. Vietnam, Ha Giang.