Jaapi or Japi (Bodo: Khofri) is an Asian conical hat. It is made from tightly woven bamboo and/or cane and tokou paat (Trachycarpus martianus) a large, palm leaf. The word jaapi derives from jaap meaning a bundle of tokou leaves. In the past, plain jaapis were used by ordinary people in Assam and by farmers for protection from the sun, while ornate decorative jaapis were worn as a status symbol by the royalty and nobility. Decorative sorudoi jaapi are made with intricate cloth designs (primarily red, white, green, blue, and black) that are integrated into the weaving. The upper metal component attached to the top of a jaapi is known in Assamese as sula (Assamese: চূলা), described as a metal, cap-like ornament fixed to the top of the jaapi. The Sula of Japis used by royalty and nobles were made of silver and gold. Besides East and Southeast Asia, rain hats, similar to Jaapi, are spread throughout East India and Nepal, including Bengal, Terai, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh like Mishmi and Adi also wear similar traditional headgear made of bamboo or cane.

History

The earliest recorded evidence for the use of the conical hat as a royal item is found in accounts of the Chutia kingdom. During negotiations with the Ahom king Suhungmung in 1523, the Chutia king offered among his presents an object mentioned as kup ngiun chon kham in the Tai-Ahom text. Golap Chandra Barua translated the object as a "silver lipped umbrella (Japi)". Barua's Ahom-Assamese-English Dictionary independently defines the Ahom word kup as "a wicker hat serving as an umbrella". The parallel Assamese chronicle traditions likewise identify the object explicitly as a japi, describing it variously as সোণৰ পাত বন্ধা জাপি ("a japi bound or faced with gold leaf") and সোণৰ খাপৰ চিকন জাপি ("a fine/beautiful japi with a gold layer/casing"). In both descriptions, the object itself remains a japi, while the gold qualifies its ornamentation or covering: পাত বন্ধা refers to binding or facing with gold leaf or sheet, whereas খাপ can denote a covering, casing, or layer. After the annexation of Sadiya in 1524, the Ahom king received further treasure and booty which included japis. In 1524–25, the Ahom king presented some of the silver japis obtained from the Chutia king, together with other gifts, to Phukloimung, a chief from Mongkawng, during negotiations following his attack on Sadiya. Barua's translation records twenty "Japis (hats) with silver tips" being presented to Phukloimung, while the Deodhai Assam Buranji describes another version of the gift as "ৰূপৰ চূলাৰে জাপি দুটা" (two japis with silver sula).

Precious-metal fittings continued to be recorded on objects explicitly identified as japis in the Ahom chronicles. Later descriptions of Ahom court attire state that the Buragohain, Borgohain and Borpatragohain used Pani Japis and Tupi Japis with gold sula, whereas the Borphukan used japis with silver sula. The use of gold or silver in the description of a royal object therefore did not necessarily alter the category of the object being named. The same Ahom sources refer to royal umbrellas presented by the Chutia king as chong-kham ("gold umbrella") and chong-ngiun ("silver umbrella"). A later royal "gold umbrella" associated with Gadadhar Singha which is preserved at Bengenaati Satra in Majuli is essentially a gold-plated folding wooden umbrella. Together with the explicit references to japis furnished with gold or silver sula, these examples show a broader tradition of describing court objects by their precious-metal coverings, fittings or ornamentation.

During the Ahom period, the Jaapi-hajiya Khel, the occupational guild responsible for making japis, was monopolised by Chutias. Apart from this, the Baro-Bhuyans of Central Assam are also said to have used japis. According to the Satsari Buranji, the Ahom kings adopted the Tongali, Hasoti and Tokou-patia Japi from the Baro-Bhuyans.

Regional context

The jaapi belongs to a wider tradition of woven bamboo-and-leaf headgear used by agricultural communities across eastern and northeastern India.

Rain hats of Northeast India

Among the Boros, a comparable rain protector is known as the khophri. It is made from split bamboo, with dried wild leaves placed between the woven layers and its edges reinforced with cane or bamboo. Traditionally worn by both men and women, it is particularly associated with work such as tilling, transplanting rice and preparing paddy fields during the rainy season. Among the Bodos, a Kherai ritual dance known as Khopri Sibnai involves a large headgear made from bamboo strips and dried leaves; the dancer also carries a shield and sword. It is said that Bishnu Prasad Rabha introduced the Jaapi dance into Bihu through the film Joymoti, drawing from tribal dances including the Bodo Khofri Sibnai Mwsanai.

Related forms are found elsewhere in Northeast India. The Monpas of Arunachal Pradesh use a shallow conical hat formed from two woven layers with dried banana-stem material inserted for waterproofing. The Adi, including the Galo or formerly Adi-Gallong groups, also manufacture several forms of coiled cane headgear. The bolup, for example, consists of a sturdy semi-elliptical bowl surrounded by a horizontal, boat-shaped rim, although such hats function principally as protective or decorative headgear rather than as broad agricultural rain hats. The Mishmis of eastern Arunachal Pradesh likewise have a tradition of woven cane and bamboo hats. Ethnographic collections record hats belonging to the Mishmi and Idu Mishmi communities, while documentation supported by the Department of Tourism of Arunachal Pradesh identifies cane-hat making as part of the Idu Mishmis' wider traditions of bamboo weaving.

Rain hats of eastern and central South Asia

Comparable agricultural rain hats also occur farther west and south in eastern India as well as the Terai region of Nepal. Among the Tharu people of the Terai in southern Nepal, a broad bamboo-and-dried-leaf field hat or parasol known as the chattri is worn while cultivating paddy. Resting on the head like a hands-free umbrella, it protects the wearer from both monsoon rain and the sun. Nineteenth-century descriptions of Tharu material life also mention the use of umbrellas made from leaves as protection from the sun. Among the Chuktia Bhunjia people of Odisha, the chhatel or mayer is a broad, flat conical rain hood made by enclosing layers of siali leaves between two interlaced bamboo frames; it was traditionally used while sowing and transplanting paddy. Bamboo-and-leaf rain hats known as palari in Ganjam and chhatur in Kalahandi are similarly worn by farmers, labourers and herders; comparable forms have been reported across eastern India. In neighbouring Bangladesh, a bamboo agricultural hat called the mathal is also traditionally used in farm work. Comparable rainwear was formerly used among the Adivasi communities of Bastar in present-day Chhattisgarh. Local rain hats called chettris, together with leaf raincoats called sonas, were made from dried sal leaves and worn when travelling to village markets during rainfall. In other parts of central India, ethnographic collections record the khumari or khumri, described as a traditional rain hat, together with related rain shields or raincoats known as khumri or chhateli. Mahul leaves continue to be used locally in Chhattisgarh to improvise hats that protect cattle herders from heavy rain.

These regional forms share the use of locally available bamboo, cane and leaves, layered construction for waterproofing, and an association with cultivation under monsoon conditions. The Assamese jaapi developed its own distinctive varieties and acquired additional courtly, ceremonial and decorative functions within Assam.

Cultural symbol

Today the jaapi is an important symbol of Assam and its culture. It is used during Bihu dance, as protection against the elements, offered as a sign of respect in ceremonies, and placed as a decorative item around the house especially in the walls as a welcome sign.

Types

• Sorudoi japi: Used by women, especially brides.

• Bordoi japi: Used by royalty since ancient times (Kamrupa).

• Panidoi/Haluwa japi: Used by farmers in fields.

• Garakhiya japi: Used by cattle herders.

• Pitha japi: Used as hoods, sometimes during cultivation.

• Tupi/Varun japi: Used in rain as protective hats.

Gallery

See also

• Conical Asian hat

• Culture of Assam

• List of hat styles

• List of headgear

• Textiles and dresses of Assam

References

Notes

Bibliography