Yarn
Mpu (hat)
circa late nineteenth century
It is doubtful that
this kind of mpu was worn as a casual
piece of clothing. Probably more of a ceremonial or even status-bearing symbol
than, say, a rather over-intricate device for just keeping one's head warm at
night, it is reasonable to assign this type of hat to an important figure,
perhaps male or female. Its height is
not just a coincidence of too much yarn at hand, but a signifier of one's
importance.
Just as with the varied dress uses of exotic
plumes in such periods as the Baroque and the Rococo (where something as large
as an ostrich feather, for example, would not only display the wealth and
'taste' of any wearer but would also indicate their promising fertility,
especially in the case of a male), this, too, can be assumed for the mpu. Perhaps an abundance of hair able
to fit into its tall cavity was a sign of dominance, a communion between a
human and art. Or perhaps the skill required to keep such a hat from looking a
bit dowdy on one's head was only learned by a select few, therefore making them
worthy of praise and admiration; or maybe it was the simple extension of height
given to the wearer that denoted them as not only bigger than others, but also as
the so-called 'carrier' of a message, as if the mpu were a talisman of communication.
Lastly, notice that the hat's character
lies in its décor of pattern and handiwork rather than on any sort of colourful
element (or so far as we know). This makes the quality of its texture and the physical
contact it made with the wearer all the more important than had it been
coloured, too. So it is simple, and in a way - beautiful.
