Pandanus leaf plaited hat with Six Peaks

Is this a traditional style or just another style for the tourist market? Unable to retrieve any further information, we looked around at other traditional Asian hats and found the “topi tunjang“ headdress of the Iban tribe in the Island of Borneo, Sarawak, Malaysia.
The hat is quite an intricate craft: plaiting to create protruding peaks, while creating a pattern with the two colour strips. The basketry skills in the region are very sophisticated. Baskets and sacs made are often featured with similar patterns.
Mr Edric Ong of Sarawak, Malaysia is an acclaimed international curator, artist, designer and promotor on crafts, especially on ethnic textiles of Sarawak. Over the years, he has developed the Iban man’s ‘topi tunjang’ rattan hat into a fashion item, which he features in his catwalks.