Gugu hat (罟罟冠 or 固姑冠 or 顧姑冠 or 故姑冠; pronounced as Guguguan in Chinese) is a tall headdress worn by Mongol noblewomen before and during the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

.'''' It is also known as ''boqta,'' ''boghta,'' ''botta, boghtagh'' or ''boqtaq''.'''' The ''gugu hat'' was one of the hallmark headdress of Mongol women in the 13th and 14th century.'''' It was always worn with the formal robe of Mongol women.'''' The boqta also appeared in the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

(1256–1335 AD), in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

when Mongol princesses married in the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

court, and continued to be used in the

Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire of C ...

court in the 15th century AD.

Terminology

Gugu was a Mongolian word for

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

; its name was then translated into Chinese based on its pronunciation.

Construction and design

The Gugu hat was made with wires made of iron and with bamboo strips; they were shaped in the form of a large flask. It had the shape of long cylindrical shaft which became more spread out at the top. It could be as tall as one foot high. It could be covered with

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

fabric. It could be made of red silk or brocade, blue-green brocade, black felt. It could also be decorated with precious stones, such as pearls, gold filigrees, large pieces of jewelries in the middle of the hat, and small tuft of quills such as

peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

feathers.

Influences and derivatives

The gugu hat may have influenced the 15th Century AD conical hats (i.e.

hennin The hennin (french: hennin ; possibly from Flemish nl, henninck meaning cock or rooster) was a headdress in the shape of a cone, steeple, or truncated cone worn in the Late Middle Ages by European women of the nobility. They were most common in ...

) worn by

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

women. The Korean

jokduri A is a type of traditional Korean coronet worn by women for special occasions such as weddings. Also known as a or , it consists of an outer crown covered with black silk, and an inner which is filled with cotton and hard paper. Its top is decor ...

might have originated from the gugu hat.

Gallery

File:Будшир хатан.jpg, Empress

Budashiri Budashiri or Buddhashiri (Mongolian alphabet, Mongolian: ᠪᠦᠳᠬᠠᠱᠢᠷᠢ, , Sinicized as ''Putashali'', ) (born c. 1307 – died c. 1340) was Empress of China and Khatun of Mongols as the wife of Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür. She act ...

of Yuan and Khatun of the Mongols. File:Empressesryuandinastycollage.jpg, Yuan dynasty empresses wearing gugu hat. File:DiezAlbumsKhanAndKhatun.jpg,

Khatun Khatun ( Mongolian: хатан; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣, katun; ota, خاتون, hatun or قادین ''kadın''; fa, خاتون ''khātūn''; ; hi, ख़ातून ') is a female title of nobility and counterpart to " khan" or "Khagan" prominen ...

wearing a boqta. Illustration of Rashid-ad-Din's Gami' at-tawarih, 1st quarter of 14th century AD. File:DiezAlbumsEnthronization3 b.jpg, Women wearing boqta, Illustration of Rashid-ad-Din's Gami' at-tawarih, 1st quarter of 14th century AD. File:DiezAlbumsBirth.jpg, Three women wearing boqta, Illustration of Rashid-ad-Din's Gami' at-tawarih, 1st quarter of 14th century AD. File:Ulugh Beg with ladies of his harem and retainers, Timurid 1425-50.jpg, Harem ladies of

Ulugh Beg Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh ( chg, میرزا محمد طارق بن شاہ رخ, fa, میرزا محمد تراغای بن شاہ رخ), better known as Ulugh Beg () (22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449), was a Timurid sultan, as ...

, Timurid court 1425-1450 AD.

References

{{Reflist Chinese headgear History of Asian clothing Mongolian culture

Terminology

Construction and design

Influences and derivatives

Gallery

See also

References