the-henvic-coif

Traduction , Richard Longridge and Bernard Le Mer.

An enclave between Léon and Trégor
The Henvic Coif, named the " chubilinenn " or the " jobelinenn ", was particular to the peninsula that today takes in the four townships of Taulé, Carantec, Henvic, and Locquenolé. This virtual island, delineated by the Penzé and the estuary of the Dossen, was always a little apart from the Léon, where the women wore the " chicolodenn ", and in the Trégor, where the " toukenn " was worn.
Breton-speakers well know that the Breton which is spoken in this enclave is different from the neighbouring regions. Would these differences go back to the very faraway times when the Celts of Great Britain and Ireland immigrated to Armorique, a tribal area settled in this enclave that is sometimes called " An daou dour " in Breton?

A coif in the shape of crab shell
In Henvic, the coif began to disappear at the time of the Second World War, but one remembers seeing it still worn by some women until the 60's. Mme. Jeanne Marie Le Gall would have been one of the last women in the township to wear it.
It was not, apart from the rest of the costume, embroidered richly and decorated, like the coifs of Concarneau or Bigoudène. It was rather discreet, but not without elegance.

Mr Yves René Creston, who wrote an important work considered as a reference on the subject, listed it in the category of the few 55 peasant coifs existing in Brittany.
Although practically identical to those of Carantec and Taulé, where it was called the "Taoleadenn" or the " kalabousenn ", one is able however to recognize it among its neighbours.

The small characteristic cap simply hiding the chignon, and whose shapes slightly resemble the shell of a crab, with two small horns at the sides. Whereas in Carantec, these were raised slightly, and those in Taulé fell downwards, but in Henvic they were on the other hand only very little marked, and gave to the coif a more flattened shape.
The differences between the coifs often came from the different ways of ironing them. Mme. Priser who lived in Henvic, was probably the last 'ironer' of coifs in the township.

The coif used to be bigger
One needs to know that this coif, as in the rest of Brittany, evolved a lot during the years, and especially since the first half of the l9th century, where the fragmentation of sartorial fashions began.
Since this time, its size continued to grow smaller. On a picture belonging to a private collection, and representing a 'Pardon' in Henvic, in 1818, one can see that the coifs of the women were a lot larger, and contained the set of the hair.


		In another picture, on the other hand, done by painter Jacques Jullien in honour of the soldiers and sailors of Henvic killed during the war 14-18, and of which there remains, alas, only reproductions on very rare post cards, one notes that the coif already had decreased considerably in relation to the previous century, and one also notices that it was worn more on the back of the head. The old people in the township also remember that the Henvic coif became smaller and smaller since World War I The very fast changes in fashion during the second half of this century entailed radical changes in the sartorial art, and the coifs and shawls of our grandmothers are only a memory in old family photos.

		Cécile GOASGUEN, Jean Marie HYRIEN's wife