can any one please explain me the significance of Talipot fan in Buddhism? Namo Buddhaya,
can any one please explain me the significance of Talipot fan in Buddhism ? is it part of any traditional process  ? I have seen many photos in internet as Bhikkus holding the Talipot HandFan, some covers their face while chanting. Is there any particular significance ?
thank you
Reference Images -
In the book &quot;Buddhist Ceremonies and Rituals of Sri Lanka&quot; by A.G.S. Kariyawasam, there is a sub-chapter on the Pirit Ceremony which states:

Pirit (or paritta) is a collective term designating a set of
protective chants or runes sanctioned by the Buddha for the use of
both lay-men and bhikkhus. Pirit-chanting is a very popular ceremony
among the Buddhists of Sri Lanka. As the term itself implies it means
a safety rune (paritta = protection), the ceremonial recital of which
is regarded as capable of warding off all forms of evil and danger
(vipatti), including disease, the evil influence of the planets, evil
spirits, etc. These may be real dangers to the safety of persons and
property as well as superstitiously believed-in calamities. In
addition to this curative and positive aspect, pirit is also chanted
for the attainment of general success (sampatti,siddhi).  In the
domestic  and  social  life  of  the  Sri  Lankan Buddhist no
important function can be considered complete without this ceremony.
However, the ceremony may vary from the simple to the highly
elaborate, depending on the occasion and the status of the sponsor.

Going deeper, it states:

Until the monks arrive for the pirit chanting, the devadutaya is
kept  confined  and  guarded.  Once  the  monks  arrive  and  take
their seats inside the pavilion, a dialogue takes place between the
devadutaya and a monk, the purpose of which is to reveal to the assembled gathering that the task of the messenger, which was
to invite the gods to partake of the merits, has been done and that
all the gods have arrived. The devadutaya makes this statement
standing and guarded by the swordsmen, at the entrance (dorakada) to
the  chanting  pavilion  within  which  the  monks  have  taken  their
seats. It is this statement of the devadutaya which thus comes to be
called the dorakada-asna, meaning “the message read at the
thresh-old.” The gist of this statement, written in the same kind of
stilted language as the vihara-asna referred to earlier, is that all
the gods invited have arrived for the pirit ceremony so that they
may dispel all misfortune and bring about prosperity to all.
After the dorakada-asna,  another  monk,  standing  within  the
pavilion, reads out a similar text called the anusasana-asna,
wherein all the gods assembled are requested to rejoice in the merits
of the entire ceremony. This monk holds in his hand a round-handled
fan made of the talipot leaf, elaborately decorated, a symbol of
authority and  high  ecclesiastical  position.  These  three
ritualistic  texts  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  account  (i.e.,
vihara-asna, dorakada-asna, and  the anusasana-asna)  were  all  composed  during  the  Kandyan period (18th century) when ceremonies
and rituals, especially those connected  with  the  gods,  became
more  popular  than  during  the earlier periods.

So apparently, the use of the talipot fan (as a ceremonial fan) originated in Sri Lanka in the Kandyan period (18th century) and its use is as a symbol of authority and to show the high ecclesiastical position of certain monks. From there, it's not surprising that it spread to other Theravada countries.
I speculate that to say that the purpose of the talipot fan (as a ceremonial fan) is for monks to hide their faces for anonymity and humility, is perhaps a modern spin to shift the purpose of the talipot fan from being a symbol of authority to being a symbol of anonymity and humility.
Further note: I think the talipot fan originally was used just as a fan to produce breeze or to shade from sunlight, but at some point, it was given a ceremonial function and became elaborately decorated.