(Fatherland) - For hundreds of years, the people of Bau Truc village have preserved the traditional pottery making craft with the unique secret of hand-molding and backward movement.
Cham pottery appeared in Bau Truc village (Phuoc Dan town, Ninh Phuoc district, Ninh Thuan province) from the end of the 12th century, and has existed for more than 800 years thanks to "mother to daughter" tradition.
Mrs. Truong Thi Gach, 80 years old, one of the oldest artisans in Bau Truc, has devoted her whole life to making Cham pottery, contributing to preserving the oldest pottery making profession in Southeast Asia to this day.
Every day, she wakes up early in the morning to start “walking backwards” next to the pottery wheel all day long. Her hands are calloused but nimble, skillfully kneading the clay to shape the product. Every few minutes of walking backwards, she stops to admire and meticulously decorate the patterns and motifs to make the ceramic product more beautiful.
“The Cham pottery craft is still preserved today thanks to the mother-to-daughter tradition,” she said, recalling that her mother taught her “the creativity of Cham women” from the age of 15. To make pottery, women would walk backwards around a circular pillar, which required strength and endurance because they had to walk backwards for many kilometers each day.
“Cham pottery is special because it is handmade, not using a wheel but thanks to the skillful hands of women,” Ms. Gach shared, this is also a unique feature that shows the sophistication and hard work of Cham women. More than 65 years of working in the profession has helped her get used to the wheel, the smell of soil and the blazing heat from the kiln.
Mrs. Truong Thi Gach.
After posing, the 80-year-old woman quickly wiped the sweat from her face, then gently put the raw ceramic product out to dry in the sun, which lasted from 4-6 hours before being smoothed with pieces of porcelain.
From 3 to 5 days, after collecting enough raw pottery, families in Bau Truc bring the finished products to the open-air firing for 4-12 hours depending on the size, arranged between layers of straw, dry firewood and coconut shells. The finished pottery products have the original bright red color of the earth that has been tempered through fire, and are sold on the market.
Currently, Bau Truc pottery village has over 400 households engaged in pottery making, accounting for about 70% of the Cham households living in the locality; there is 1 cooperative and 12 pottery production and trading establishments. Each year, more than 12 thousand products of all kinds are brought to the market.
Bau Truc pottery is famous for everyday products such as earthenware kettles, water jars, earthen pots, charcoal stoves,... to fine art pottery such as Apsara goddess statues, Cham towers, interior decoration reliefs,...
The reputation of the pottery village has spread far and wide, attracting many tourists to visit and experience. Pottery making is becoming a livelihood for many households. The soul and traditional cultural identity of the Cham people are still clearly imprinted on each product.
Currently, Bau Truc pottery village has over 400 households engaged in pottery making, accounting for about 70% of Cham households living in the locality.
Bau Truc ceramic products.
Mr. Phu Huu Minh Thuan - Director of Bau Truc Cham Pottery Cooperative said that to develop tourism, the pottery village has established a Community Tourism Development Board with over 60 members.
Thanks to the attention of authorities at all levels and the consensus of local people, the pottery village is gradually becoming a favorite destination for tourists, contributing to spreading the unique culture of the Cham people as well as ensuring the lives of local people.
In 2022, the Cham pottery art was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Accordingly, Ninh Thuan province has invested in infrastructure in Bau Truc pottery village in conjunction with community tourism development to promote the value of this heritage.
Currently, the local government is implementing plans, focusing on imparting and training vocational skills to the younger generation. Along with that, it is establishing associations and performance groups to serve tourists when they come to the locality. In addition, it is investing in infrastructure in this craft village to serve in the coming time.
With the new direction and the attention and facilitation of the local government, Bau Truc pottery village will develop even more strongly in the coming time, continuing to attract tourists to become one of the attractive tours and routes in the journey of tourism discovery in Ninh Thuan province./.
Source: https://toquoc.vn/nhung-doi-ban-tay-kheo-leo-gin-giu-nghe-gom-hon-800-nam-tuoi-20241204134123017.htm
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