The strong vitality of Cham pottery
Returning to Bau Truc pottery village, Phuoc Dan town (Ninh Phuoc) in April 2023, when the whole province and Ninh Phuoc district are urgently preparing to organize the Ninh Thuan Grape and Wine Festival Plan in 2023 and receive the UNESCO Certificate of recognition for "Cham pottery art on the List of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection". In recent years, with the attention and investment of the Party, the State and the solidarity and efforts of the people, Bau Truc village has changed a lot. The roads leading to the village are paved with concrete, the number of spacious houses is increasing, and the establishments and cooperatives producing pottery are always ready to welcome visitors. Having the opportunity to come here, visitors will witness with their own eyes how the artisans of the pottery village create masterpieces, feel the rustic beauty in each work, to further appreciate the quintessence of traditional crafts that the Cham people have strived to preserve through space and time.
According to many artisans in the village, Bau Truc pottery village is the oldest in Southeast Asia and has preserved quite well the technique of making pottery completely by hand. Cham people make pottery with traditional techniques and processes that have been maintained by families for many generations according to the matriarchal system of "mother-child". This place is considered a traditional pottery museum of the Cham people living in Ninh Thuan and the coastal provinces of the South Central Coast. Artisan Dang Thi Tam, Bau Truc quarter (a representative of the Vietnamese delegation attending the event "Cham pottery art officially recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection of humanity" in the Kingdom of Morocco), said: What makes the difference of Cham pottery art is the style of making pottery without using a turntable. The craftsman walks backwards around the shaft where the clay block is placed, while rubbing and stroking evenly to shape the product. When the rough shape is formed, the craftsman smooths the product by wrapping a small piece of wet cloth around his hand, gently rubbing each finger or rubbing it hard to create edges, create sawtooth shapes, carve lines, water waves, and unique patterns on the surface of the product. The finished product is left for 2-3 days to dry. The ceramic is unglazed and piled up and fired outdoors with firewood and straw for 7-8 hours at a temperature of about 500 degrees Celsius to 600 degrees Celsius. This open-air firing method is to create space for the product, the firing fire combined with the blowing wind creates streaks, characteristic colors that bear the unique mark of Cham ceramics such as red gold, pink red, gray black, brown... Because it is completely handmade, each product individually, Cham ceramics are praised as the most "warm human hands" product with its own characteristics, bearing the strong Cham cultural identity. This is shown in the fact that even though they are of the same type, no two products are exactly the same as those cast in molds in other pottery villages. In addition, there are always certain differences between Cham pottery products, depending on the health, emotions, moods and talented hands of the craftsman, with the mark left in each product always present.
Comrade Dang Sinh Ai Chi, Vice Chairman of Phuoc Dan Town People's Committee, said: When hearing the news that Cham pottery art was recognized by UNESCO, the people and potters in Bau Truc village were very happy. The elders were excited and hoped that the traditional craft would be continued, while the young people reminded each other to contribute to further promote the quintessence of traditional pottery craft to affirm its position and brand domestically and internationally.
New position, new opportunities
Mr. Phu Huu Minh Thuan, Director of Bau Truc Cham Pottery Cooperative, said: After many ups and downs, the pottery profession in Bau Truc was thought to be lost, but now it has flourished with many encouraging signs. The products have become more diverse, but the traditional cultural identity of the Cham people is still clearly imprinted on each product. This is an important factor for the Cham people in Bau Truc pottery village to both preserve their traditional profession and create opportunities to develop tourism , turning culture into an asset. The whole village currently has over 400 households involved 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. Along with improving the household ceramic product line, Bau Truc village has been developing decorative ceramic and fine art ceramic products with high aesthetic value and high economic value such as decorative ceramic lamps, night lights, vases, water towers, etc. to serve interior and exterior decoration for families, hotels, and resorts nationwide. Bau Truc ceramics currently has thousands of products with many different types, priced from tens of thousands of VND to millions of VND/product, which are favored by locals and tourists. The traditional profession helps improve the lives of ceramic makers.
Tourists visit Bau Truc Cham Pottery Cooperative in Phuoc Dan Town (Ninh Phuoc). Photo: Van Ny
However, the pottery industry is still facing many difficulties and challenges. Many reasons have been pointed out, including skilled artisans being old and weak, not many people making a living from pottery, and the younger generation showing little interest in the profession. The urbanization process affects the space of traditional craft villages and the source of raw materials for making pottery; the high cost of raw materials and the lack of product diversity also make the pottery industry face many difficulties.
Comrade Bach Van Nguyen, Chairman of Ninh Phuoc District People's Committee, said: Bau Truc village is considered by domestic and foreign researchers and tourists as a Cham pottery museum. Therefore, the task of preserving and developing the traditional craft villages of the Cham people in general and Bau Truc pottery village in particular has always been a top priority for the locality. Now, "Cham pottery art" has been listed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection, which is a very happy and proud thing. This is not only an honor but also a responsibility of the locality and the people in preserving a heritage recognized by the world. In the coming time, the district needs to promote the true values of the heritage, while linking the heritage with economic, cultural and social development, so that these values bring common benefits to society as well as the community, especially to the local Cham people. Cham pottery will now be known more widely in the world.
Ninh Phuoc district is focusing on implementing the project to preserve and develop Bau Truc Cham pottery village from now until 2030, continuing to mobilize resources to invest in completing infrastructure, vocational training for the younger generation, focusing on tourism development to improve people's lives. At the same time, coordinating with relevant departments and branches to promote products through community tourism development activities; organizing training courses, guiding, training in welcoming tourists, and marketing products. Supporting establishments and cooperatives producing and trading pottery in Bau Truc village, promoting the application of information technology in the consumption stage; enhancing product promotion and introduction on social networking sites; receiving online orders and sending products to all provinces and cities, even abroad when customers have a need. Doing so will not only create more output for products but also increase income for households doing the craft, so that Cham people have more motivation to stick with, preserve and develop the traditional pottery craft in a sustainable and effective way.
Peaceful
Comrade Nguyen Long Bien, Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee: To preserve and develop the pottery making craft of the Cham people, there needs to be a synchronous solution. In the immediate future, in June 2023, the province will organize a ceremony to receive the UNESCO Certificate of Recognition of "Cham pottery art on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding" in conjunction with the Ninh Thuan Grape and Wine Festival in 2023, through this activity to promote the Bau Truc Cham pottery cultural heritage to tourists. Directing the focus on planning raw material areas for pottery production, because this is an urgent issue, at the same time, there are policies to support artisans in vocational training for the younger generation, and passing on the pottery making craft. In addition, the province promotes the promotion and introduction of Bau Truc Cham pottery products to be exported to many countries around the world.
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