Place name Lo Gom: 'Where did you come from to this land'?

Previously, pottery kilns in Saigon - Cho Lon mainly exploited local clay materials, forming famous pottery production clusters located along the canal system downstream of the Saigon - Dong Nai River, where there is an abundant source of alluvial clay.

Discussing the place name of the Pottery Kiln, Master Nguyen Huu Loc (Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History) said: "In the map of Gia Dinh province drawn by Tran Van Hoc in 1815, we see that in the west of Saigon (now Cho Lon area) there is a place name written in two Nom characters: 炉[土感] "Pottery Kiln". The presence of this place name shows that the above area had formed a pottery production village quite early".

Lo Gom Street in Ho Chi Minh City today

Photo: Truong Van Qui

Master Nguyen Huu Loc analyzed: "From the original center of Lo Gom hamlet, the pottery profession continuously developed and expanded northward to the Cay Mai mound area, and gradually spread southward to Phu Dinh and Hoa Luc villages. By the end of the 19th century, according to statistics by M. Derbès, around Cho Lon there were 30 pottery kilns, distributed in 3 main production areas: Hoa Luc - Phu Dinh, Cay Mai - Lo Gom and Vin Hoi - Lieng Thanh (Can Hoi). This shows that the scale and concentration of pottery production facilities in this area were quite large, playing an important role in the economic and social life of that time".

The name of the Pottery Kiln in Saigon was mentioned in historical documents from the 18th century.

Dr. Phi Ngoc Tuyen - former Head of the Department of Archaeology (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City) informed: "At that time, the land of Saigon - Gia Dinh was a wild, mysterious, dangerous place in the sacred forest and poisonous water, with few residents. There were even oral traditions: Rowing a boat, afraid of crocodiles eating your feet/Going down to the swamp, afraid of leeches, going up to the forest, afraid of ghosts , or: Sacred forest, poisonous water, herds of animals/Mosquitoes chirping like flutes, leeches swimming everywhere like rice noodles ... Many Chinese people in the stream of immigrants to Vietnam brought with them many professions, including the world- famous ancient pottery craft. It was these people who created unique Saigon products".

Drawing of Gia Dinh province in Tran Van Hoc map 1815

Photo: LUONG CHANH TONG'S DOCUMENTS

The old Saigon pottery making area has now been urbanized.

Photo: Truong Van Qui

Also according to Dr. Phi Ngoc Tuyen: "The Pottery Village of Saigon is also recorded in the poem Gia Dinh ancient landscape of the bay composed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries (recorded by Truong Vinh Ky, introduced by Nguyen Dinh Dau, 1997): "... strangely the Pottery Village. The feet of the ancient wrought iron man and the sky are built...". Along with the poem Gia Dinh ancient landscape of the bay composed around the early 19th century, the map of Gia Dinh Citadel drawn by Tran Van Hoc from the end of 1815 also recorded the place name of the Pottery Village, one of the famous craft villages of ancient Saigon, around Phu Lam - Phu Dinh village".

Through the recorded analysis of the famous Buu Nguyen kiln of this period - "Nam Ky, De Ngan, Lo Gom nhai", Master Nguyen Huu Loc said: "In this cluster of place names, Lo Gom nhai means Lo Gom street. Comparing the map of Cho Lon during the French colonial period, there is a street named Quai de Lo Gom located on the left bank of Lo Gom canal. After 1955, this street was called Ben Lo Gom. In 1985, when the Lo Gom canal section (from Minh Phung street to Pham Dinh Ho street) was filled in, this section was renamed Le Quang Sung street".

Ca Diếp statue (Saigon enameled pottery, early 20th century) by Buu Nguyen kiln

Photo: Collection by Le Thanh Nghia

Statue of Ananda (Saigon enameled pottery, early 20th century) by Buu Nguyen kiln

Photo: Collection by Le Thanh Nghia

Dr. Phi Ngoc Tuyen added: "The Ruot Ngua canal has made it easier for boats to travel between Saigon and the West. Thus, this pottery kiln area was established before 1772. Saigon - Gia Dinh had many industries concentrated in certain areas, leading to the appearance of place names such as: Chieu hamlet, Com hamlet, Lo Ren hamlet, Dau hamlet, Chi hamlet, Voi hamlet, Bot hamlet..., especially related to "Pottery Lo Gom hamlet" there are still some place names such as Lo Gom street - Lo Sieu street - Xom Dat street - Lo Gom wharf - Lo Gom canal - Lo Gom canal - kiln area... or the ancient villages of Phu Giao - Cay Mai hill, Phu Dinh village - Phu Lam, Hoa Luc village... in the areas of districts: 6, 8, 11 (old)".

"The place name Lo Gom, Lo Gom hamlet in Saigon has been mentioned in historical documents since the 18th century. Although the documents only stop at the level of recording the name, these are the oldest and most important documents talking about the activities of the pottery hamlet, which have important value in affirming the presence of the pottery profession in ancient Saigon," Mr. Tuyen affirmed.

Pottery Village, what remains of the past?

"The only physical remains of the ancient Pottery Lo Gom hamlet today are the Hung Loi pottery kiln relic in Hoa Luc village (Ward 16, old District 8), located along the Ruot Ngua canal, opposite Phu Dinh village. The relic is a large mound filled with pottery fragments of various jars, pots, urns, basins, etc.

Through two excavations in 1997 - 1998, the remains of three tube-type pottery kilns were found here. These three kilns were produced consecutively for a long time, but may not have been continuous because the kilns of the later period were built on a part of the old kiln or repaired and reinforced," said Dr. Phi Ngoc Tuyen .

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dia-danh-lo-gom-tu-dau-em-toi-dat-nay-185251022095606965.htm