Visit the famous Cham pottery village in Ninh Thuan

Bau Truc pottery village in Phuoc Dan town, Ninh Phuoc district, Ninh Thuan province.

Cham pottery is a unique cultural feature that is still preserved today. Currently, the Cham pottery craft is still preserved in two localities, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan . However, the most famous is still Bau Truc pottery village (Ninh Thuan).

Bau Truc pottery village is located along National Highway 1A in Phuoc Dan town, Ninh Phuoc district (Ninh Thuan), 10 km south of Phan Rang - Thap Cham city. After thousands of years, to this day, the pottery art of the Cham people in Bau Truc craft village is still preserved and developed.

In 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized Bau Truc traditional pottery art as a national intangible cultural heritage. In November 2022, Cham pottery art was included by UNESCO in the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection.

The characteristic of Bau Truc pottery is that the manufacturing process does not use a turntable, but the artisans will use their hands to move around to create the shape. Artisans at Bau Truc pottery cooperative (Phuoc Dan town, Ninh Phuoc district) said that the way to create pottery products is "hand-made, rotated by the buttocks", without any machinery involved from the stage of kneading the clay until the pottery is out of the kiln.

Bau Truc pottery village has existed for a long time and is the oldest craft village in Southeast Asia.

The raw material used for Bau Truc pottery is clay mined from the banks of the Quao River, which has plasticity, smoothness and many other special characteristics. The pottery firing process lasts from 6 to 10 hours depending on the thickness and uses an open-air kiln, fuel for the kiln includes firewood and straw.

Bau Truc pottery has its own unique features, completely handmade.

“From the past until now, people have been attached to pottery. The pottery profession has helped many Cham families in Ninh Thuan have food, clothes and a stable income,” said Mrs. Truong Thi Gach (80 years old) - an artisan in Bau Truc pottery village.

Mrs. Truong Thi Gach is the oldest artisan in Bau Truc pottery village.

Mr. Gach is one of the oldest artisans in Bau Truc pottery cooperative who still maintains the profession. His main job is to demonstrate the pottery making process to tourists and locals when they come to visit and learn about Bau Truc pottery. Despite his old age, his hands still rhythmically follow the rotation of a skilled craftsman when he starts working, and the products he makes are highly appreciated.

Despite her old age, Mrs. Truong Thi Gach still participates in demonstrating the pottery making process for tourists and locals when they come to visit and learn about Bau Truc pottery.

Sharing about her profession, Ms. Gach said that since she was a girl, her mother taught her how to make handmade pottery. By the age of 20, she had mastered the craft. “In the past, boys worked in the fields, working the land, and girls learned how to make pottery. After nearly 60 years in the profession, Ms. Gach seems to have experienced all the emotions with pottery.

Young people learn and preserve traditional pottery.

“During the day, I work, and at night I have to think about how to create a beautiful work of art. How to put soul into the product, that is the difficulty. Until now, my joy is that I still have the health to make pottery, to pass on the craft to my children and grandchildren to preserve the quintessence of my people,” Ms. Gach added.

To have sophisticated and beautiful ceramic products, the maker must go through many stages.

Similarly, with over 30 years of experience in the pottery profession, Ms. Dang Thi Lieu (60 years old) said that making a piece of pottery is easy, but making a unique product that meets customer needs is increasingly difficult.

Making Bau Truc pottery always requires meticulousness and care. If it doesn't look good, it will be flattened and redone.

“If you don’t have determination and perseverance, you can’t do it. Many times, when the product is formed, but it doesn’t look good, you flatten it and knead it to make it again. You only stop when you find it beautiful and satisfactory. Ninh Thuan Cham pottery is made entirely by hand, without molds, so each product has its own unique characteristics,” said Ms. Lieu.

Potters perform the process of creating patterns on pottery before firing.

According to Mr. Phu Thanh Ngoc (29 years old, working at Bau Truc Pottery Cooperative), to have a beautiful ceramic product, there are often many stages. These include kneading the clay, shaping, decorating, drying and firing. In particular, the shaping and decorating stages require the maker to be meticulous and creative. Before completing the work of art, the craftsman will use a thin cloth to gently rub the ceramic to create a smooth, shiny surface.

Bau Truc Pottery Cooperative currently has more than 50 workers, with a stable average income of 4-5 million VND/month.

"Currently, Bau Truc Pottery Cooperative helps many people have a stable income of 4-5 million VND/month," said Mr. Ngoc.

Mr. Phu Thanh Ngoc is meticulously drawing patterns for ceramic products.

Mr. Phu Huu Minh Thuan, Director of Bau Truc Pottery Cooperative, said: Bau Truc pottery village has existed for a long time, it is one of the oldest craft villages in Southeast Asia.

Pottery making in Bau Truc is traditionally a profession reserved for women; men only go to collect firewood, dig soil and carry straw to help with the pottery firing. In recent years, the market has favored large-sized pottery products, weighing tens of kilograms, even tons, so in Bau Truc village, there are more and more young men and middle-aged men learning the craft and making many products.

Mr. Phu Huu Minh Thuan - Director of Bau Truc Pottery Cooperative introduces ceramic products to guests.

Before 1997, this was just a normal craft village, people made pottery to exchange for rice, or for decoration. However, in recent years, along with policies from all levels and sectors, Bau Truc pottery making has developed steadily, and product output has also improved.

Diverse ceramic products at Bau Truc pottery village

At Bau Truc Pottery Cooperative, there are currently more than 50 workers with stable income. Currently, in addition to expanding the pottery market, the craft village promotes the development of craft villages associated with tourism through pottery making experiences.

Over time, Bau Truc potters have also flexibly created products suitable for the times, not rigidly focusing on typical products as before. Currently, the Cooperative is producing 3 main ceramic product lines, which are household ceramics, spiritual ceramics and fine art ceramics. More and more tourists come to experience, thanks to which ceramic products are widely promoted, bringing significant income to the people.

Bau Truc pottery village is aiming to develop a craft village associated with experiential tourism.

“In addition, policies for developing ethnic minority and mountainous areas, policies for developing craft villages of all levels, sectors and Ninh Thuan province have been promoting the strong revival of craft villages,” Mr. Thuan added.

Artisan Dang Thi Hoa with the profession of "living with the land"

Source: https://baodantoc.vn/tham-lang-gom-cua-nguoi-cham-noi-tieng-o-ninh-thuan-1726993195974.htm