A pottery tea set made by Cham people (Photo: Vietnam Pictorial) The recognition was made at the 17th session of the Inter-governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the IntangibleCultural Heritage in Rabat, Morocco, according to the Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism.
Cham pottery products are mainlyhousehold utensils, worship objects, and handicrafts such as jars (called “jek”),pots (gok), food trays (cambak), and vases (bilaok).
Pottery making is considered ademonstration of Cham women’s creativity on the basis of their community’sknowledge.
Notably, instead of using turntables,Cham women move themselves backward around blocks of clay to shape objects. Theproducts are not laid with enamel but dried and baked outdoor in wood and ricestraw fires at about 800 degrees Celsius for seven - eight hours.
Clay is sourced from the Hamu TanuHalan field on the banks of the Quao River in Bau Truc village and the clay pitof Xuan Quang village, about 3km to the northwest of Binh Duc village, thecentral province of Ninh Thuan.
Despite preservation efforts, thepottery making is still at risk of disintegration due to the urbanisation process’simpact on the access to raw materials, the slow adaptation to the marketeconomy, and young people’s lack of interest in the craft.
The pottery making of Cham people isthe 15th intangible cultural heritage of Vietnam to be named inUNESCO lists./.
VNA
