Remembering the merits of Bau Truc Cham pottery ancestors

The Cham people of Bau Truc village are excited to welcome the Kate festival 2025 in a warm and joyful atmosphere. After making offerings to the gods at the temples, people return to the village to celebrate the anniversary of the pottery craft, remembering the hard work of their ancestors in creating and teaching it to their descendants today. The pottery craft in Bau Truc village is growing, increasing income, ensuring a prosperous family life, and building a spacious village.

On the morning of October 22, arriving at Bau Truc pottery village in Ninh Phuoc commune, we met Mr. Nguy Ngoc Do - Head of Bau Truc village's Customs Committee, guiding the villagers and dignitaries to carry the palanquin in costumes, an important ritual of the Cham pottery ancestor's death anniversary. People dressed in beautiful costumes, enthusiastically brought offerings including cakes, fruits, betel, tea and water to Po Klong Can temple located on the mound known as Xom Cu. The temple was built by the locality with social resources mobilized to serve the worship needs and perform the Cham pottery ancestor's death anniversary ritual.

Ritual of bathing the statue and dressing the Po Klong Can pottery founder and his wife.

The atmosphere of the Cham Bau Truc pottery ancestor's death anniversary was bustling from the residential area to Po Klong Can temple. The custom of the pottery ancestor's death anniversary was carried out by Mr. Ka Thanh - the temple keeper, who bathed the statue and dressed it in clothes. Mr. Ka Thanh played the Kanhi and sang praises to the pottery ancestor and prayed for peace, luck and prosperity for the village. The villagers displayed offerings and prayed for the sustainable development of the pottery profession and for family happiness.

In recent years, the State has paid attention to investing in the construction of traditional craft villages of the Cham people in Ninh Phuoc commune, which are increasingly spacious and modern. In particular, the concrete traffic system; lighting system, pottery exhibition house, school, people's houses... have been built large and beautiful, creating the development of Bau Truc pottery village. Mrs. Dang Thi Tam - an elderly artisan in Bau Truc village said: "According to the legend of local residents, Mr. Po Klong Can and his wife, Mrs. Nai Lank Muh, taught women to make pottery. The raw material for making pottery is clay taken from Hamu Tanu Halan field (clay mound field), more than 3km west of the village. The soil is transported to be crushed, dug into a hole and left overnight with a moderate amount of water. Then, use your feet to trample the soil until it is smooth and remove impurities, then mix it with Quao river sand in the right proportion." Cham women mold pottery entirely by hand, without using a turntable like in other places. The artisan walks around the pottery platform to create unique, brightly colored terracotta products.

Dance to commemorate the ancestors of Bau Truc Cham pottery.

Bau Truc pottery village artisans can make hundreds of types of pottery products according to market demand, from fine art pottery such as Apsara goddess statues, Cham towers, interior decoration reliefs, feng shui water bottles to ceramic items necessary for the daily life of Southern residents such as: clay teapots, cake molds, pancakes, water jars, clay pots, charcoal stoves... Bau Truc pottery village attracts a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to visit and buy products as souvenirs. Mr. Phu Huu Minh Thuan - Director of Bau Truc Cham Pottery Cooperative shared: "Since the art of making pottery of the Cham people was recognized by UNESCO as "Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection", the craft village has attracted a large number of tourists to visit and shop for products. Especially on holidays and Tet, the cooperative welcomes 2-3 thousand visitors every day; revenue has doubled compared to before. Thanks to that, the income of member households has increased, ensuring family life".

Mr. Nguy Ngoc Do said: "This year, the villagers held a warm and joyful pottery ancestor's death anniversary, remembering the great contributions of their ancestors who taught the villagers how to make pottery. Bau Truc pottery products and the village's pottery art attract more and more tourists to visit and buy products. Bau Truc Village Customs Committee encourages villagers to unite and compete to make many beautiful, durable, and good products to meet market demand. The precious cultural heritage of our ancestors is passed down to our descendants today to preserve and join hands to develop a prosperous pottery village, actively contributing to building our homeland Khanh Hoa to become more and more beautiful."

THAI SON NGOC

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/202510/nho-cong-on-to-nghe-gom-cham-bau-truc-8d06db1/