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Located along National Highway 1A in Phuoc Dan town, Ninh Phuoc district, 10 km from Phan Rang - Thap Cham city, Bau Truc is one of the rare pottery villages in Southeast Asia that still preserves traditional craftsmanship dating back to the 12th century. Most of the pottery products here are closely linked to the daily life and beliefs of the Cham community. Bau Truc pottery is the essence and heritage cherished and preserved by Cham women for generations.
Bau Truc pottery is unique because it is made entirely by hand, without the intervention of machinery.
According to Cham legend, the Bau Truc pottery craft was founded by the ancestral couple Poklong Chanh and his wife. Thousands of years ago, they taught the village girls how to make household items such as clay pots, kettles, cups, and vases from alluvial soil. Therefore, in Bau Truc, the pottery artisans are mainly women. Every year, the people still hold a ceremony to commemorate the founders of the Bau Truc pottery craft during the Kate festival.
The pottery craft has been passed down from mother to daughter for many generations. Girls in Bau Truc village learn pottery making from the age of 12. Men only participate in fetching clay and firing the pottery.
Bau Truc pottery is meticulously crafted, from the selection of clay and shaping to the firing process.
Unlike other pottery villages, in the thousand-year-old Bau Truc pottery village, artisans diligently create products by hand day after day without the aid of machinery. Each piece is a reflection of the artisan's feelings, embedded in every line. The pottery is made entirely by hand, depending on the emotions, creativity, and gait of each artisan, so each product is an independent, unique work of art, with no two pieces alike in style or pattern. This is the uniqueness of Cham pottery compared to other types of pottery.
The pottery artisans of Bau Truc are mostly women.
Bau Truc pottery is meticulously crafted, from the selection of clay to the final product. The name Bau Truc, in the Cham language, is Palei Hamu Craok – meaning "low-lying village," protruding from the riverbank, referring to the source of the clay used. The clay is alluvial soil taken from the banks of the Quao River, known for its high plasticity and smoothness. According to the artisans, the clay is only harvested once a year, in May, before the river water rises significantly. The clay must be black, and the sand and water must not be saline for the pottery to be beautiful. The villagers bring the clay back, mix it with water in the right proportions, and knead it with their feet until it becomes pliable. Afterward, the clay is cleaned, pounded, soaked in water, and mixed with white sand. Even at this stage, the artisans are extremely careful because if dust gets into the pottery, it will easily break during firing.
For thousands of years, the artisans of Bau Truc pottery have been "making pottery by hand, turning it with their buttocks."
The unglazed pottery is produced over a period of 5-10 days before being fired. The pottery-making process in Bau Truc is described as "made by hand, turned with the buttocks." In Bau Truc, potters do not exist. The artisans walk backward around the product, using only their hands to shape and mold the pottery into the forms of jars, cups, and other items. Not overly colorful, not overly elaborate, and without complex designs, Bau Truc pottery is simple, rustic, yet refined. The patterns reflect the lives of the people, such as waves, plant motifs, and seashells. The products are also closely linked to the religious life of the Cham people, such as reliefs of Cham kings and Apsara dancers.
The pottery is dried before being fired.
After shaping, the pottery is sun-dried and stored in a cool place for a few days before being fired for 4-5 hours. Instead of using a kiln, the artisans arrange the pottery on firewood and pile straw on top for open-air firing. Before firing, they perform a ritual to pray to their ancestors for a satisfactory finished product. During firing, they avoid laughing, talking, or making loud noises. Firing must be done on a sunny, calm day with little wind so that the heat gently and evenly coats the product. Well-fired pottery will be durable; under-fired pottery is prone to breakage. Finally, the pottery is colored. The characteristic colors of yellow-red, pink-red, and gray-black are obtained from the fruit of the dông or thị fruit.
Artisan Dang Thi Phan, over 70 years old, has spent 50 years meticulously shaping clay from the Quao River, breathing life into countless Bau Truc ceramic vases and jars. She recounts that she watched her grandmother and mother make pottery while she only molded toys. At 18, she began learning pottery. Artisan Dang Thi Phan has taken Bau Truc pottery products throughout Vietnam and abroad. Notably, in 2005, she won first prize in a competition in Japan against international pottery artisans. She stated, "I'm over 70 years old, I should have retired, but I'm still making pottery. Pottery making requires diligence, perseverance, and meticulousness. Without perseverance, you can't do it."
Ms. Dang Thi Phan (on the left) is the woman who has breathed life into Bau Truc pottery for 50 years.
Having endured thousands of years of ups and downs in its development, Bau Truc pottery village stands as a living museum of Cham culture. Every day, the artisans of Bau Truc pottery rhythmically work around their stilts, diligently creating simple ceramic jars and vases from handfuls of clay from their homeland. Pottery is not only a spiritual heritage but also plays a vital role in the economic life of the villagers on the banks of the Quao River.
