On 29th of November, 2022 in Vietnam time, Cham people’s art of pottery-making was officially inscribed on UNESCO’S List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding upon the session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO, which took place in Rabat, the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. This was one of 56 applications reviewed during this session.
Cham pottery products are mainly household utensils, religious objects, and fine artworks, including jars, pots, trays, and vases. They are made by women and viewed as an expression of individual creativity based on the knowledge shared within the community.
Instead of using a turntable, the women move backwards around the piece to shape it. The pottery is not glazed but sundried and burned outdoors with firewood and straw for seven to eight hours, at about 800 degrees Celsius. Raw materials (such as clay, sand, water, firewood, and straw) are collected locally.
The art of pottery-making of Cham people is Vietnam’s 15th element inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Source: Toquoc.vn