Ninh Thuận Province's art of pottery making of the Chăm ethnic people has been recognised as an intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding by UNESCO on Tuesday. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Hà

HÀ NỘI – The art of pottery making of the Chăm ethnic people was inscribed in the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding by UNESCO on Tuesday.

The recognition was made at the 17th session of the Inter-governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Rabat, Morocco, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Cham pottery products are mainly household utensils, worship objects, and handicrafts such as jars (jek), pots (gok), food trays (cambak), and vases (bilaok).

Pottery making is considered a demonstration of Chăm women’s creativity on the basis of their community’s knowledge.

Instead of using turntables, Chăm women move backwards around blocks of clay to shape objects. The products are not laid with enamel but dried and baked outdoors in wood and rice straw fires at about 800 degrees Celsius for seven-eight hours.

Clay is sourced from the Hamu Tanu Halan field on the banks of the Quào River in Bàu Trúc village and the clay pit of Xuân Quang village, about 3km to the northwest of Bình Đức village, the central province of Ninh Thuận.

Despite preservation efforts, pottery making is still at risk of disintegration due to the urbanisation process’s impact on access to raw materials, the slow adaptation to the market economy, and young people’s lack of interest in the craft.

The pottery making of the Chăm people is the 15th intangible cultural heritage of Việt Nam to be named in UNESCO lists. VNS