Cham Pottery Featured on UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage
UNESCO has awarded certification to the provinces of Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận in South-Central Vietnam, acknowledging the Chăm people's pottery making as an intangible cultural heritage. The ceremony took place in Ninh Thuận, attended by President Võ Văn Thưởng and local officials.
During the event, Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà expressed that UNESCO's acknowledgment reflects Vietnam's rich cultural identity and recognizes the country as a custodian of global cultural treasures. During the ceremony, he also expressed the important role of women in contemporary society and acknowledged their contribution to Cham Pottery.
The Chăm community, particularly in Bàu Trúc Pottery Village in Ninh Phước District, Ninh Thuận Province, and Bình Đức Pottery Village in Bắc Bình District, Bình Thuận Province, has been responsible for preserving the ancient pottery craft. Bàu Trúc Pottery Village is popularly recognized as one of the oldest ceramic villages in Southeast Asia, with a majority of its households engaged in pottery making.
Chăm pottery items, including household utensils, religious artifacts, and crafts such as jars, pots, food trays, and vases, are crafted by the local village artisans. The pottery-making process is a manifestation of the creative skills of Chăm women, who shape the items by hand without the use of a wheel and employ simple tools or shells for decoration. The final products are dried and baked outdoors using wood and rice straw fires at temperatures reaching approximately 800 degrees Celsius over seven to eight hours.
Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà urged all authorities, sectors, and society at large to collaborate in preserving this UNESCO-recognized cultural heritage.
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