Nostalgia... Tru Son pot village

Difficulty keeping the profession

I returned to Tru Son recently, when transportation has become more convenient than ever. Tru Son is located in a very convenient location, about 40km northwest of Vinh city and about 20km southeast of Do Luong district's administrative center.

From Vinh city, we went north about 15km and then turned to follow N5 road (also known as 538B road). The wide road, crossing the North-South expressway, was opened nearly 10 years ago and helped connect National Highway 1A with National Highway 7, creating momentum for the development of mountainous communes in the Northwest of Nghi Loc district and Southeast of Do Luong district, including Tru Son.

Right at the entrance of the village, we came across the image of a stylized earthen pot that the locals had erected a few years ago. It is a symbol, and also a way for the Tru Son people to “show off” their simple products to visitors from all over the world. And every year, on New Year’s Day or Christmas for Catholics, people often make a giant Christmas tree from stacked earthen pots, imbued with local identity.

Tru Son commune used to have 17 hamlets, after the merger policy, now there are only 9 hamlets. People still make clay pots mainly in hamlet 6. In the late 90s of the 20th century, the clay pot making profession in Tru Son seemed to be on the brink of extinction. The carts carrying pots traveling up and down the village roads could not stand the whirlwind of the market economy. Women stayed at home to make pots, while young men pushed carts to sell on the street. That could not be the way to bring the products far. Not to mention how many mouths still depended on the tiny kiln. Tru Son people, at one point, thought about giving up the profession!

Then, in recent years, as social networks have developed, images and videos of people's pot-making profession have spread. And most of all, people's interest in experiencing rustic dishes has increased. Especially dishes cooked in clay pots such as braised goby fish, clay pot rice, sticky rice... have been chosen by many restaurants across the country to include in their menus. To get the utensils to serve these dishes, they went to Tru Son, ordering molds of different shapes and sizes from the people here.

We stopped by the house of Mr. Nguyen Van Lang and Mrs. Luu Thi Khang in Hamlet 6, Tru Son Commune. Mr. Lang and his wife were busy "feeding" firewood, trying to finish a batch of pots in time to hand over to customers. In the laterite kiln in the corner of the garden, billows of smoke rose up. I could clearly feel the heat from the large fire radiating from the mouth of the kiln blowing on me.

While using a long iron bar to scoop the wood into the stove, Mr. Lang talked to us. He said that the craft of making clay pots in Tru Son has existed for hundreds of years, no one knows exactly when, but it has been passed down from father to son and gradually become a traditional craft. At times, under the pressure of the market economy, the craft of making pots seemed to have disappeared because the products could not be sold, and the income was not enough to compensate for the effort. However, thanks to his perseverance in keeping the craft, now, when the market demand has increased, the craft of making pots has become busy again.

Currently, according to statistics, the whole Tru Son commune has about 150 households still making clay pots, the average income of each household making the profession is about 150 million VND/year.

By taking advantage of idle farming time, with easy-to-find materials, especially fuel for the pot which is only straw, stubble, and dry acacia branches, this is also a relatively good source of income for local people.

In particular, nowadays, Tru Son people no longer have to push carts carrying pots to sell on the street, but have traders come to the place where the pots are placed. Each kiln produces an average of 400-500 products, with wholesale prices at home ranging from 5,000 VND to 20,000 VND per pot (depending on size), as at present, each kiln also brings in an income of about more than 5 million VND.

In particular, since 2020, the clay pot making profession in Tru Son has been officially recognized as a craft village, so this is also an opportunity to develop and promote this craft to tourists near and far.

Preserving the soul of ancient pottery

It can be said that Tru Son pottery almost retains the most primitive, "innocent" features of early Vietnamese pottery. No glaze, no elaborate patterns, just a single circle, sometimes distorted, even the wheel is just a thin board. Watching Tru Son people mold pottery, I am reminded of my childhood memories, playing with clay and rolling it around in my hands, molding it into fun shapes.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Luong, also a pot maker in Hamlet 6, Tru Son Commune, looked at us struggling to make pots and smiled, saying that in Tru Son Commune, the women and mothers make pots very simply. After the soil is taken from Nghi Van (Nghi Loc) or Son Thanh (Yen Thanh), it is sifted to remove all impurities and then water is poured in to knead and mold.

When they reach a certain consistency, they squeeze the clay little by little into the shape of an eel and place it on the turntable. One eel after another, they pile it up to form the shape of a pot. Then, they gently use their toes to control the turntable and use their hands to shape it. When the pot is dry, they take the bamboo ribs and peel them to make them smooth and dry them in the sun before putting them in the furnace. Everything is done by hand, without mixing chemicals or coating them with enamel. Therefore, when using a clay pot to cook food, it brings a strong rustic flavor.

During the process of learning about the craft of making clay pots in Tru Son, we received a very interesting piece of information: more than 10 years ago, in 2010, local people discovered many artifacts of ancient ceramics and porcelain such as bowls, plates, jars, and basins with diameters ranging from 12.5cm to 30cm. Later, these artifacts were identified by researchers as Chu Dau ceramics (Nam Sach, Hai Duong), dating from around the 14th to 17th centuries.

Chu Dau is one of the famous ceramic centers of Vietnam from the 14th to the 17th century. Chu Dau ceramic products have been discovered by archaeologists at many locations across Vietnam and many places in the world, a clear proof of the brilliant development of the ceramic industry in feudal times.

According to scientists, when the Trinh-Mac war broke out, the Nam Sach region, including Chu Dau pottery village, was devastated. Pottery artisans wandered to other regions, establishing new pottery villages. This is considered very valuable information in terms of historical science to determine the origin of the pottery village in Tru Son. And perhaps, finding Chu Dau pottery products in Tru Son will suggest a lot of valuable information in determining the exact origin of the clay pot craft village here.

A good sign for Tru Son pottery village is that this place has been chosen by the People's Committee of Do Luong district to plan and build a craft village associated with sightseeing, tourism and experience.

Most recently, on February 2, 2024, in Plan No. 255-KH/HU of Do Luong District Party Committee on implementing Resolution 39-NQ/TW in Do Luong district. In which, the clearest goal is determined to build Do Luong district into a town before 2030, with a solid economy, civilized and modern urban area, and a new economic and cultural center of the province.

In this action plan, Do Luong district also determined to focus on restoring and developing local traditional craft villages. In particular, focusing on developing Tru Son clay pot craft village and some traditional crafts in the area.

Do Luong district will have policies to support the application of more modern machinery and equipment in production, diversify product designs, build concentrated production sites, and have product display areas to gradually develop more experiential tourism and learn about traditional local cultural features.

Mr. Nguyen Thuy Chinh - Chairman of Tru Son Commune People's Committee admitted that the pottery industry in Tru Son is still quite primitive, the designs are not diverse, and the output development is unstable. And especially with the manual method, using firewood will cause environmental pollution. Not to mention, the source of raw materials such as clay is also increasingly depleted, making it difficult to maintain for a long time.

Therefore, when hearing the news of planning to build a craft village associated with sightseeing and experiential tourism, the people, as well as the local government, were very happy. Currently, the locality has also chosen a location to build a craft village right near the village gate 6. Accordingly, households that have been doing the craft and have long been burning small kilns in their homes will be concentrated in the planning area, in order to create synchronization and connection between sightseeing and experience and contribute to reducing environmental pollution.

“According to the plan, the district will support the commune in building roads to the craft village area, building production areas, exhibition areas, and pottery and clay pot making experience areas. Hopefully, it will be completed and put into service for tourism in the near future,” Mr. Chinh shared.

With these signals, it is hoped that in the near future, Do Luong district in particular and Nghe An in general will have another destination, a unique tourism product associated with the ancient pottery craft. A type of experience that not every place has.