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Halan Cham

The craft

Made by hand, turned by the body

Five steps, unchanged for generations. No machine touches the clay, and no thermometer watches the fire.

  1. Sieved clay and sand spread on the ground to dry

    1

    Preparing the clay

    Halan clay is dried in the sun, broken down, soaked in water, then kneaded with fine sand in proportions each family keeps to itself.

  2. An artisan's hands shaping a pot on a fixed stand

    2

    Shaping, turned by the body

    There is no electric or mechanical wheel. The potter keeps a fixed stand at the centre and walks backwards around it, smoothing, drawing up and shaping the clay with her hands. People here call it "made by hand, turned by the body".

    Weathered hands smoothing the rim of a pot
    A potter in a red top shaping clay on a tall stand
  3. A potter bending over rows of pots drying outdoors

    3

    Drying in the wind

    Shaped pieces dry completely outdoors in the wind, kept out of harsh direct sun so the clay dries slowly and does not crack from sudden heat.

  4. Smoke rising from an open-air firing under palm trees

    4

    Firing in the open

    Once dry, the pieces are stacked in the open air and fired with firewood, dry straw and coconut husk. Instead of a thermometer, the potter reads the colour of the flame and the surface of the clay to decide when to stop.

    Pots stacked with dry palm fronds ready for firing
    A potter in a conical hat loading pots for the fire
    Carrying a pot past a pile of straw
  5. Close-up of clay marked dark and light by fire

    5

    Colour from fire

    Never sprayed or painted. Smoke and flame mark each surface with shades no one can repeat. For deeper colour and a soft sheen, pieces are buried in rice husk straight from the fire, or sprayed with liquid pressed from cashew-nut shells.

    Burying a hot pot in rice husk to deepen its colour
  • No glaze.
  • No colourant.
  • No electric wheel.

Recognised by UNESCO

In 2022 the art of pottery-making of the Chăm people was inscribed on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Buying from the village keeps the craft alive.

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