MAKERS. Lombok, Indonesia
A RECENT VISIT TO BANYUMULEK POTTERY VILLAGE.
LOMBOK, INDONESIA.
Photography by Benjamin Rayner (Rayn Jermain)
BANYUMULEK is a small village near the west coast of Lombok in Indonesia, inhabited by the traditional Sasak peoples. Pottery is an ancient tradition of the Sasak people and their pottery knowledge has been passed down for generations. Their firing methods and tools have not changed for decades and remain simple, labour intensive and community-based.
Three generations - pottery is a way of life.
The pots are all hand-made using a local clay from East Lombok by the women in the village. The clay is dried and pounded down into a fine powder and mixed with a local black sand. It is then rehydrated with water into a workable clay ready for making. The ratio of powdered clay to sand the heat of cooking.
The artisans use resourceful tools like cut up flip flops for smoothing works and different natural tools made from coconut and bamboo. The clay pots are made on a manual spinning wheel, moved by hand.
The firing is surprisingly short, taking about 2 hours and is a community process. Both men and women stack the pots skilfully on the ground under a large open walled structure with a roof. Coconut husks are placed beneath the pots and ignited to start the fire. Dried tree limbs and coconut husks are then piled over the pots and once the fire is burning, dried rice straw is thrown over all the vessels until they are fully buried.
While the pots are being fired, the artisans take a rest and return in a couple of hours to uncover the vessels. The vessels are removed from beneath the burnt straw using a tool made from a bamboo pole with a steel hook.
To make the pots black, they are removed from the hot ash and placed beneath rice straw, which burns and transforms the vessels from terracotta to black.
Similarly, the unique red speckled tone is achieved by a liquid dye made from tamarind seeds. It is sprayed on the hot pots as soon as they are removed from firing.
Listening to stories and learning about Sasak culture.
Spending this day with the artisans was very special; learning about their ways and seeing and understanding their making processes. We are humbled and honoured to be working with this community of potters in Lombok.