SAN NICOLAS, Ilocos Norte – If humans have feet of clay, being humans after all, well, provincial fame and more solid economic promise opportunities await residents of a rural Ilocos place should domestic and international visitors include the municipality in their travel schedule — to see for themselves the clay under the town folks’ feet.
The place is called San Guillermo barangay, formerly called Catuguing in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte which is 280 kilometers from Baguio City. One can travel by bus or drive one’s vehicle.
One can also experience the provincial life which only a “taga Iloco” family, friends and acquaintance can bestow to a visitor in their place of residence. There are 37 hotels that cater to guests, with prices ranging from Php720.00 per night and where you can also get the right information needed by tourists.
The clay, or large deposits of it, has long been discovered as fit for pottery-making by the Spaniards during the Spanish colonial period somewhere between 1565 – 1898.
Sometimes in mid-60’s, scientists from Manila converged on the quaint town and “re-discovered” the clay in what they explained as of the quality and quantity needed by the nation’s ceramic industry to become totally sufficient in its raw material needs.
Historical records revealed that reinforcing then the Filipino experts were two from Sweden and Japan, Sven Johansen and Motto Ueno, who were attached to the then National Science and Development Board (NSDB) under the Colombo Plan to lend more expertise to the Philippine ceramics industry. NSDB was later reconstituted and named today the National Science and Technology Authority (NSTA).
Records showed one of the NSDB scientists, Antonio Bravo, revealed the Catuguing clay was found to possess qualities needed in turning out ceramics products of international standards.
Johansen, on the other hand, and who had made studies of clay deposits elsewhere in the Philippines told that the Catuguing clay was of the best quality and when properly exploited, would do away with the need to import raw materials for manufacture of ceramic products.
The deposits were found also in the barrios of Palsuguan, San Mateo and Tineg, although the principal deposits lay in Catuguing.
At present, the ceramics industry imports close to over 50 % of its raw materials, partly explaining why domestically-produced ceramics products are priced high.
Sites of the clay deposits are found largely around San Guillermo barangay, formerly called Catuguing, which the farmers collect in the farm fields during the wet season and supply these to pottery-makers in Ilocos Norte, during the dry season.
The visiting government scientists recommended to top authorities for construction of a pilot plant capable of constructing construction bricks and other ceramics products from the Catuguing clay.
The government scientists pushed hard in lobbying for the pilot plant and even attended Senate and Congressional grilling regarding the subject.
No attempt has ever been made to exploit the deposits on a commercial scale that time. At that time, pottery-making was done only by skilled ceramics individuals.
By the expert’s estimate, the deposits can supply annual production of 12 million clay bricks for 30 to 50 years, a knowledge which they informed the Senate and Congress.
Under laboratory tests, Catuguing clay exhibited high plasticity which ranged from 32 to 36% and a drying shrinkage of 213.13%, more than sufficient to offset cracking and warping, the two most common problems in domestic ceramics production.
Ueno said the experimental products made of Catuguing clay and subjected to maximum strength tests satisfactorily met international standard specifications.
Town records shown last week to Daily Laborer showed that in June of 18 of 1966, the NSDB government scientists smiled broadly and clapped hands as the Senate and House of Representatives assembled, passed Republic Act 4733, called “An Act Authorizing the Appropriation of One Hundred Thousand Pesos for the Establishment of a Ceramics Processing Plant in the Municipality of San Nicolas, Province of Ilocos Norte, and for other Purposes.”
Every December 26-30, it is included in the municipality’s festival, the “Damili’ Festival, part of their month-long celebration where it pays tribute to the San Nicolas’ ancient ceramics makers.
Damili Festival was made official when the community recognized the need to preserve its traditional occupation of pottery dating back to the 19th century. The traditional procedure in pottery-making is called damili in Ilocano.
Authorities in San Nicolas told Daily Laborer last week the pilot plant operates on a labor-intensive basis to generate employment opportunities and technology for the plant was modified to suit local conditions without sacrificing quality of products, thereby enabling maintenance of low production cost.
On the other hand, on advice of experts, San Nicolas Local Government Unit (LGU) has continued undertaking information campaigns to apprise residents of the town’s economic development.
While San Nicolas’ pottery industry is alive, the age-old craft is facing stiff competition to modern technology which is capable of replacing the beautiful rawness of pottery art into what is called “machine-precise pottery pieces.
Today, there are only a few “pagburnayan,” (pottery barns) in San Nicolas mainly due to lesser demand for traditionally made jars.
Unfortunately, the delicate old-craft fate lies in the hands of its traditional bearers, makers, patrons and cultural vanguards so much so that San Nicolas LGU recently finished conducting a cultural-heritage mapping project aimed to and promote the town’s rich heritage as well as encouraging pottery-makers to attend continuing seminars that will further enhance their skill and make them competitive.
These ceramic seminars are shouldered by San Nicolas LGU with support coming from different government agencies.
Roilo Balian, from Ilocos Norte and whose late father also engaged in pottery making praised the LGU move, saying: “We cannot be the wildfire in the kiln that shatters the pots into dust,” in relation to pottery making trying to survive and the younger generation unwilling to learn the craft.
Pottery is an ancient art of the Iloko in the Ilocos, the technique of molding clay into what Ilocanos call “burnay,” originally used to store water, rice grains, container for salt or sugar, age vinegar, wine and “bagoong,” (fermented fish & paste.) The fragile art combines the elements of earth, water, wind and fire that only an “agdamdamili” (potter) is able to do. Or, the work of a potter’s hand with merely the aid of a potter’s wheel.
Process of making a burnay jar starts with the agdamdamili combining the clay with a fine sand locally called “anay.” After careful mixing, the mixture is placed in a circular pit where a carabao will trample over it.
After the tramping the mixture is further kneaded by hand into small proportions, the size dependent on the product to be made. Then these are queued for the spinner to mold.
It takes two for a burnay jar to be molded. A glob of clay is placed on a platform with a manually-pedaled rotting disk. The first agdamdamili spins the disk with the foot while the second starts forming the jar with his hands. It looks easy but it takes intricate skill to do it.
After the jar is formed, it is left to dry for a time before being placed in a large kiln to be baked in the oven.
Pot-making is one among the oldest and most popular industry in San Nicolas. Unlike ceramic industries, the agdamdamili can make pots out of clay without use of chemicals. Instead, they use wooden paddles, anvil and stones to form their earthen products.
Traditional Ilocos handicrafts like the burnay jars and “inabel” (loom weaving) are folk arts that try to convey their tales relevant to the development of art and culture in the Philippines.
San Nicolas potters are popularly known as makers of earthen wares in Northern Luzon, particularly like the red terracotta pots known as “banga,” or the “dalikan,” (oven).
Sadly, the “ag-ababel” (weaver) and the agdamdamili are not just artisans but keepers of a culture threatened by the loss of interest among the Ilocano youth and the lesser need by other folks for folk and excellent pieces of pottery.
While it may be deemed that by mere glance of these folks under a noonday sun looking miserable with dozens of pots they carry, these industrious pot-makers are, at the same time economically self-sufficient with their honest way of living.
Their products are also trade items that can be used to obtain other products with no money involved. For example, milled or unhusked rice grains can be exchanged with the pots, called “panagsinnukat,” or “panagimaru” for rice-for – pot trade.
As for the remaining “pagburnayan” (four are still existing), they continue producing all kinds of pottery despite desperate times.
These remaining pottery shops, while not forcefully asking for donations, would nicely remind visitors that there is a donation box should tourists like to drop some coins.
Today, with help from San Nicolas LGU, many agdamdamili have undergone sophisticated skills training for them to be competitive and in answer to the demand needs of the times.
Now, many have expanded into making construction materials and bricks with various and beautiful designs, — something which the former NSDB Filipino scientists originally envisioned and proposed to the Senate when they “re-discovered” the clay beneath the feet of the Catuguing folks.
