Скачать или смотреть From Borobudur to Today: The Living Tradition of Klipoh Pottery

Hidden in the quiet village of Klipoh, Central Java, Indonesia, a thousand-year-old pottery tradition continues to live and breathe. This documentary explores the ancestral craft believed to trace back to the era of Nyai Kalipah during the Medang Kingdom period.
Klipoh pottery is still made using entirely traditional methods — shaped by hand, sun-dried under natural light, and fired with wood inside a semi-open kiln house known locally as kampun. Before the firing begins, prayers are recited in sequence: Bismillah, Al-Fatihah, Ayat Kursi, followed by a traditional Javanese prayer asking for safety and a perfect result.
Local belief holds that Klipoh pottery was once used by workers of the magnificent Borobudur Temple. Even today, the craft survives through artisans like Mbah Sampun — an elderly master specializing in kendil (traditional clay pots). His current production serves hospitals in Semarang, where the clay vessels are used to hold newborn placentas, preserving a deep-rooted cultural practice.
The process reflects a traditional gender-based division of labor, also depicted in the reliefs of Borobudur Temple — men handle lifting and firing, while women shape and form the clay.
Firing takes 5–6 hours, followed by overnight cooling to achieve the iconic red terracotta color. A distinct black finish is created through a traditional smoking technique immediately after firing.
Tools used in the process include:
Perbot (manual spinning tool)
Babasan (water container)
Cungkah (clay hook tool)
Dalim (smoothing cloth)
Entik (woven bamboo container)
Garon (long ash stick)
Kerik (scraping iron)
Ilir (fan)
Pacul (hoe)
Secang (ceramic shard)
Serat (thread cutter)
Sorok (ash collector)
Tatap (clay beater)
Watu Usik/Kisik (polishing stone)
Malon (clay hammer stone)
Klipoh pottery is not merely a craft — it is a living archive of Javanese civilization, resilience, and spiritual tradition.
Preserving this heritage means preserving memory, identity, and continuity.