Viking Mandalay: Pottery of Yandabo, Myanmar

One of my favorite sights in Myanmar was the pots of “traveler water” scattered throughout every village and along every roadway. Historically it was intended for monks making their way to and fro, and pilgrims traveling by foot to any one of a thousand pagodas. Today it is entirely communal, maintained anonymously by anyone, everyone, and no one. The supply of fresh water is akin the magic of a potluck dinner, somehow it always works out and there’s always enough for everyone.

Today we explored the 1,000-person village that makes these water pots. Yandabo supports itself exclusively on the construction and sale of these iconic, functional works of art.

Everywhere you go in Myanmar, you will see traveler water every 100 meters or so. It's communal, but it's local. Tourists shouldn't consume it. © 2015 Gail Jessen — Everywhere you go in Myanmar, you’ll see traveler water every 100 meters or so. It’s communal, but it’s local water. Tourists shouldn’t consume it. © 2015 Gail Jessen

Another example of Myanmar's communal traveler's water. © 2015 Gail Jessen — Another example of Myanmar’s communal traveler’s water. The moss on the outside is intentional. It keeps the water cool. © 2015 Gail Jessen

On the bank of the Irrawaddy, completed pots are waiting for export. © 2015 Gail Jessen — On the bank of the Irrawaddy, completed pots are waiting for export from Yandabo. © 2015 Gail Jessen

By far the most fascinating part of the process is how the pottery wheel works. As with most things in Myanmar, it’s entirely manual and off-grid. The wheel is spun, indirectly, by foot. The pots are typically started by a mother/daughter team. They can throw up to 50 pots a day. The clay is a careful mixture of two parts river silt and one part dirt from the mountains.

The young girl pushes the wooden shaft with her foot to spin the wheel, alternating legs every so often. © 2015 Gail Jessen

She was cranking so fast. Can you imagine the quad workout? © 2015 Gail Jessen — She was cranking so fast with her feet on the wood. Can you imagine the quad workout? © 2015 Gail Jessen

Once the pots are removed from the wheel, the next step is to pound them into the short, wide-bottomed shape of the final product. Whether he was kidding or not, he got a good laugh when Program Director Nanda told us Burmese men like their women the way they like their pots. The pots are shaped as the woman places her hand inside and uses a flat wooden paddle to pound the outside, twisting the pot around and around. The entire village creates these pots, but each family uses designs carved into the wooden paddles to keep track of how many pots they make and sell.

Program Director Nanda explains the process of forming the pots. © 2015 Gail Jessen — Program Director Nanda explains the process of forming the pots. This girls who was cranking the pottery wheel with her foot now changes stations to mark her family’s pots. © 2015 Gail Jessen

Wooden paddles carved with family insignia make unique designs on the outside of the water pots. © 2015 Gail Jessen — Wooden paddles carved with family insignia make unique designs on the outside of the water pots. © 2015 Gail

The industry is so important to the welfare of the village that the pots are kept inside the house and most of the family sleeps outside. © 2015 Gail Jessen — The industry is so important to the welfare of the village that the pots are kept inside the house and most of the family members sleep outside. © 2015 Gail Jessen

Men prepare to carry finished pots to the river bank. They will be loaded into boats of all shapes and sizes and sent all over the country. © 2015 Gail Jessen

The kiln, a giant mound made from straw, peanut shells, fire wood, and dirt, allows for 1,200 posts to be fired at once. The firing process reaches 600-degrees Fahrenheit for 36 hours. When the pots are complete, they sell for $0.50 USD. It’s hard to imagine all of that work for what we consider to be a small amount of pocket change, but by Burmese standards, this village is doing well for itself. It was just another shift in perspective on a trip of many shifts in perspective. Myanmar is a teacher, and a graceful one at that.

Cheers to adventure,
gail

Our Voyage Report from Viking River Cruises’ Myanmar Explorer continues in the next article as we spend the afternoon with 500,000 Buddhas in Myint Mu, Myanmar.

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