The Last Story of ”Pomanduno” in Buton

KOMPAS/SAIFUL RIJAL YUNUS

Using a bamboo stick and a river stone, Wa Aji (70) forms clay into earthenware, in Lipu Village, Betoambari, Baubau, Southeast Sulawesi, Thursday (26/5/2022). The existence of pottery in Buton land is threatened due to the absence of regeneration of pomanduno or earthenware makers.

Holding a piece of bamboo and a river stone, Wa Aji, 70, was solemnly working on a lump of clay in her lap. The movement was flexible, due to decades of experience making earthenware.

The grandmother, with grandchildren she can't count, survives on earthenware, as well as being the last few pomanduno in the land of Buton.

On a hot afternoon, in May, Wa Aji sat, stretched out on a couch made of old boards. The couch, measuring 2 meters by 2 m, was located right behind her residence, in Lipu Village, Betoambari, Baubau, Southeast Sulawesi. The simple equipment around her made this mother of four look like a performer who orchestrated a performance alone.

Wa Aji's right hand swiftly swung a bamboo stick. This bamboo or pabata became a tool for leveling the outside of her homemade earthenware. Inside, her left hand gripped a stone the size of a teenager's fist. The technique with this simple tool is called the foundation process, which has been around since ancient times.

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These are the two main tools for making earthenware move in sync. When she moved the river stone, the spot struck by the bamboo blade also moved. The stone pushed from the inside and the bamboo blade from the outside. Occasionally she swept away a few drops of water. A lump of clay was in my lap, like a mother cradling her child.

"It has to be precise and well-made. Otherwise, it will break when it is burned," said Wa Aji in her broken Indonesian.

Slowly, the clay shaped like a mini parabola. This earthenware is called kabubu, a cake-making tool. Its function is similar to that of an oven that stores heat.

After installing the handle, the kabubu was complete. Kabubu are sold for Rp 20,000 (US$1.38) per piece.

It has to be precise and well-made. Otherwise, it will break when it is burned.

She made five to 10 earthenware of various shapes a day. It depends on the speed of production and demands from customers, but in a week, she usually earns Rp 100,000.

Wa Aji learned from her parents, whose knowledge was passed down from generation to generation. The making of earthenware has been done by women since ancient times. Apart from not having a successor in the next generation, Wa Aji also faces other obstacles. It takes about 40 minutes to collect the clay to make the earthenware. Together with her fellow earthenware makers, she is forced to rent a vehicle to collect clay.

Wa Ana, another pomanduno, said she faces similar obstacles. Wa Ana’s daughter no longer knows how to make earthenware. In fact, Wa Ana has survived and raised four children from earthenware making. This earthenware is sold at the market in Baubau or fills special orders. However, day by day, these earthenware makers or pomanduno are decreasing.

KOMPAS/SAIFUL RIJAL YUNUS

Traders at Wameo Market, Baubau, Southeast Sulawesi, sell pottery made by local residents, Saturday (28/5/2022). The existence of earthenware in Buton is threatened due to the absence of regeneration of the pomanduno or earthenware makers.

Hitting

Etymologically, pomanduno comes from the language of the Lipu-Katobengke dialect, namely pomandu which means to hit. Based on the Katobengke-Indonesian-English Dictionary compiled by La Umbu Zaadi, SPd, MHum et al, pomandu is the activity of making earthenware from clay. The maker is called pomanduno.

In Lipu Village today, there are only a handful of pomanduno. Herlin, 28, a Lipu youth and earthenware maker, said that there are only 10 earthenware makers left. Two of them are sick and have been resting for some time.

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In fact, said Herlin, since his childhood, this area has been a center for earthenware making. Various forms of earthenware, from kabubu, palama, nu'ua (pot), kaecu nu'a (incense), to bulusa (a place to store rice), are produced by the community.

Currently, the earthenware makers are elderly, without successors in the next generation. “Besides the place to get the raw materials for clay, which is far away, almost an hour from Lipu, making earthenware is not considered a good job. Besides, people now rarely use earthenware utensils. For us here, the earthenware is still used at funerals, weddings and more. I cannot imagine if pomanduno are no longer there," Herlin said.

No generational continuity

According to research by Rustam Awat and Devi Agustin from the History Education Study Program, the Faculty of Teaching And Educational Science (FKIP), Dayanu Ikhsanuddin University, Baubau, the history of earthenware making in Lipu and Katobengke has two versions. First, the forerunner of the birth of pomanduno began with the arrival of Sultan Murhum and his entourage from the mainland of Muna in the 16th century. One of the group settled in Katobengke to make earthenware.

Another version holds that the people of Lipu-Katobengke did not learn from the Muna people (Kampung Laboora). Instead, their ancestors taught themselves how to make earthenware. This theory is derived from observation of the difference between the two styles, in terms of thickness and decorative patterns. In terms of shape, the earthenware made by the Katobengke people is thinner with decorative patterns, while the earthenware made by the Laboora people is thicker without decorative patterns.

The acting head of the Baubau Cooperative and Small Micro Medium Enterprises (UMKM) Office, M Salman Siradjuddin, said the condition of the earthenware makers was indeed worrisome because earthenware makers are getting old, without any apprentices in the new generation.

This condition is exacerbated by the sale of earthenware, which is sometimes getting more difficult. People prefer modern equipment and forget about earthenware. The intensive mentoring in and promotion of earthenware is now very important to preserve the Baubau handicrafts.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.