In Vigan, Ilocos Sur, there is a district called Pagburnayan. The name comes from burnay, the large unglazed jar made there.
Where it came from
The craft traces to Chinese settlers who found workable clay in the area and stayed to make jars. It grew through the late nineteenth century, and one account credits Pedro Go, a settler from Fukien, with establishing a camarin, or jar works, around 1890.
The jars held what needed keeping. Water. Vinegar. Basi, the sugarcane wine of the region.
How it is made
Local clay is mixed with a fine sand called anay. The mixture is worked in a circular pit, trampled by a carabao until it is even enough to throw.
Forming a burnay takes two people. One turns the base with his foot. The other raises the wall by hand.
The jar is left unglazed. The clay and the fire do the finishing.
What remains
Three workshops still operate: RG Jar Factory, Ruby Pottery and NP Jar Factory. Ruby Pottery is run by Fidel Antiporda Go, recognised by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts with the title Manlilikha ng Bayan.
Burnay is earthenware, not stoneware, and so it is a different material from the pieces we carry. We record it here because it is the clearest surviving line between Philippine pottery and the people who kept it going.
