Singkawang jars in the hands of the Lord

Singkawang jars in the hands of the Lord

Text and photos by Imran Rusli

SINGKAWANG, West Kalimantan (JP): "Without the hands of the
Lord, my jars wouldn't exist," insisted Budiyanto, the owner of
the Tajau Mas water jar factory in Sakok, West Kalimantan.

According to Budi, his father started him jar making when he
was six years old. Their factory produced various Chinese-looking
jars which, at the time, were in demand with the affluent of
Jakarta.

"I remember how lively the market used to be in the 1970s and
1980s," reminisced the father of three children.

Tajau Mas water jars were mostly bought by collectors living
in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Denpasar, Medan and Pekanbaru.
There are also many buyers in Sarawak, Sabah, Singapore, Kuala
Lumpur and Brunei.

"There were even merchants who sold them to European buyers
through their art galleries in Bali," added Budi. "They once
transferred 200 jars made in our factory by plane to Denpasar. I
don't know how much they fixed the price for per item, to think
they had to cover the costs of chartering the plane and earn some
profit as well," he said, clicking his tongue in admiration.

Collectors and merchants prefer air service to transport the
jars. Sea transport is less desirable because the jars are so
delicate they break while being loaded and unloaded, especially
if transported on small, wobbly Madura sailboats. The jars will
break into countless of pieces "even though we have provided the
utmost care in packing," Budi said. He explained that they stuff
and swath the jars with hay before putting them in special boxes.

"They buy them in bulk. Some buy as many as 20 pieces. Designs
are usually ours, but some order our products to be made after
their own designs. The samples are usually copied from
prestigious ceramic magazines," said Budi.

"But, all of the jars have actually been molded with the help
of the Lord's hands."

Budi believes his jars aren't special. They don't differ from
the products of the six other ceramic factories in Sakok.

"But, the Lord's hands help make our jars, so they're more
beautiful," he said.

He chortled, hurriedly protesting when someone asked whether
"The Lord only belongs to Tajau Mas, or, do you believe that the
Lord wants to become a worker in Tajau Mas?"

"No, no. It isn't like that," he replied, his face going pale.
"I mean that with every jar, we always call upon the Lord, right
from the start until the very end.

"My father, me and two other jar experts never forget to pray
before we start working on the jars. We do it again after work,
we always praise the Lord profoundly after the jars have been
fired and taken out from the kiln. We also pray when the products
have been loaded on trucks, ready for transportation to the
harbor."

He pointed at a Chinese altar near the factory door.

"We always pray there, that's why the Lord and our forefathers
love us," he said, very sure of himself.

The Tajau Mas jars are very popular in Singkawang.

"Their products are refined, just like the originals," praised
Abbas, a village leader in the Sambas district, who once visited
water jar factories in China.

Rusdi, who supplies water jars to hotels in Singkawang and
Pontianak, also admires Budi's work.

"Tajau Mas is not the largest jar factory in West Kalimantan,
but their jars are the most beautiful," he said.

Aside from the Lord, it appears Tajau Mas' secret lies in
Budi, whose perseverance in selling and creating new motifs,
textures, colors and models, has paid of. The composition of clay
and firing temperatures also adds to the jars' success.

"I copied the technique from foreign magazines and books,
brought in by our customers," said Budi, whose faithful customers
include Sumarah Adyatman, a connoisseur of ceramics and rare
Indonesian beads.

Jars are still in demand with Jakarta's affluent and the rich
in other large cities of Indonesia, but the Singkawang products
-- still being fired in traditional kilns -- have taken a
backseat to Chinese-made jars.

The markets of Batam, Pekanbaru and Jakarta abound in jars
which closely resemble original Chinese versions. There are jars
as high as four meters tall.

The kilns of Singkawang's jar factories are now mainly
producing roof tiles, bricks, cups, bowls, jugs and kettles.

Even orders for jars used to collect rain water, which were a
necessity for Singkawang citizens because of the poor quality of
drink water in the Sambas district, have ceased. Budi couldn't
compete with the more practical plastic buckets.

"The good times are over," said Budi sadly.