Sri Lanka · Ceramics / Pottery
මැටි බඳුන් (Mati Bandun)
The Liyanagemulla village tradition near Negombo in Sri Lanka's Western Province maintains one of the oldest and most continuous pit-fired pottery traditions in South Asia — producing unglazed red earthenware water pots (kendiya), cooking vessels (chatty), and ritual oil lamps (pahana) using a hand-building technique (coil and paddle) fired in an open pit rather than a kiln. The defining Liyanagemulla knowledge is the pit fuel sequencing: the pit is loaded with coconut shell charcoal at the base, then pottery, then paddy husk on top — the charcoal provides the initial high heat; the paddy husk provides sustained low heat and acts as an insulating blanket; and the combustion sequence must be timed so the paddy husk ignites just as the charcoal begins to subside. The timing is assessed by sound: 'when the charcoal stops crackling and the husk begins to hiss — that is the moment.'
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Sri Lanka national ICH list
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