KASONGAN POTTERY VILLAGE

The signboard at the entrance welcoming visitors to Kasongan village is typical of most villages in Java, Indonesia, as many villages here signboards with its name on it.  However for the next 500m, the shops and stalls lining both sides of the road is not at all typical of other villages. On display are many beautiful, exquisite and unique art pieces and objects on display.

Kasongan is traditional pottery village, churning out the usual household products for sale, such as plates, bowls, cups, ashtrays, flower vases, tables and stools within its shops.  However, it also produces arty knickknacks and handicrafts of animal figures of varying sizes.  They included horses, lions, elephants, monkeys, as well as the mythical dragon and garuda.

 There were also colourful statuettes of people in varying poses; eating, drinking, dancing, smoking a pipe, tilling the farm, playing musical instruments ….. the most common being the local Loro Blonyo bridal couple sitting together “politely”, believed to bring good luck to the household which owns a set.  It is no wonder many hotels in Indonesia have them in their lobbies.

There were also larger, life-sized statues for sale, and one which invariably caught my attention was the grim-reaper Death.  I was certain no household nor hotel would like to own this.

 Enormous five-foot tall Buddha-head fountains, with water seeping from the top of their heads down the sides of their faces into a square pond adorn the compounds of a few shops, as they do within large houses when I was going pass. 

 Apart from clay, there were objects fashioned from wood, the one which I found most impressive being a life-sized elderly woman wearing a veil carved out of a tree trunk. 

There were also heavier items created out of stones and marble on display in many of the shops.  The most eye-catching ones were a pair of gigantic, two-storey tall statues of Roman soldiers, a relatively smaller seven-foot seated Buddha, and many other still smaller, but life-sized animals such as crocodiles, lions, cats, and for some reason, many mischievous-looking gargoyles perching on pedestals, grinning impishly.

Kasongan has been an earthenware production centre for generations, their heyday being in the 1980s, when huge quantities of goods were shipped internationally.  It was the region’s main source of income then.

Unfortunately, the Bali bombing in 2002 and the earthquake in 2006 affected trade in Kasongan badly, and things have been quieter since then.  Although I appeared to be the only visitor that day, I must admit I was impressed enough to excitedly stride from shop to shop, gawking, ogling and taking pictures, to the extent I subsequently realize I forgot to visit the many workshops which produced these exquisite goods.

I also came to realize that, untypical of most shopping places in Indonesia, nobody tried to coerce, persuade, sweet-talk or force me into buying anything.  In fact, all the shopkeepers did was merely smile at me politely during my sojourn among the many beautiful items in the many shops.

On my way out of the village, and once again passing the signboard welcoming visitors to Kasongan Pottery Village, I felt that apart from their attractive exhibits, the gentle, unobtrusive and non-aggressive staff of the shops made this place a pleasant one to visit, and the unique environment made visitors, like myself, to Kasongan feel truly welcomed.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Location of Kasongan Pottery Village

Kasongan is about 6 km south of Yogyakarta, the nearest major city.

There are no hotels or guesthouses in Kasongan.  Hence, visitors would need to stay in Yogyakarta.

Getting There (from Singapore to Yogyakarta)

 Air

Air Asia offers daily flights from Singapore to Yogyakarta.

Getting There (from Yogyakarta to Kasongan)

Buses

Quotation from a guidebook -  Lonely Planet Indonesia :

“Catch a Bantul-bound bus and get off on the main road at the entrance to the village, 6.3 km south of Yogyakarta.  It is then a 1 km walk to the centre of the village and most of the pottery workshops.”

Taxis

Though it would have cost me less than the equivalent of S$3 to get to Kasongan to and from Yogyakarta, I chose to travel there and back by taxi.

I was charged 100,000 Ruppiah (about S$14), which included the Taxi Man patiently waiting for me (ie dozing in the shade outside one of the shops) while I took my time traipsing from shop to shop for about two hours.

Contributed by Andy Gwee