“ANDWe are in the documentation submission phase. We believe that in six months we will be celebrating Molelos in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage”, he said.
During the candidacy presentation ceremony, Celeste Afonso stressed that the black clay pieces from Molelos are a material asset, but that they presuppose “know-how”.
“What we are classifying is not the black clay from Molelos, it is the manufacturing process, it is the know-how to arrive at this material good”, he clarified.
Despite the importance of “all the know-how over the centuries”, Celeste Afonso said that, “if tradition does not adapt to the present, it dies and ceases to be transmissible”.
“Or we end up having a tradition in a dome, in a museum. That’s not what we want”, he said, considering fundamental “ancestral gestures that become contemporary”, which is why the municipality advanced to this inventory.
Celeste Afonso considered the potters from Molelos to be heroes who, 30 years ago, “knew how to look at clay, honor what their ancestors had done and say: ‘we want to make this a profession'”.
Molelos has seven potters (including two women) who dedicate themselves exclusively to this craft and who will be registered as “the holders of know-how”, he added.
The mayor of Tondela (district of Viseu), Carla Antunes Borges, considered that the black clay of Molelos would not be what it is today “if it were not associated with people, traditions, customs, the community”.
“The clay, by itself, has some characteristics that are different from other places, but what truly differentiates our black clay is the way it is made, how it is cooked, and the cooking process, the soenga”, he said. .
The mayor also alluded to the knowledge “transported over the centuries, over generations, from family to family, almost in secret, in some cases, even with some disputes, but always with the aim of building something bigger”.
In his view, the candidacy “will place black clay on a level of excellence”, hoping that “it will be a speedy process”.
“This process will be the icing on the cake because the certification of the manufacturing process is completed and what we want now is to give it the dignity of classification of intangible heritage”, explained Carla Antunes Borges.
The application foresees the constitution of a documentary archive dedicated to black clay and open to the consultation of researchers and other interested parties, which will be based in the future Story Center of Barro Negro.
With regard to the transmission of knowledge, it is proposed, in secondary education professional courses, to open the option of pottery technician, with the training component in a work context carried out in the potteries of Molelos.
The construction of the Story Center of Barro Negro, the production of a brochure with recipes made in black clay and the elaboration of a letter of ethical principles that preserves the traditional methods of production of black clay are other planned initiatives.
The Center’s Regional Director of Culture, Susana Menezes, considered that applications such as the process of manufacturing black clay from Molelos are “a first and very necessary act of preservation and appreciation of the intangible cultural heritage and, consequently, also an appreciation and preservation of the multiple memories and identities that form the territories”.
The presentation of the application took place today, in Tondela, during the celebrations of the fifth anniversary of the Portuguese Association of Ceramic Cities and Towns.
For the first time, the association awarded distinctions – Ceramic Medals – to representatives of master Manuel Cargaleiro and ceramist Rosa Ramalho (posthumously). The technician and researcher born in Tondela, Hélder Abraços, and the company CS Coelho da Silva, from Porto de Mós, received honorable mentions.
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