vaga #3/14 Myanmar Crafts

Part XIV

I had planned to do a single chapter of the crafts of the artisans that I came across, but I realised that it is impossible to do them in just one blog because each one is admired for their extraordinary talent. Therefore, I dedicate this chapter to the CRAFTS of the artisan with great respect. I have always worked with my hands as a means to carry out my work, so. I have hundreds of hours of work and learning behind me, I know what I am talking about. The majority of these CRAFTS are learned as children, and are family traditions, attached to cultural needs. The vast majority do not recognise this, nor do they understand the enormous work and knowledge required to be an artisan. By not being recognised, these trades and years of learning are lost due to the lack of appreciation for the value of their work. They search for a better income. I will take advantage of my knowledge to give you some information. Please never haggle for an item made by hand. The crafts are handmade made, and you don't know the hundreds of hours behind them. Their crafts are worthy of recognition, and I hope that they do not disappear for economic reasons because of the need to feed their families.

Some stone crafts

JADE

I will start with the precious and semi-precious stones of Myanmar; it is a country very rich in these materials and a cause of internal wars due to the administration of these stones, the ethnic groups want to exploit it because they are from their lands and the government wants to make it part of the country's income

Beginning with JADE, a semi-precious stone and found in abundance in the centre and north of the country. In Mandalay, I went to the market to look at the precious and semi-precious stones. I was late getting to the bustle of buying and selling, which I know is overwhelming, it was also at lunchtime, and the wheeling and dealing had already finished. The market is similar to the central vegetable market in Chile, there are stalls in the streets, others under roofed areas and there are about 15 corridors and at that time only the artisans were working with the stone, that is, it is not only sales and purchases, but workshops and that is what I had to see.

First, I was impressed by such a variety of jade colours, qualities, veins. The other thing to see the specialists and how they look for stones without any veins that were of the highest purity. They examine it, again and again, a subject that they take calmly. You can feel the knowledge of the shoppers' craft that every millimetre is studied and reviewed repeatedly.

Purity is looked for with an LED torch. After much study, the buyer chooses the segment he wants, a line is drawn with a graphite pencil and sent to the craftsman who has to follow the instructions. Buyers don't budge from the process of cutting as they don’t want their stones to be switched. And because it already paid for upfront, and there's no going back. If it requires polishing, the buyer stays next to the polisher. There, things are more relaxed for the buyer,

I don’t usually post videos. I am not great at taking them, but some occasions have to be recorded. So here more than ever, to listen to the sounds of the machines, the dust, feel the professionalism, the tradition, the physical effort with the adversity of the weather, and miserable working conditions, I felt that I had to share them.

The stones are sold fresh from the earth, completely raw, to the finished products with the most delicate designs. Those who are not in the shed and have set up in the street sell their wares like tomatoes or apples, but they are rubies, emeralds and many more.

Here you can see rubies, the jade with different tones and the photo at the end shows the rough ruby, the red point.

MARBLE

See how they carry out the work of sculptures in marble. I have to repeat it here briefly since I mentioned it in Vaga #2 part II because they not only make sculptures of Buddhas but of all kinds, sizes and the excellent mastery is impressive. I am filled with admiration, and that is why I have repeated the video of the chiselling because it fascinates me … I have also carved in stone