The products are mainly crafted for spiritual ceremonies, coming-of-age rituals and other distinctive cultural activities of the Cham people.
Nearly half a century of preserving an ancestral craft
In the first days of June, we visited the home of artisan Dang Thi My Tram (Bau Truc Hamlet, Ninh Phuoc Commune, Khanh Hoa Province), one of the very few households that remain devoted to the traditional handmade silver engraving craft of the Cham people.
Inside the modest house, which serves both as a family home and a workshop, skilled hands carefully transform sheets of metal into unique products adorned with intricate motifs deeply rooted in Cham culture.
Artisan Dang Thi My Tram explained that the craft has been passed down within her family through the traditional practice of "father-to-child" transmission. Her father, artisan Dang Giao Chuc, taught the craft to his daughter. She then passed the skills on to her husband, her two daughters and several relatives within the family lineage to ensure the craft would continue. For nearly half a century, her family has been regarded as the only household in Bau Truc Village still maintaining this traditional craft.
According to Mrs Tram, becoming a skilled silver engraver requires not only talent but also perseverance and a genuine passion for the profession. Every product undergoes numerous meticulous stages, from shaping and hammering the metal to engraving decorative patterns.
The most challenging stage is the engraving process itself. Artisans must maintain intense concentration and carefully execute every detail with dedication to create motifs such as dragons, phoenixes, stylised floral patterns and cultural symbols unique to the Cham people. Only through such painstaking work can they produce beautiful, durable products that gain customers’ confidence.
Kinh Thi Mong Ngung, one of artisan My Tram’s two daughters, is regarded by the family as having the qualities needed to carry forward the traditional craft.
Seated at a workbench worn by years of use, Ms Ngung carefully completes the smallest details on each product. What appears to be simple work demands a high level of concentration and precision.
Ngung recalled the many challenges she faced when first learning the trade. Even a minor mistake could ruin a product and require it to be remade from the beginning.
“When I first started learning the craft, I damaged quite a few products and often felt discouraged. However, because I wanted to preserve my family’s traditional occupation, I continued to persevere. Of all the stages, engraving patterns is the most difficult; it takes many years of practice to master,” sai Ngung.
Preserving community’s cultural memory and values
According to Dang Chi Quyet, Secretary of the Party Cell of Bau Truc Hamlet, the silver engraving craft has provided artisan Dang Thi My Tram’s family with a stable income, enabling them to raise and educate their children while continuing to contribute positively to the local community. More importantly, they are helping to preserve a traditional craft that faces the risk of disappearing.
Over many years devoted to the profession, Mrs My Tram’s family has produced thousands of items for Cham communities in Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong and many other localities. Popular products include lime containers, water cups, betel trays, betel boxes, pedestal betel holders, spittoons and various items used in traditional ceremonies. Depending on the product, prices range from 100,000 VND to several million VND.
In the past, these items were made entirely from pure silver. However, as silver prices have continued to rise, many products are now crafted from aluminium or copper to better suit local economic conditions. Although the materials have changed, artisans continue to preserve the traditional motifs and Cham cultural values engraved on each product.
For the family of artisan Dang Thi My Tram, silver engraving is both a livelihood and a means of preserving the cultural memory of the community, safeguarding traditional values passed down through generations of Cham people.
Amid modern life and the emergence of many new occupations, the rhythmic sound of hammers in the small house in Bau Truc Village continues to echo every day, bearing witness to the determination of artisans committed to preserving their ancestral craft. Quietly and persistently, they are keeping alive a unique cultural heritage of the Cham people, ensuring that it does not fade away with the passage of time.
