Marble Mountain headstone carvers
About this recording
- Creator
- Kristin Post
- Date created
- February 2, 2001
- Duration
- 1:59
- Location
- Marble Mountain, Vietnam
- File
- MP3
- License
- This recording copyright ©2001. Terms of use
Related media
Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for artisans, Asia, Buddha, carve, carvings, craftsmanship, funerals, headstone, industry, marble, Southeast Asia, tourism, Vietnam, and work.
In the classroom
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I hired a motorcycle driver to take me to some of the highlights of DaNang, Vietnam. My main goal was to see the Buddhist temples on Marble Mountain and the Khmer museum. I was surprised that my guide stopped at a few unexpected places. One was a headstone factory. Artisans handcarved hearts, lions, Buddhas, or other shapes out of the locally harvested marble that they would then send to funeral homes around the world.
You can hear the sound of the workers chipping away at the marble with their hammers. They fall into a regular rhythm. A woman who works at the factory answers my questions about the different shapes, where the marble comes from, and how long the work takes.
Transcript
- Woman
- What is this?
- Kristin
- Recorder. To record the sound.
- Woman
- Rodeo?
- Kristin
- What is he going to make? What is this going to be?
- Woman
- He make the the old man. Big.
- Kristin
- Old man, like this guy?
- Woman
- Yeah. Is big..like..he make the happy Buddha.
- Kristin
- Happy Buddha.
- Woman
- Yeah. This the lady, this the married.
- Kristin
- Uh huh.
- Woman
- Fisherman.
- Kristin
- The what?
- Woman
- Fisherman.
- Kristin
- Fisherman?
- Woman
- Yeah, and this the lion. We can make every animal.
- Kristin
- How many…is this all different kinds of marble?
- Woman
- Yeah. Because in here got five mountains and different color. Same kind, same type, but different color.
- Kristin
- Um hum. How long does it take to make?
- Woman
- Maybe four or five months.
- Kristin
- Four or five months. Only one person? Only one person works on it?
- Woman
- If you want, if we want quickly, we can give two or three person.
(stonecutting ambience)
