A comprative study of handmade pottery in the villages of burjak

The traditional and native pottery and making pottery of Jirdeh Shaft, Gilan, and Burjak, Khomein have been linked with its people's life from far past. Jirdeh rural district is a village located in the central part of Shaft of Gilan province and the nearest village to the center of Gilan, Rasht city, and Burjak is a village of Chahar Cheshmeh rural district, Kamareh district of Khomein city, in 140 km from Arak city in Markazi province.
Since the main producers of pottery in both villages are women artists whose hands are the most important tools of their work, this study identifies the similarities and differences between the pottery of the two villages and also gets acquainted with the women potters of the villages, raw materials, construction methods, engravings and decorations , the form of potteries and local tools for making potteries.
'Attieh Roshanfekr' is an artist lady from Jirdeh Shaft Village. This 62-year-old artist has continued her ancestral art after 26 years. She and other women artists of Jirdeh create a work called "Gamaj and Nokhoon" with a very basic and simple tool which is considered by domestic and foreign tourists. Gamaj, as the best and most basic cooking utensil, is still produced by the people of Gilan and used for culinary or decorative purposes.
The traditional pottery and making pottery in Burjak village also belong to the women of the village. Ms. Hamzeh Lou, a 77-year-old woman from Burjak village was able to revive the art of "Burjaki Doogooleh" and expand the knowledge and method of making pottery without wheel in the village, and to turn Burjak into the "Burjaki Doogooleh" hub of Khomein and the country. 
Jirdeh soil is the most suitable for making pottery in the region and has the most flame-resistant soil compared to other places. For this reason, Jirdeh is called the pottery hub of Gilan. There are two points from Burjak village, called "Gel Eshken" which is also named broken mud, that the soil is suitable and desirable to make pottery, these hills are near the village. 
The decorations used in Burjaki potteries are: wick-shaped, triangle, circle and semicircle, plait, zigzag and linear, and in some cases goat pattern. Burjaki pottery is decorated on the raw clay body before baking, which is one of the most common decorative designs on pottery. But the motifs most often used to decorate pottery are lines that are probably drawn from the boundaries of agricultural lands and waterways. The engraved method was also seen that is still used. Sometimes the motif of a goat with long horns is created on the pottery body. The symbol of the ibex used in the petroglyphs of Teymareh Khomein is one of the most widely used and important pottery motifs. Jirdeh pottery is also decorated on the raw clay body before baking, and of course glaze plays a major role in decorating the pottery.
The present study, which has been done comparatively and using field and library studies, shows that in the two villages, pottery products are created without the use of pottery wheel technique, very simple and sometimes with basic decorations and native motifs in circular, elongated, cylindrical and flat forms; Features that indicate the cultural antiquity of each of these villages. On the other hand, due to the blending of village life with nature and the influence of the ancient tastes of the ancestors, they display their art in this way. And most importantly, the women potters of the two villages are creating similar art that is unique at the same time and that they have tried to preserve their traditions for countless years. The difference between the pottery of the two villages is due to the individual tastes and differences, the interests and beliefs of the potters, as well as the cultural and geographical features of the environment.