With the aim of recreating the artisanal cooking process of Louça Preta de Molelos, another Soenga will take place on the 18th and 19th of May. The organization is from the Municipality of Tondela and has the collaboration of the Molelos Parish Council.
Parque das Raposeiras once again becomes the central stage of the event that appears, once again, as part of the celebrations of European Ceramics Day – “Bom dia Cerâmica”, which will be celebrated this weekend, throughout the national territory and on land European.
This will be the sixth edition of Soenga, an initiative that started in 2017. The Covid-19 pandemic halted activity in 2020 and 2021.
Soenga is a unique event in the country, which allows for two days and through the hands of the Molelos potters, to closely follow one of the oldest ceramic firing methods and which the Tondela Municipal Council has striven to keep alive.
This exhibition has already become a cultural and tourist landmark of excellence, attracting audiences from all over the country and even abroad to the location.
What makes Soenga such a popular event is the fact that visitors have the opportunity to watch all phases of the firing process and these are mastered with mastery by current potters who have internalized and absorbed centuries-old know-how.
In Molelos, seven potters are still active. They are the ones who, on the 18th and 19th of May, in Raposeiras, will carry out this firing process that gives rise to black clay. This moment will be accompanied by several cultural activities.
Program
Soenga starts on the 18th (Saturday) at 3pm with ceramic demonstration workshops. The musical entertainment will be provided by the group Lôa Trovadoresca. The start of Soenga preparation itself is scheduled for 6pm. At night, at 9pm, there will be music with the Almada Street Band.
On the 19th (Sunday), activities begin at 2:30 pm with a parade of three philharmonic bands through the streets of Molelos. At 3pm there will be new ceramic demonstration workshops.
The concert by the Tondelense Philharmonic Society, the Cabanas de Viriato Philharmonic Society and the Vila Cova à Coelheira Band, as part of the INATEL Foundation’s “Sons de Filarmónicas” project, will start at 4pm. At 5:30 pm there will be a new musical moment, this time with the group Animadixie.
Soenga’s unmolding, which will mark the end of the event, is scheduled for 6pm.
What is Soenga?
Soenga is the traditional process of firing black clay, in which the crockery is placed in a shallow pit dug in the ground. In this hole, after being partially covered with pine wood and covered with clods of earth, it is set on fire and allowed to cook under the watchful eyes of the artisans.
The characteristic black color of the clay is explained by reduction-type firing, which consists of smothering the crockery with earth in the final stage of firing, preventing the entry of oxygen. Due to physical and chemical processes (lack of oxygen), the pieces become completely black and, in part, waterproof.
