By Selma Studer, Founder of GONG (www.aboutgong.com), a London-based sound healing provider offering gong baths and training in person and online.
It’s amazing how an instrument as ancient as a gong can be such a powerful antidote to the stresses of modern life. But have you ever wondered what gongs were used for throughout history, and where they originated? Let’s take a little look back:
The true origin of the gong is still somewhat of a mystery, but the existence of the gong likely dates back to the Bronze Age, around 5,000 years ago. At that time, early humans were baking bread in rock ovens. As they learned how to make those rocks hotter and hotter, heavy metals melted out from the – first tin and then copper. Eventually when the ovens were big enough, these metals would amalgamate to form bronze.
This bronze amalgamation that pooled out would then cool and form a metal plate. And what does a metal plate remind you of? That’s right, a gong! The story goes that humans then picked up that plate and realized they could do many things with it – strike it to signal dinner time, make music, call workers in from the fields, and more…
Legend has it that ancient gong makers also incorporated ‘heaven sent’ meteorites when casting melts, which added to the quality of the bronze and gave it a more resonant and spacious tone – and thus strengthened the sacred and mystical association with the gongs. We now know that these meteorites likely contained nickel, which is used in gong making today to improve the sound quality and enable them to sustain vibrations for longer.
While the gong was used across many different civilizations from East to West, the earliest written mention of a gong was in China in the 6th century. Chinese tradition says that the gong originated in the country of Hsi Yu, between what is now Myanmar and Tibet.
The gong was believed to be a tool for enlightenment, etheric projection, exorcism of negative spirits and keeping the sick from dying. Ancient mystics believed we can transmit universal life energy to any place in the Universe through the sound of the gong.
Here are some interesting examples of what gongs have been used for over the years:
- Source of fortune and strength & as a status symbol in Asian cultures
- Used to banish demons and heal existential fears
- Announce peaceful cooperation after a war
- Signal dinner time
- Signal start or end of a meditation at a Temple or Monastery
- Signal the start of Sumo wrestling matches
- Signal device on large shipping vessels
- Central instrument in the Indonesian Gamelan ensemble
- Percussion instrument in symphony orchestras
- Served as the logo of the Rank Organization, a legend in the history of British cinema!
Today, this ancient instrument is a great tool for us to tap into deep relaxation and experience deep healing. If you're even just a little bit curious about the gong and its power, join a gong bath in person or online. The power of the gong simply has to be experienced to be believed.
