Rock gong

Rock gong
Ethiopian Lithophones with Stand, Monastery of Na’akuto La’ab
Percussion instrument
Other namesKid Kongil
Hornbostel–Sachs classification111.22
(Directly struck idiophone)
DevelopedAntiquity
Related instruments
Ringing rocks

A rock gong is a slab of rock that is hit like a drum, and is an example of a lithophone. Examples have been found in Africa, Asia, and Europe.[1] Regional names for the rock gong include kungering,[2] kwerent dutse, gwangalan, kungereng, kongworian, and kuge.[3] These names are all onomatopœic, except for "kuge" which is the Hausa word for a double iron bell[3] and "dawal" which is the Ge`ez word for a church's stone gong.[4]

  1. ^ Beck (1995, p. 78)
  2. ^ Fagg (1997, p. 20)
  3. ^ a b Goodwin (1957, p. 37)
  4. ^ Uhlig, Siegbert (2003). Encyclopedia Aethiopica. Frankfurt: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 108–109.