Anthropomorphic slit gong "n-koku"

---

Description

wood, base

Among Suku and Yaka peoples, these slit gongs are emblems of the diviners and healers “nganga ngoombu”. They provide the rhythm for many of their chants and signal their presence.

Small slit gongs can also serve as a mixing container for preparing and serving medicines, and laid horizontally, the instrument is also said to have been used as a diviners stool.

---

Comparing literature

Bourgeois, Arthur P., Art of the Yaka and Suku, Paris 1984, p. 100 Cogdell, Jacqueline, Turn up the Volume! University of California 1999, p. 286

---