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A singing bowl, also known as a '''Himalayan bowl''' or '''cup gong''', is a musical instrument used in Buddhist meditation, dating back many centuries. They are traditionally played in Tibet , Nepal , India , China , Japan , and Korea , mostly by Buddhist Monk s and in monasteries. The instrument is made of metal, often including precious metals such as Silver and Gold . Many other metals, including Copper , Tin , Zinc , Lead , Iron , Nickel , and Mercury also feature in many bowls' metallic makeup. A singing bowl with higher metal content produces a higher quality sound than low metal content singing bowls. Generally, singing bowls can be made of as many as 9 different metals, however one & two metal composition singing bowls are the most common. Most singing bowls with five and seven metal composition are precious as they contain both gold and silver. Both hand hammered and casted singing bowls can be made with these above metal contents. Mercury can also be used to make singing bowls, but this practice has ceased due to mercury's toxic effects on human health. Singing bowls are played by hitting, striking or slowly rubbing/stirring a wooden striker/mallet within or on the top outer surface of the bowl. When done correctly, the bowl will produce a continuous Harmonic sound, said to be relaxing and good for the Chakra . Many bowls are claimed to be "tuned" to a specific one of the seven chakras. To this day, these singing bowls are used for meditation, yoga, healing, sound massage, Sound Therapy and chakra balancing. Singing bowls can be found in a variety of shapes, sizes, designs, colors, carvings and craftings. They may be found with various religious themes and symbols, like Tibetan mantra chant '' Om Mani Padme Hum '', dragon carvings, mandala carvings, ''asta mangal'' (eight auspicious good luck symbols), Buddhist religious symbols and many more. All such bowls are handmade, apart from some tools used for shining and polishing, and fall into two categories. The first is the hand-hammered (beaten) singing bowl, most of which come from Nepal and India, and are manufactured using traditional processes. Hand-hammered bowls are very much more popular for meditation, healing and sound therapy. The second type is the colored, carved and crafted bowl. These are popular for gifts, decorations and souvenir items, and are mostly from Nepal , the Himalayan Kingdom . EXTERNAL LINKS |
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