Object Name: Gong
Place of Origin: Cameroon
Cultural Group: Bacham peoples
Materials Used: Iron, cloth, bamboo
Dimensions: H: 90.1 cm (H: 35.5 in)
Credit line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Helen and Dr. Robert Kuhn. X86.1912

This double gong symbolizes the power of the Kwifoyn society, a regulatory group that is responsible for carrying out the king’s decrees, but that also keeps the king’s power in check. The gong is sounded when the society is meeting or when they are seeing to the business of the king.

Source: DjeDje, J. C. (1999). “Turn Up the Volume! A Celebration of African Music”, Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 283