How singing bowls are made in Nepal?
For many centuries, sound and music are used as a tool that helps to promote healing and meditation.
The singing bowl is one of the primary instruments for this purpose created by mankind.
These are religious and spiritual bowls made from metals when hit creates thoughtful and heavenly sound.
This sound repeats as if the universe is demonstrating upon one’s beautiful soul.
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Singing bowl – Sound Healing
Singing Bowl is additionally referred to as one among the sort of idiophone which when hit, scraped or shaken builds a gorgeous sound through vibration.
Singing bowls are made from different shapes, sizes and come during a single and inverted form. Singing bowls are mostly hit on the rim or side by using a mallet to produce sound.
The singing bowl with a small diameter produces delicate kinds of sounds. Likewise, the larger diameter bowl produces deeper and full-bodied sounds. Both of these methods produce really distinctive sounds.
These bowls are used mostly in healing and treating many sorts of illnesses through sound therapy. they’re also mainly utilized in religious and spiritual settings, imploring meditation and relaxation.
The sound created by the singing bowl produces a sort of energy medicine that’s believed to mend the broken frequencies of our body, mind, and soul.
This bowl creates a centering effect, that causes both the left and right sides of the human brain to contemporize with each other.
Many activities like yoga and the other sorts of meditative practices engage singing bowls sometimes. Singing bowls have the unaccountable ability to bring inner peace and tranquility to the listener.
Singing bowls are named through various names within the world. The unifying concept of the singing bowl is that they’re related to Tibet or Buddhism, bowls create incredible sounds which consists of miraculous healing effects. Singing bowls also are referred to as :
- singing bowl
- meditation bowl
- sound bowl
- standing bell
- prayer bowl
- healing bowl
Materials used to make the singing bowls
Historically, singing bowls during the ancient time were supposed to be crafted by combining different metals, anywhere between five to nine, and even twelve metals sometimes.
Each metal used was purified to represent a heavenly body:
- Gold (Sun)
- Silver (Moon)
- Mercury (Mercury)
- Copper (Venus)
- Iron (Mars)
- Tin (Jupiter)
- Lead (Saturn)
These metals were then made by hammering into a singing bowl. It is believed that old singing bowls were cast with wished, mantras, and chants.
Old singing bowls were crafted with copper and tin. When combined, there formed a type of bronze called “bell metal”. After the combination of these two metal, it produced a harder and elastic metal when struck produced much better reverberation.
This metal is also used to make bells. As this metal consists of antibacterial and antiviral property, it is also used to make utensils.
Today, the modern singing bowls are manufactured with five metals at most and only two sometimes.
As the price of gold and silver is very high, it is no longer used however the new singing bowls are of excellent quality due to tools and craftsmanship improvement.
How is the singing bowl made?
Today, there are two methods used to create a singing bowl:
- Hammering
- Molding
Hammering
Hammering has always been the best method of creating a singing bowl.
In this method, the flat method sheet of any metal is hammered over the mold or the bowl pattern for a period of time until the metal takes the same of the pattern.
The edged are bent over and again hammered until it becomes completely smooth. And the designs are carved.
The insides are mostly machine polished. Conservatives mostly select hammered singing bowls and easily differentiate by checking marks of the hammer.
Molding
Another method of making a singing bowl is by the help of mold. In this method, the hot molten metal is poured into a mold that results in forming two parts of the modern singing mold.
This method helps create the best singing bowl that produces long-lasting vibrations and sounds. The tonal quality is better than the hammered bowl.
This singing bowl is decorated by etching or enameling.
Uses of singing bowls
Singing bowls are widely used in various fields because of their calming and miraculous property.
Let’s take a look at some of the uses of singing bowls:
Alternative healing and medicinal uses
Traditional Hindu followers believe that the world began with a sound and sound plays a very important role in our body, soul, and the universe itself.
The use of sound as an alternative healing method is practiced for many centuries in many cultures. People believe that the miraculous property of the unique sound of singing bowls can affect the physiological, physical, and as a whole our whole human body.
There are many chakras in our body and these centers are believed to communicate to a specific tone that is produced naturally by singing bowls.
Meditative and spiritual use
Singing bowls were the indication of the start and end of the medication period mostly in The Himalayan Monasteries and homes. Singing bowls were played at the time of medication to achieve a state of pure relaxation and help focus one’s mind.
People believe that, when the singing bowl is played, the mantras and good wishes permeated within it when they’re made to flow freely on the universe.
Both Hinduism and Buddhism gave used singing bowls to aid in inner peace, harmony, and spiritual focus.
Historical Use
Historically, during ancient times singing bowls were used as a common kitchen utensil, storage, and eating items.
Singing bowls were also used as currency during the past. They were valued on the basis of their thickness, weight, and metal composition in the past.
The heavier and bigger the singing bowl, the more valuable it was considered.
Also, during the past, singing bowls were given as wedding gifts or dowry to the newly married couple.