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The use of gourds, of various sizes and countless shapes, as percussion instruments is very common. Nevertheless, the variety of ways in which the same gourd can be "played" is at the least surprising.
In the case of the "GOUSSOUN", we are in the presence of an instrument with an elongated shape, where the ends and flesh of the gourd have been removed, becoming a sort of long irregular tube. The larger instrument comes from Mali and is generally used to accompany special dances. It is played by beating the cavities at the two ends with the cupped bare hands. The sound produced can be deep to a greater or lesser degree, depending on where the opening is struck. It has some ornamental carvings. The other simple gourd, from Uganda, is used in special religious dances where it has the function, according to popular belief, of recalling the spirits of the ancestors.
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