Who invented the bong?

Bang, water pipe: the bong has as many nicknames as it has possible origins. Some trace its roots to Africa, but is that really the case? Here is a look back at the bong and its origins, to make better sense of its history.

Was the bong born in Ethiopia?

Whatever the theories about the use of these water pipes, and the more or less well-founded beliefs about the effects they were said to have on health, the use of tobacco and of various herbs appears to go back a very long way.

To inhale the smoke given off as they burn, people have fashioned all sorts of accessories, using materials gathered in nature such as animal horn, wood and bamboo, and later more worked materials such as the glass bong, metal or ceramic.

Archaeologists have come across the remains of pipes in caves in Ethiopia that could be related to bongs. These remains are thought to date from the 12th century, or more precisely from between 1100 and 1400. No fewer than 11 bongs were buried in the ground, a technique that started a cooling process. They were made from horn and primitive ceramic, together with underground piping.

An origin that looks rather more Asian

Going back to where the word “bong” comes from, it appears to derive from the “baung”, a traditional Asian instrument made of bamboo and used in particular in Central Asia. American soldiers are said to have discovered this kind of pipe during the Vietnam War. Their western pronunciation of the name is where the word “bang” comes from.

Other remains have been found in Russia during archaeological digs. They are thought to be more than 2,400 years old. This find could well represent the very first bongs, used by Scythian chiefs, a people of Iranian origin.

The earliest written records come from Asia

The first written traces of bongs come from Central Asia. China appears to have led the way with these pipes, which were used by the upper classes. Empress Cixi was buried with 3 precious bongs. Along the Silk Road, the pipe spread as far as Europe, then to the Americas with the colonisation of the continent.

The glass industry took the water pipe to the height of its popularity, with steady growth up to the 1970s. Restrictions were then brought in by a great many countries, and bongs fell out of use.