iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

I was meaning to put this pic up a while ago, I scanned it from large print published in 1974 by Jacaranda Press. I had to do multiple scans and to collage the various bits together.

The caption says:



I love the instruments in the pic!

I wonder if anyone recognises any faces there?!?

Guan

Hey it's quite rare to see more than one Yolngu Yidaki-player playing at the same time... especially body painted... isn't it ?

Second from left looks like young Yunupingu... but if the picture is from 1974 it can't be him ^_^

Great pic and wonderful looking instruments. I'm amazed at how contemporary the photo looks and at how much the fellow on the left resembles Djalu and may well be the 1970s funky version - another clue being the way he holds the instrument.

There's something about the eyes of the guy second from the left that remind me of Malati Yunupingu and that side of the family.

I'd be interested in hearing who they are.

They are, according to Dhangal Gurruwiwi, from left to right:

Garrmali Yunupingu, Djayila Mununggurr, Wulurrk Mununggurr, and Dulaynga Wunungmurra.

They're all passed away now.

Guan

Great shot and nice photo-merge Guan! Thanks for sharing...

The guy with the long hair looks like Djalu lol!

With 4 guys playing yidaki simultaneously, remember that this is theatre and not bunggul!

I managed to track down a copy of the theatre program. It turns out that the performance was in 1963 and there were 45 "full-blood Aborigines from Arnhem Land" participating from the communities of Bathurst Island, Yirrkala and Daly River.

See scans below.

It looks like Dhangal was right! I found 3 of the names in the program. The missing name is Wulurrk though he must have been known under a different name then, or the name used in the program might be under taboo at the moment.

Of the Yirrkala men, the hot yidaki player at the time was probably Yanggarriny Wunungmurra. A 'Yangarin' is credited in the program as playing all the didgeridoo solos.

This sort of stuff is fascinating to me as it provides an insight into how Aboriginal culture was presented in the early days, and how the didgeridoo might have slipped into public consciousness before Yothu Yindi and before popular music brought it onto the world stage.

Guan