iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hi, I'm new to the didjeridoo, although I collect and play other native/traditional/aboriginal instruments. I try to obtain instruments which are culturally correct, and made by the people traditionally represented by those instruments.

One didjeridoo website in the UK asserts that when a termite-hollowed Eucalyptus didgeridoo is left somewhat rough on the inside, excepting the mouthpiece and bell ends, it indicates the instrument is of authentic aboriginal make. In other words, one can still see nooks and crannies left by the termite activity.

I would appreciate the thoughts of others on this issue.

Bruce

Hi Bruce,

All that would indicate is that the piece appears to be crafted out of a termite hollowed log. Unfortunately there's no way of authenticating the Aboriginality of the crafter in such cases. If you're after a 'traditional' instrument crafted by those to whom the didgeridoo is an ongoing part of their cultural heritage, the best thing to do is buy directly from the source or from a knowledgable dealer who can provide the provenance of their stock.

Kyle

Kyle, thanks for your reply.

Have you heard of a didj seller called LA Outback on the web? They claim to have aboriginal instruments with certificates indicating who made them, and where. They also offer modern didjis which are fairly represented as what they are.

Bruce

Welcome to the authenticity quagmire.

Read the ididj http://ididj.com.au/authenticity/index.html, and Yidaki dhawu info: http://www.yirrkala.com/yidaki/dhawu/index.html

These are the starting points for info to draw your own conclusions about traditional didgeridoo. There are a lot of snake oil salesmen in the didgeridoo world and it can be hard to sort fact fiction and "ancestral" lore.

Of course our host here, ididj is a leading global seller, and though some of us have more diverse focus than just yidaki, and Yirrkala is but a single though prominent source, their list of dealers is a pretty good starting point for sellers of traditional instruments worldwide: http://www.yirrkala.com/yidaki/resellers.html

Certificates of authenticity are only as good as the people who write them up and the information they have been given along the way. Personally I think they are pretty much bunk since instruments are at times even misrepresented by the aboriginal people themselves to the art centers. The best we can do as resellers is buy directly from the aboriginal makers themselves or the art centers in the aboriginal communities themselves. My own (non-traditional) instruments have been misrepresented by resellers who offer such certificates. I do not believe this misrepresentation is necessarily intentional, but when they don't know, they typically just come up with their own ideas about things.

Well said Ben.

I agree that it's best to become as well informed as you can as to the situation and then assess your prospective purchases accordingly. Have a look at the Yirkalla resellers list as Ben has suggested and see if there are any dealers in your vicinity as it's always best to play before you buy if you can.

Kyle

Hi Bruce,

I'll weigh in on the discussion...

Considering what you have written, you should be looking for a didgeridoo that is from the Top End of Australia, anywhere in Arnhem Land if fine is you want a culturally-correct instrument made by the people who have a continuing unbroken cultural traditional with the didgeridoo.

What are the signs to look for in a traditional Aboriginal didgeridoo (see the Cultural Indications Index on the page Ben kindly pointed out)? Not so easy but your best bet would be to go by name, if the name of the craftperson - if known - sounds like a Bininj or Yolngu name (Bininj and Yolngu being the people from Western and NE Arnhem Land respectively, they're very broad names but used here for convenience) then you're on the right track. Or just drop us the names on this forum of any instruments that might be prospective buys for you and we can advise further.

Whether the bore is termite-eaten and rough looking with nooks and crannies is not a good guide as to whether an instrument is authentic or not if you are searching for a CI 4 instrument to buy. Most CI 1, CI 2, and CI 3 instruments are termite-eaten and their bores are evidence of this. Sometimes these bores are drilled out entirely (if they weren't they'd be unplayable) so all you'll see are ring marks right down the bore. On the other hand, instruments of the highest level of authenticity, CI 4, are invariably termite-eaten as well, however, you'll find that they are sometimes/often worked at the bell and/or mouthpiece end - in contrast to what you might have read previously on the UK site.

If you see an instrument that has an entirely natural termite-eaten bore, it could fall into the categories of CI 1, CI 2, CI 3 and CI 4- so that's not helpful either.

If you are in the US, why don't you try Ben? LA Outback are ok for generic didgeridoos but are hardly the people I would go to for traditional sticks... they're been known to re-work (sometimes extensively) their instruments, mix-up artists' names, get details of artists/craftspeople awfully and embarrassingly wrong (one example pointed out to me is how they described Dhanggal Gurruwiwi as the wife of Djalu Gurruwiwi, which is a bad mistake to make... they're sister and brother and makes this a taboo relationship!). The question of ethics has been brought up by some of their clients... customers and suppliers, but best to find out the stories directly from them.

Well that's it in a nutshell!

Guan