iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hi there !

I've read at least three different versions of the mythic "Bush Telephone".
I guess all of them will provide water to the rumour mill !

In some books, I've read that the Didjeridu is/was used as a Bush Phone to communicate accross long distance.
Though, everybody 'round here knows that Didj's vibration fades out really fast in open air (without sound reflections)... So this version (that I've only read once) is not credible for me...

In others, the Bush Phone is nothing more than the Bull-Roarer.
This sounds more credible.
But then, was it REALLY used this way ? Did Aboriginal People have "codes" in the variations of produced sounds to communicate... Like American Indians had with smoke signals ?

Third version is the most esotheric/magic one > some books claim that some Aboriginal People communicate throughout distance through Dreaming.
Apparently, this was "confirmed" by a white ethnological scientist during mid 1900's (sorry, don't remember the ethnoscientist's name).

Do anyone know a bit more about any of these versions ?
(true, false, origin, how, etc...)

There is some evidence of this, through oral history stories as well as the published literature. Djalu, for example, is fond of telling how his father would signal to his family that he has been successful in a turtle hunt. Monyu would play the overtone note to 'tell the message' to his family to start a fire to cook the turtle. I can't remember off-hand, but different number of 'toots' told different things.

In the literature, ethnologist Norman Tindale wrote in 1925 about the use of the didgeridoo on Groote Eylandt thus:



I would guess that the overtone note travels over water better than the fundamental note.



The bull-roarer is more of a means of warning people, especially women and children, not to go near a sacred-secret ceremony that is taking place. Throughout Australia where the bullroarer was/is used, the bullroarer itself is an object belonging to the restricted category most of the time.



Aboriginal people do say this, but this sort of capability is limited to 'clever men' I would think.

The other method of communication over long distance is through the employ of message sticks, where a messenger is sent to travel to another place bearing a message stick which has marks on it to remind the messenger the message he has to convey.

Thanks for the reply !!!

That's true concerning the "travel ability" of the overtone sound.
And the second toot is even much more impressive in open air > often brings back a loud echoe !
(I cannot go further the 2nd toot, but I guess that 3rd is even stronger and so on...)
It just surprise me that turtle-hunters would actually bring their didj' with them on the hunt... but why not ?!
And I didn't know Didj often accompanied their sleep !!! No wonder they were "Dream-Masters" One must sleep just great with that music all night long ! Wow

Concerning the "message stick", that really interrest me !
Are there any good books relating and explaining some Aboriginal drawn/written langage ?
Their paintings seem to be a very artistic form of ideographic "written" langage... At this title, it surely is not submitted to any equivalent of our grammar rules, but I guess some kind of "rules" must be instored to dispensate the knowledge.
I've read that in the central Oz Dot-Painting-style the U represents seated person, the lU seated woman with stick, the (O) a fire-camp or special place, ~~~~ a path or link, etc...
But did Aboriginal People shared further knowledge of their graphic langage ? And has it been gathered in a book ?

For central Australian Aboriginal art, try Nancy Munn, 1973, Walbiri Iconography: Graphic Representation and Cultural Symbolism in Central Australian Society. It is a rare book but good university libraries should have it. When it is for sale, it is usually US$200 plus if you can find it.

For a more general treatment of the subject matter, try Peter Ucko (ed), 1977, Form in Indigenous Art: Scematisation in the Art of Aboriginal Australia and Prehistoric Europe. Good articles in there by Howard Morphy, Helen Groger-Wurm, Ian Keen, Les Hiatt, and Peter Carroll for Arnhem Land art.

Guan