iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Well, here's the first one, I'm putting this topic here as technique and instrument type/configuration are inextricably linked, so whilst this thread will not be about technique per se it relates to the different types of instruments which lend themselves to particular playing styles and techniques.

This stick is an older one from the NW region of the Northern Territory, from the 1960s era and probably originating from Port Keats, today known as Wadeye. Port Keats was established in the 1930s as a mission (Roman Catholic) and today is the largest indigenous community in the NT with a population over 2000.

I love the decorative design on instruments from this region. The palette is particularly interesting as it encompasses more than just the 'typical' black, white, red, and yellow ochres or mineral oxides we are used to seeing to the east in Arnhem Land. In Port Keats, artists sometimes, perhaps frequently, used pinks, blues and greens in their palettes. It is hard to say if these pigments are derived from plant extracts and from earth minerals, or whether they are more 'contemporary' in their origins; ie. watercolours bought from the shop. I haven't really looked close enough to tell, but I am sure close examination will reveal all... pigments collected/extracted from nature will ALWAYS have a certain inconsistency, a certain graininess, a certain texture, where synthetic pigments are uniform throughout. That's one secret to learn if you're going to be serious about collecting.

The stylistic expression of painted didgeridoos in Port Keats/Wadeye are sublime, they can be 'shimmering' as in the effect emanated by rarrk - cross-hatching found in Arnhem Land but NOT in the NW NT region (another secret to differentiation Arnhem Land instruments from those originating from the NW NT area). This shimmering effect is achieved in the NW NT region through the use of repeating iconography, in this case I would imagine a bush yam motif - columns of edible tubers flanked by the foliage of the yams. It is important to remember that just like in Arnhem Land, paintings have spiritual significance, so in this case, the artwork doesn't just signify a human necessity - to eat - but also the 'Dreaming' of the bush yam, its named area, mythological stories of it and how it fits in with the rest of the Murrinhpatha universe, how yam is kin, blood, family also.

I've also seen/got didgeridoos decorated with a repeating spear motif, learning that spear also has a lot of 'Dreaming' in it, it isn't just an utilitarian object but something imbued with spiritual power.

Other instruments which I will hopefully photograph and show here in time are more loosely decorated, adorned with flowing human and animalistic figures.

Anyway, love this stick, plays great, looks great, nice conical shape - rare in the old days, it was made for use and has been put through local ceremony.

Guan

Nice looking stick! I really like the repetitive patterning on the distal end.

Are you archiving your entire collection now for display in the new abode? If so, I hope you chronicle some of the better sticks here.

Kyle

great pic and even better story and description.
watched our generation the other night, wow, absolute must see, still taking it all in and will no doubt watch a few times more. ticked every emotional box i reckon, leaves you pretty disappointed and frustrated, quite sad that we live in a country of such supposed riches and purveyed multiculturism yet have allowed this to happen right under our noses.
i plan to have a screening at work for everyone to watch, it is such a must see for all australians(and our o/s mates)
glad to hear you are settled in guan, sad to hear of your recent loss and trust all is well
cheers
russ

Hop, just clicked the "subscribe topic" button

Hi guys, Russ, did you go to that night in the city where the film was screened, I think at the Forum? Djiniyini was down here for it and another elder, I couldn't make it due to having to clean up the old house before handing in the keys.

I will be putting up more pics and descriptions of instruments Kyle, no worries, as for documenting the entire collection, that is something I want to do but it is going to be harder than I thought, I think I'll do it in a database or perhaps even in HTML that way it can be put up on and viewed on the web. I'd say it'll be an ongoing project as it will take a while to set everything up.

Glad you subscribed Francis, will try to put another specimen up today

Guan

Nice stick indeed, I hope we will able to see more!

I've found these sites a couple of days ago, I think you guys seen before:
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/indigenous_song/wadeye/ and another one http://azoulay.arts.usyd.edu.au/mpsong/index.html

I got to be interested in the musical styles and genres of this wa region and also Kimberley. So double thanks for the post Guan!

cheers
John

no i missed the screening, would have loved to get there but could not make it, have seen a couple of groups having some local screening nights etc, what is the plan for distribution do you know? i bought a copy via the website which seems to be the only way?
planning to catch up with the co-author of the report which led to the intervention in december, cant wait for what will be a great insight (apparently not too happy at all about the dismissal of the recommendations and the subsequent govt actions), keep you posted.
cheers
russ

I don't know how it works with distribution of the doco Russ but the website should tell you more.

Here's the second instrument, again, from the same NW NT region but this time the instrument differs in 3 ways:

* There's no painted decoration at all
* There is a mouthpiece insert, not uncommon in this region in older times (perhaps still today?) especially instruments made from pandanus
* The instrument is not hardwood but bamboo (Bambusa arnhemica), and that's both the main sound tube as well as the mouthpiece insert

A little bit about (Bambusa arnhemica)... it is a native Australian plant, closely related to the Asian varieties but the species is not found outside of Australia. Aboriginal people know where the best bamboo clumps grow for didgeridoo-making, there's one particularly esteemed site between Kakadu National Park and Maningrida. The most 'famous' bamboo didgeridoos are those from the Cobourg Peninsula as these were the first to be observed and collected by Europeans, which happened at Port Essington in the early 1800s. They were often delicately decorated with incised traditional designs and sometimes roughly painted with black and/or white stripes. The most beautiful pieces to me are those that have incised pictures of sailing ships, men in hats, horses, guns, etc. - no doubt a record of the new experiences and encounters during the contact-period in the north.

To the south-east of the Cobourg Peninsula in the NW NT region, the same bamboo species is used to make didgeridoos but the difference here is that the culms selected to make instruments are of a wider girth and also the finished instruments are not decorated with incised artwork.

This bamboo didgeridoo is from Daly River and dates to the 1950s, I love the simplicity of it, the ingenuity of attaching a mouthpiece insert, and the skill evident in the caulking.

Guan

Wow, a 60 y-o bamboo !!!
Without any cracks ???
Is it sealed inside somehow ? (bees wax or whatever)

I heard before that Bambusa Arnhemica had the particularity of not having any knots... but looking at the picture, this "legend" fades away.
Indeed, a bamboo without knots would be very fragile and wouldn't grow to this diameter.

Thanks for sharing !

Ah, and a question : is there evidence to which type of didj' was first discovered (by BlackFellas) between bamboo and termite-hollowed-euca ?
Bamboo seems easier to transform into a didj', especially without any metal tools...
And in a way, it is strange that bamboo-didj' wasn't discovered in Asia where bamboo is omnipresent.

By the way, I think I've posted this before but anyway : check the dancers with the huge pan-pipes at the back : these are "pan-didjes" !!!

Solomon Islands traditionnal dances & music

A 60 year old bamboo is nothing - Guan's got a couple of those old bamboo specimens from the late 1800s! Hopefully he'll post some details on them in the future.