iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hi Josh:



I suppose that, yes, this is true- but there are interclan frictions and other politics at work that raise the eyebrows of other Yolngu. Larry's playing of Dolphin is, through my eyes, done with the intent to share and to educate didgeridoo enthusiasts about traditional techniques and sound. I would suspect that if Larry had reservations about being put into the public domain, he would have voiced those concerns to Guan through friendship and respect.

And of course, as a Galpu clan song, Dolphin is 'owned' by Larry through his heritage as Galpu, as far as I understand it. To further complicate matters, the yidaki parts are accompaniment to the truly important parts- the text sung by the songman and the clapsticks. Yidaki plays second fiddle (sorry about the musical metaphor).




Then the mission of this forum has succeeded, and we should celebrate that. Not one single member of this forum was born with the complete understanding of Yolngu traditional practices or ideologies- we learned along the way, brought about first and foremost through an interest in didgeridoo.

Jason

Totally. I think it's great that there are such forums now, where it's a bit easier to find out about trad styles and culture. Some of these issues are challenging, and it's good to have a place to swap notes and think them through.