iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hi there...

Aborigines often (always?) spill water inside their didj, or even drown them totally in water tanks before playing.
That's good for Yidakis ... But what about non-trad sticks ?

> Is this process only useful with raw-wood didjes ?

> Is it useful with oiled didjes ? And what about varnished didjes ?

> If the didj is varnished on the outside and raw inside... may this crack the varnish coat ?

> Does the very first didj humidification on raw (or oiled) wood implicates a regular water-treatment for the whole didj's life ? At what approximate frequency ?

> Is sea (salt) water to avoid ? Is it even, or better than drinkable water ?

Thanks for your advices

Hi Ahaw Hey Ho ho,

First of all, my point of view is that whatever your instrument, water in the inside will affect the sound. For me it's just an interaction between waves (sound) and the surface followed until the end (bell), which is dry or wet. I see nothing that could anihilate the effect due to the change of the physical properties of the surface face to the wave (reflection, absorption, transmission). The sound will be affected in the same manner whatever the type of the material (raw wood, varnished wood, polymer, metal...). Water contributes to a better efficiency of reflection face to the sound. So the sound is clearer with wet surfaces and seems more absorbed with dry bore. It's pleasant, whatever your origin, to get the sensation that the sound created by your mouth is directly amplified by a piece of wood without many absorptions. As the waves are more reflected by wet surfaces, the acoustic volume is greater.
To get a clear example, for these reasons that's why we can hear very well the birds the morning when there is dew. The sound goes farther.
It answers some of your questions. Every treatment on the bore will affect the sound, but it's limited because of the thickness of the treatment compared to the thickness of the substrate (the instrument). For further answers I let the fools who have alreday poured water in their yirdakis.

Again for theoretical judgements, about salt water, it's a shit for maybe everything which is not in the sea at a natural state. We can not drink it, it corrodes metals, and you have a deposition of salt when the water evaporates. The trees, before being yirdakis, don't have seen the salt water durind their life, so their are not prepared to it, my advice is to not use it. For the sound, I don't know. I let the fooler people to answer.

Bye

Merci de ta réponse Anthony

would salt water or any water emersion of a raw didgeridoo would it not be a simple fact that this would be done to kill off any remaining beasties that may be left in the bore before working on it?

Hi,
the climatic condition in North East Arnem Land differ much of there find in europe or in other countries....so I don't put water on my Yidaki.

hi there,

just a quick answer from what i know or what i've seen around the top end...

water is used/spilled inside the didjeridu before playing for both getting a brighter sound and for making the wood's volume increase (more water in it implies the increase of its volume), therefore closing small leaks of air...

some craftsmen keep the raw logs underwater for both killing any left creatures but also for both preventing the wood from cracking when not worked inmediately and for making it softer and therefore easier to work after, specially when not having the best tools... i haven't seen this practice much lately, though... i did see certain balanda makers add some other product in the water in which the logs would be soaked, for treatment purposes...

i definitely wouldn't put any saltwater in your didge... not a good idea!

hope it helped!
m

Using saltwater to prime or cure a didgeridoo is an interesting topic. Wood that has been immersed in salt water (for long enough) will have salt crystals forming in the small spaces in the structure of the wood. This could be a good thing as far as the stability of the wood is concerned, as it might prevent the expansion and contraction of the timber... the fewer empty spaces within the structure of the wood, the less likely there will be 'movement' in the wood.

However, salt is hydroscopic, it attracts water. So a didgeridoo that has spent a long time in salt water, when 'dried', will be 'wetter' than a didgeridoo that has not had saltwater treatment. Is that a good thing? I dunno...

Some non-Indigenous didgeridoo craftsmen have previously used a product called polyethylene glycol or PEG which I think works a bit like salt crystals in wood, it is used to treat green timber and the way it works is it basically replaces water in wood and makes the timber stable by preventing warping or shrinking.

As an aside, I've seen Yolngu immerse yirdaki in saltwater, there is a pic in fact in David Lindner's book of a yirdaki made by Djalu soaking in the sea!

Guan

yes,

you're right... i didn't know that thing of the saltwater, and right the other day someone was showing me a vid on youtube about Djalu and Dhopiya making yidaki... and just before the end, Djalu soaks a yidaki in the sea... I then remembered my comment here and thought "oooops!!"... i honestly never saw this before, not while being with the Gurruwiwis for sure... i think i saw someone soaking them at the creek between Gikal and Mata Mata, u know... And many times in other parts of the top end which aren't near the sea, i saw people soaking didjeridu in rivers...
by the way, i think the vid in question is yours!

m

Hi Marcos,

Here's the YouTube vid in question:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb6fxCrSohw[/youtube]

I don't know why Yolngu soak their yirdaki in saltwater actually, I've never asked the question but it might be an interesting exercise to find out. Is it just to wet the instrument to prime it for use, or does it have a stabilising effect on the wood? Or something else?

I had an interesting discussion recently with a Yolngu man about soaking a yirdaki in freshwater. He said that the practice allows the bore to be cleaned out further by yabbies. I'd never heard of that before, and if anything, it shows that there are different views and thoughts even among Yolngu as to why they do what they do.

Guan

Arg, video doesn't play anymore...

Another hypothesis concerning sea-water bathing :
There are some places on the shore where fresh river-water springs out in ocean's salt-water.
(I don't remember the name of these natural phenomenas)
These are often sacred places for Aboriginals.
Maybe when Djalu (or other) immerge the freshly crafted didj in the ocean, it is in fact in a fresh-water spot (and not salt-water) ?
And if this is the case, I guess there is also a "magical" dimension to the immersion, as it is in a sacred place.
But again, it's only a hypothesis...

It should be ok now, I just fixed it. Before I didn't allow embedding but it is ok.

Cheers,

Guan

Well OK, it doesn't look like one of those fresh-water-pop-up places... just a plain nice sand beach.


Hey Guan, how long does it take Djalu to craft a didj' from a raw trunk to the playable raw didj we see at the end ?

Djalu can do it in a day, but more typically 2 days and more depending on his energy level and health.

Guan

OK, thanks...

And... errr... nothing to do with the subject but...
Did you receive my emails & PMs for ordering CDs and DVDs ?

Hi Francis,

I did receive the emails and PMs, sorry for my slowness. I seem to be saying that every day since I came back! At the moment my plate is pretty full and iDIDJ sales is taking second place to some personal things I need to look after, but please bear with me as I start to fill back-orders and stuff. I will get there I promise!

Guan