The Yidaki of N.E. Arnhemiand are gathered in the open stringybork (Eucalyptus Tetradonta) forests. All the trees that look the proper size and shape are tapped with an axe to hear if the termites, that eat out the insides of these trees, have eaten out enough to give it a good sound. When one is found it is cut down, the bark peeled off, then it is trimmed down to the makers specifications. Each tree is different and each Yidaki will have its own unique sound. Once the mouth piece of the instrument has been trimmed the instrument is ready to play. Decorations painted onto the Yidaki range from plain banded clan patterns to complex figurative designs. Sometimes a rim of beeswax is added to the playing end to make a better seal between the lips.
Shown here are the 7 Digeridoos being offered at the Portal Market. Click on image for larger view.
Please note: These beautiful "Wicked Sticks" are one of a kind and are collector items. The wood has been carefully selected from the woods of Arnhem Land by some of the most noted instrument makers including Djalu Gurruwiwi of the Galpu clan. They are rare and to be regarded as a spiritual offerings from the aboriginal makers. .
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A mythology has grown up around the didjeridu which among other things centers on the seemingly paradoxical relationship between the instrument's simplicity of means and yet complexity of sound possibilities, its associations with an essentialist spirituality and naturalness, and its symbolic potential.
Made from various types of eucalptytus trees the didjeridu is simply a hollow tube. The instruments played at Yirrkala today are generally 1.3 to 1.5 meters long and made from the narrow trunks of stringy bark eucalyptus (eucalyptus tetradonta). The instrument maker seeks out a tree whose cambrium has been eaten out by termites. After the tree is felled and cut to a proper length the bark and outer layer of wood are peeled and cut away. Some smoothing out of the inner surface of the blowing end and optional decorative painting completes the construction of an instrument.
Different sets of playing techniques are found in various Aboriginal cultures who use the didjeridu within Australia, but one universal technique is the production of a constant drone through the use of circular breathing. While blowing, the player retains small amounts of air in the cheeks; this air is then used to sustain the drone when taking quick breaths in through the nose. The basic blowing technique involves buzzing the lips in a way that is fairly analogous to Western brass instrument technique. One major difference is that the embouchure (the position and application of the lips on the mouthpiece of a wind instrument) of a didjeridu, while well-controlled, is less taut than the Western brass embouchure. The resulting greater flapping of the lips helps give the didjeridu its characteristic rich sound.
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Wicked Stick - 4th from the right in photo top of page
Also Tel: Voice Messages: (415) 258-7356
Photo:Nangatjay Yunupingu (Yothu Yindi) Click on image for larger view.
Description: "Baru" Crocodile
Artist: Datjirri Wunungmurra
Maker: Yothu Yindi clan group
Mouthpiece: 1 and one eighth inches
Bell: 5 inches
Length: 63 inches
Key: E
