THE DIDJ PHENOMENON
Didjeridu making has grown exponentially over the past 15 years. Before
the recent surge interest in the didjeridu was restricted to Aborigines
of the far north and some ethnomusicologists. Now didjeridus are made all
over Australia and increasingly overseas. In Indonesia didjeridus are being
made from bamboo and mechanically bored wood. In America and Spain the
Agave cactus is hollowed for didjeridus and Europe they are made from the
swamp plant Bear Claw (it grows a hollow stem) and by hollowing out the
centre of all kinds of European wood. Some didjeridus by contemporary artists
and made from non eucalyptus materials are excellent instruments.
The growth of didjeridu playing demonstrates that people are more interested
in didjeridus as sound instruments and less as artifacts. Indeed there
is an inevitability to this trend for contemporary didjeridu. Traditional
and authentic didjeridus are made by Aborigines of Arnhem Land, Gulf of
Carpenteria & The Kimberleys, from termite hollowed eucalyptus stems
and painted with ochres in rarrk or x-ray style. If all the Arnhem Land
artists were making didjeridus they could not produce enough to satisfy
demand. Arnhem Land Aborigines like didj master David Blanasi are aware
of this, but their main concern is for the misrepresentation of their art
that happens when didjeridus are made elsewhere and sold as ‘Authentic
Traditional Didjeridus.’
The rapid growth of didjeridu making in Australia is causing environmental
damage in some areas as eucalyptus didjeridus are made from live trees,
and only a few species in particular areas are suitable. Along the Stuart
Highway north of Katherine N.T. the Yellow Woollybutt is becoming scarce,
and the Salmon Gum has been declared a protected species as it has not
only been a popular didj wood, but is the only nesting place of the endangered
Gouldian Finch.
The quality of didjeridus fluctuates. Didjeribones are definitely superior
to the many didjeridus on the market that are so carelessly made they are
unplayable. For beginners a Didjeribone is an inexpensive way to get a
didj that’s easy to play and to find the tone that suits. For experienced
players the Didjeribone provides fresh ground for original playing, and
a solution to the problem of which didj key to carry.
Product Advisory
Non-aboriginal didjeridu players are likely to experience harassment and
discrimination in Australia due to entrenched prejudice against non-aboriginal
didj players and other misunderstandings such as the false notion that it is
taboo in Aboriginal lore for women to play.
Here is a copy
of the article 'That didjeridu has sent them mad' (with permission from
Murray Garde) which states the views of custodians of traditional didjeriudu as
contrary to the prejudices that inform the discriminatory attitudes prevalent
throughout Australia where didj playing is a relatively recent phenomena.
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