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 AustraliaCulture
Painted Australian Didgeridoos
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Das Didgeridoo existiert seit etwa 50.000 Jahren und wird zu Ritualen der australischen Ureinwohner gespielt. Es besteht zumeist aus einem von Termiten ausgehöhlten, nachbearbeiteten und bemalten Eukalyptus-Baumstamm. Aber auch andere Materialien wie Bambus, Yucca oder Agave finden Verwendung als Didgeridoo.
What is a Didgeridoo?
The Didgeridoo is a long, slightly conical wooden trumpet or horn, used traditionally by the aboriginal people of Northern Australia. Other names for the Didgeridoo are Yidaki, Kanbi, and Ihambilbilg - although somewhere around 40 different Aboriginal names are commonly used for this instrument throughout Australia. The Yidaki, or Didgeridoo, comes in a variety of shapes, sizes--and with a variety of artwork and markings.
Aboriginal men select a branch of from a tree which has been hollowed out by termites. Different pitches are achieved by cutting the branches at various lengths and by finding branches with various diameters. The way that the termites (or white ants) have bored into the wood also has a major effect on the tone, resonance, pitch and timber of the wood. After cutting, Aboriginals generally strip the bark and burnish the outside of the wood with a stone or more recently, sandpaper.
A mouthpiece is created by applying a coat of beeswax at the smaller end of the branch. The beeswax helps make a good seal around the mouth so that air will go only inside the Didgeridoo.
The patterns representing totemic and clan designs are exclusively the property of the artist, and so will have their own unique design signature.
Of modern design and signature, is the new Slide Didge, a variable pitch Didgeridoo--and is a Yidaki that isn't hollowed out by termites! Yidaki evolution in the making.
Eucalyptus Didgeridoos
Yuccadoo Didgeridoos
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Roman "Remo" Buss - Earth Rhythm, 12 solos for didgeridoo 
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Earth rhythm, 1.13 min, 1162 KB
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Hot air, 0.59 min, 931 KB
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Nameless, 1.01 min, 969 KB
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Didge poetry, 1.42 min, 808 KB
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Whitecrest, 1.01 min, 975 KB
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Dustsuckerroar, 0.41 min, 663 KB
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Jembe dance, 0.58 min, 693 KB
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Dani Grand / Didgeridoo,
Roman "Remo" Buss / Jembe
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Virtuoso Didge (the top didgeridoo/didjeridu/yidaki players)
The DidjeriDude's RadioSite |
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How is the Didgeridoo (Dijeridu) Played?
Traditionally, only males are allowed to play the didgeridoo in Aboriginal society. In fact, women are generally prohibited in Aboriginal clans from playing the didgeridoo at all. Many Australians (Aboriginal and European origin alike) believe that a woman will become pregnant if her lips ever come in contact with the instrument.
The Didgeridoo sound is essentially created by vibrating the lips. Constant air pressure is produced by a circular breathing technique which is maintained by breathing in through the nose and pushing the air back out through the mouth via the lungs and diaphram, resulting in uninterrupted sound.
The lips, tongue, voice and breathing combine to create energetic rythmic patterns. From invoking these rythyms, drones and sounds, Aboriginal didgeridoo players are said to reach a trance-like state called Dreamtime.
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What is Dreamtime?
According to Aboriginal belief, all life as it is today - Human, Animal, Bird and Fish is part of one vast unchanging network of relationships which can be traced to the great spirit ancestors of the Dreamtime.
The Dreamtime continues as the "Dreaming" in the spiritual lives of aboriginal people today. The events of the ancient era of creation are enacted in ceremonies and danced in mime form. Song chant incessantly to the accompaniment of the didgeridoo or clap sticks relates the story of events of those early times and brings to the power of the dreaming to bear of life today.
How Long has the Didgeridoo Been Around?
Rock paintings on caves have established that the Didgeridoo has definitely been used as a musical instrument for at least 20,000 years. Other estimates range between 40,000 to 50,000 years.
Traditional Aborigine folklore has it that the didgeridoo has been around since the beginning of time.
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