Saturday, 3 September 2011

Didgeridoos - Clearly Special

By Claudia Kasen


There is no mistaking the particular sound of a didgeridoo, the ancient woodwind instrument associated for many years with the aborigines of Australia. They've been made and used from times long past and are cherished today as amongst the greatest symbols of aboriginal culture, music and custom. Usually made from the wood of the eucalyptus tree, which has been hollowed out, they're adorned with colorful inscriptions and pictures, all of which are significant and symbological to those who make and play them. It is claimed that a didgeridoo isn't authentic unless it has been manufactured by someone that himself has been steeped in this long line of tradition and history and whose ancestors similarly made and used these instruments.

Succeeding generations have utilised the didgeridoo in ceremonies, civil and religious, at celebrations and on special occasions. It is regarded nearly as something holy, like totem poles to the Indians, and is believed to be a potent way of perpetuating the traditional aboriginal custom, culture and way of life, currently under threat. They come mainly from the Yolgnu peoples of northerly Australia and occasionally the didgeridoo is commonly known as a Yidaki. Some are made now in plastic as they are claimed to be more hygienic. There are long didgeridoos, bell didgeridoos, and forked didgeridoos. Nobody exactly knows the origins of the word didgeridoo, although many views and hypotheses have been propounded.

The Unique Characteristics Of The Australian Didgeridoo

They come in all sizes and shapes though fundamentally they seem to be a long hollow pipe but you can buy didgeridoos which make low sounds and others that produce high notes. The material they are made of impacts on the sound they make and they require a powerful pair of lungs if they are to be truly effective. Because of this there are some health advantages to be extracted from playing this traditional instrument and it might be sensible to browse sites that focus on the way to correctly play the didge.

Though the didgeridoo is extremely popular and many are sold across the world, there is not any guarantee that these are real, in the way I have described and therefore the north Australian clans who still make them and rely heavily on their sales for earnings, are seeing little by way of profit and their technique of life and very existence is in grave danger. We can do something to help by insisting on purchasing really real aboriginal didgeridoos and getting some kind of evidence or proof that the instrument you are buying is genuine.




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