What original aboriginal didgeridoo is?


Aboriginal didgeridoos are woodwind instruments of the Australian Aborigines.

The genuine Aboriginal Didgeridoo has three major properties:

  •   It is an amplifier and modifier to the sound you're making and yelling into the didgeridoo,
  •   It has spirituality: a distinct and unique sound emanating from the delicate inside configuration brought about by the termites' taste for good quality hardwood and the knowledgeable effort of a good didgeridoo craftsman,
  •   It is a medium for aboriginal artwork, which should reflect the spirit of the didgeridoo and its value as an aboriginal musical instrument.

An authentic aboriginal didgeridoo is the holy trinity of these characteristics: It is a loud and clear aboriginal musical instrument with an individual temper called didgeridoo spirituality, and it is an appealing aboriginal artwork.

David Hudson: Here in North America somebody makes an instrument out of PVC or agave cactus and they cost as much as $250. Why not buy the authentic thing? By buying the authentic instrument you support Aboriginal culture and help keep it alive. If an individual starting out can't locate an authentic instrument that's a different story. As a practice instrument, starting with a substitute instrument made of alternative materials could be the first step in a progression, with acquiring a real didjeridu as a final reward.

If you take into consideration these three major attributes when you buy a didgeridoo or make one yourself, than you can have different degrees of authenticity.

  1. You can buy didgeridoos made by Aborigines from termite hollowed hardwood harvested by themselves or another Aborigine and decorated by an Aborigine artist. This would be an original aboriginal didgeridoo and it is not necessarily the dearest option.

  2. John Madill, a US didgeridoo maker, who hosts an annual festival on his farming property on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, challenges Hudson:
    "To Aboriginal elders like Djalu Gurruwiwi, the didgeridoo is more than a commodity that is manufactured and sold. It is a messenger that brings attention to its traditional owners ... and focuses attention on their traditional spirituality and respect for the land and its inhabitants. Whether the instrument be synthetic, traditional or hybrid, both listeners and performers are launched on an expedition to learn about Australia's first people."

    You can leave out the termites: use a drill on softwood, use bamboo, or a plastic pipe, but then call it by its' real name: "bamboo didgeridoo", "pvc didgeridoo" or simply pipe, or tube. You can make noises with these tubes, but for the haunting sounds of a genuine aboriginal didgeridoo you need exactly that, a genuine aboriginal didgeridoo.

The best e-deal on an authentic aboriginal didgeridoo, that is harvested, crafted and decorated by Aborigines is offered by original aboriginal, the online boutique of BushCrafts, Cairns.