The Didgeridoo, also known as the Yirdaki, is a wind instrument from the Northern Territory in Australia. It was originally found in the Arnhem Land. It's similar to a flute in many ways and is classed as an
The didgeridoo has been played for at least 1,500 years, and is mostly associated with the Aboriginal tribes of Arnhem Land in Northern Australia. Since then, the didge has spread among many Aboriginal tribes, and around the world.
The didgeridoo has its origins with the Aboriginal people of Australia. More precisely in a small part of this immense country: the north of the Northern Territory.
Trying the digeridoo is something non-Aboriginal people should consider with sensitivity, as both male and female travelers are curious about how the instrument works. However, it is wise to allow the local Aboriginal elders where you are visiting to guide your actions.
There are numerous names for this instrument among the Aboriginal people of northern Australia, with yirdaki one of the better known words in modern Western society. Yirdaki, also sometimes spelt yidaki, refers to the specific type of instrument made and used by the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land.
Didgeridoo is traditional to clans from Northern Australia. The vast majority of Aboriginal cultures have a more contemporary connection with the instrument.
The didgeridoo is an end-blown wind instrument, usually of wooden construction, of the Aboriginal people of northern Australia. The digeridoo (or didjeridu) is considered one of the best known of all the Aboriginal instruments.
Apparently, some aboriginal tribes believe that women should not play the didgeridoo. It was, for them, a sacred instrument for corroborees and other private 'men's business'. (In fact, we have been told that some believe that a woman may not even touch a didgeridoo.)
The didgeridoo is of huge significance to indigenous Australians and while it plays an integral role in traditional ceremonies, these days it's also played more casually by buskers and around campfires.
They did not use traditional hunting tools like boomerangs, and the melodic didgeridoo also didn't make it to Tasmania before the last ice age. In fact, none of the eventual exceptions made for mainland Aboriginals, such as land rights, applied to the palawa people.
The old myth was simple: if an aboriginal woman touched or played a didgeridoo she'd become pregnant. Rose advises that a woman would become infertile. That's a new one. And not just aboriginal women, but all women everywhere that dare to defy the taboo.
It may differ in other Aboriginal communities, but in the Miwatj, the majority opinion is that no harm will come to women who play. Playing for fun is a simple physical activity, not a dangerous spiritual one. But, most importantly, by law and custom, Yolŋu women do not play yidaki.
Humans moved from Southeast Asia onto this landmass, some settling in what is now New Guinea, others traveling farther south into Australia. They kept to the coastlines until they reached southern Australia 49,000 years ago.
The didgeridoo is perhaps the oldest wind instrument in the world. Some argue that the didgeridoo has been in use for over 40,000 years, but the oldest verifiable records (in the form of rock and cave paintings) of Aborigines playing the instrument puts the date closer to 1500 years ago.
Whilst some people believe the Aboriginal people of Australia have been using the didgeridoo for 40,000 years or more, archaeological research suggests that the didgeridoo is only about 1500 years old.
The Neanderthal Flute, found in the cave of Divje Babe in Slovenia, is thought to date back at least 50,000 years, making it the oldest known musical instrument in the world.
Possibly the world's oldest known musical instrument, the yidaki was developed by indigenous peoples of northern Australia possibly over 40,000 years ago.
Believed to be one of the world's oldest instruments, the didgeridoo dates back some 1,500 years (at the very least). Developed by Australia's Aboriginal people, the cylindrical instrument is made from a hollowed-out tree – often a eucalyptus.
Due to its size (some can measure up to over 10 feet / 3 meters in length) and club-like appearance, a didgeridoo may not fit into most airlines' musical instrument policy. In such cases, you will need to have your didgeridoo checked into the cargo hold.
'The Didgeridoo is by far the most popular and important Aboriginal instrument,' Mark said. 'The Didgeridoo teaches men and youth how to build their capacity and resilience within. Most importantly, the men and youth were eager to engage, practice and maintain cultural knowledge. '
As such, the didgeridoo is a sacred instrument that is used for both spiritual and mundane purposes.
The results of ABC Classic and ABC Jazz's 2023 Classic 100 Countdownhave been revealed: Australia's favourite instrument is the cello.
Yidaki is the Aboriginal word for didgeridoo in Eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. These days, the word yidaki is applied to traditional didgeridoos that are made by Yolngu people that often have distinct differences, acoustically and structurally, that set them apart from standard didgeridoos.
The word “didgeridoo” is not an indigenous term
A commonly-referenced name is Yidaki (also spelt Yirdaki), although strictly speaking this name refers to a specific version of the instrument that is used by the Yolngu peoples from the north.