Skip to main content

Yidaki: Didjeridu and the Sound of Australia: 3 March to 16 July 2017



The South Australian Museum in Adelaide and the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land in northern Australia are holding an exhibition on the music of the didjeridu (didjeridoo) from 3 March to 16 July 2017 called Yidaki.

Yidaki, commonly known as the didjeridu – or didgeridoo – is the iconic sound of Australia. The didjeridu is a long cylindrical hollow wooden wind instrument. It can be one to three metres long (3-10 feet). Generally, the longer the instrument, the lower the pitch. Flared instruments play a higher pitch than unflared instruments of the same length.

This is the first exhibition of the musical instrument and its sound. It has a distinct mesmerising sound and it echoes in the exhibtion hall – accompanied by several didjeridu on display.

Throughout the exhibition the voice of Djalu Gurruwiwi informs attendees of the didjeridu with oral historical facts – their specific cultural and musical origins, and how it can have meaning for all people. Gurruwiwi said, ‘The sound of the yidaki calls everyone together in unity.’ They are not just musical instruments, but also social instruments, instruments of healing, and of spiritual life. 

The Yolngu people of north east Arnhem Land are the custodians and practitioners of the cultural traditions of the yidaki. The interesting fact is that termites are at the heart of this instrument. The didjeridu is crafted from the stringy bark tree in Arnhem Land where termites enrich the soil and balance the ecosystem. Termites, in turn, eat through the wooden heart of the trees to create the hollow that marks it as a good candidate for the tree to become a yidaki.

This is an immersive exhibition of sound, visuals, videos, and storyboards.

www.samyidaki.com.au















 

 

 

MARTINA NICOLLS

MartinaNicollsWebsite

 

Martinasblogs

Publications

Facebook

Paris Website

Animal Website

Flower Website

SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UPDATES 


MARTINA NICOLLS  is an international human rights-based consultant in education, healing and wellbeing, peace and stabilization, foreign aid audits and evaluations, and the author  of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce  (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more

The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (2015 translation): book review

The Knight in the Panther Skin (12th century, this edition 2015) is a recent translation by American poet and author, Lyn Coffin. The author, Shota Rustaveli, is Georgia’s most loved poet. This poem is mammoth, a magnum opus – it is 1,656 verses long, separated by chapters. But readers, don’t give up, because every verse is worth reading. It is akin to 1001 Arabian Knights, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, or Shakespearean poetry. King Rostevan of Arabia has a daughter, Tinatin. She loves the knight Avtandil and he loves her. Verse 368 from Avtandil: ‘The doctor’s could do nothing. A dark twilight on my heart now pressed, I was on fire because of love, but nobody knew or guessed. They blamed my blood. The king decided bleeding my arm would be best; I let it be done to hide the suffering I had not confessed.’ But a knight in panther skin is seen weeping, and subsequently kills the king’s soldiers, sparing the king. Before Tinatin weds Avtandil she r...
Post a Comment
Read more