The didjeridu, although increasingly popular and produced by a widening group of people in Australia and around the world, has its origins in the "Top End" of Australia. It is generally accepted that at the time of European contact, the didjeridu's traditional use was confined to the northern parts of the Northern Territory, the Kimberlys in Western Australia, and Cape York in north Queensland. Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre services the Yolngu artists of northeast Arnhem Land, who use the term yidaki to refer to the didjeridu in general, although there are many more specific names for different types of didjeridu. The yidaki we carry are made by many different artists from different clans and homelands.

To the indigenous inhabitants of northeast Arnhem Land, all of the elements of creation are understood to stem from a cohesive set of activities in the Ancestral past, as recorded in manikay, or sacred song. This applies to the rocks, the heavens, and all plant and animal species, including humans. Clan and land identity was set down in the creation time, as well as each clan's ceremonial objects and ritual activities. This applies to the yidaki.

A general distinction has been made between yidaki from the two opposing moieties, or patrilineal halves of Yolngu culture - Yirrijta and Dhuwa, that Yirritja are short and high and Dhuwa are long and deep. The reality is a bit more complicated than that. There are many ceremony-specific instruments that belong to certain clans.

Datjirri#1 Wunungmurra testing a Gadayka tree

The vast majority of yidaki from northeast Arnhem Land are made from Gadayka - 'Stringybark' (Eucalyptus tetrodonta). Sometimes Gungurru - ' Woolybutt' (Eucalyptus miniata) or Badawili - 'Bloodwood' (Eucalyptus ferruginea) are used. The trees are naturally hollowed out by termites. Techniques for finding and making yidaki vary from artist to artist. The most common 'test' is to start by hitting a tree with the blunt end of an axe, and then to remove a section of bark from the tree and flick the wood to hear if it sounds hollow. Skilled yidaki makers can often tell how hollow the tree is from this sound and decide where the best place is to cut the tree. The tree is then cut in an appropriate place which also serves as a secondary test. If the tree is not appropriately hollowed to the artists preference, it is often left and not cut down. If the tree is appropriate, it is cut down. Another cut is made to find the appropriate mouthpiece size. This location is estimated by the extent that the tree has been hollowed. The ideal mouthpiece size is approximately 30 to 35mm (inside diameter). Sometimes the mouthpiece may exceed these measurements. If this is the case, they are rejected unless the artist feels that it would be good with a small amount of wax. Yolngu make yidaki according to this practise for several reasons.

In most cases, a smaller mouthpiece means that the yidaki will have good backpressure. This means that it won't take much air (volume) to play, making it easier for beginners, and facilitating some faster techniques for advanced players. Larger mouthpieces usually take more air to play, and lend the instrument a strong bass tone. Yolngu yidaki often compensate for this with their conical shape - the small mouthpiece providing the tightness and backpressure, with the larger bottom providing the boom and volume. This also usually has the effect of bringing the "horn tone," or higher trumpeted note, closer to the drone, facilitating the rapid alternation of high and low note that Yolngu players are known for.

These are of course all generalizations. Please browse our website and feel free to contact us.