Purchasing

Buku-Larrnggay Mulka is primarily a wholesale business, based in remote northeastern Arnhem Land, the home of the yidaki. We currently have no staff dedicated to helping indiviidual customers but supply many shops throughout the world. To find a seller of our yidaki nearer to you, CLICK HERE.

Wholesale customers: Send us an email with a description of what you want, possibly citing examples from our archives. Let us know if there's certain craftsmen you are interested in, what pitch you would like, or just high versus low key, simple versus ornate artwork, big versus small yidaki, etc., and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Click here to email us.

To speak to us, call weekdays between 9am and 4pm on:
08 8987 1701 from within Australia, or
61 8 8987 1701 from overseas.

Credit card is preferred for payment, but not essential. All prices are in Australian Dollars.

Freight is arranged via TNT door to door service.

Terms

Due to our remote location, we are unable to offer returns and refunds. Instruments are described as best as possible. Due to the nature of the product, we can not offer lifetime guarantees. These yidaki were very recently living trees, and wood will shift. We guarantee safe arrival. Please let us know within 10 days if there is any problem, so that we can research and begin any applicable insurance claims. If natural cracks develop within 30 days of arrival, we will offer a partial refund to cover repair expenses or a discount on further purchases. Please read further guidelines below.

Your yidaki was a living tree a short while ago, and has now travelled a long way. Most yidaki handle this well and have no problems for many many years. But problems can arise, so we're providing some guidelines below.

When you first get it:

• Examine the Package - If there's any damage to the package, make a note of it and take a photo before opening it! If your yidaki was damaged by a shipping company, we need to know as soon as possible and have photographic evidence.
  
  
• Examine the Instrument - Open the package and inspect for damage. If there are any problems before you begin using the instrument, we have to know as soon as possible. If it is damage caused by the shipping company, it is very difficult to claim insurance for an item if we don't know right away and have evidence. It is also possible (but not very common, we swear!) for cracks to develop naturally in transit because of the dry and cold climate of an airplane cargo hold. If there is damage, take a picture and let us know immediately.
  
  
• Don't Overplay It - Go ahead and play your new yidaki and have fun, but not too much fun! Your yidaki has just come a long way from a very different climate, travelling at high altitude in a dry, freezing cold cargo hold for much of the way. It will be sensitive to change. If you play it a lot, it will get very warm and wet, and then have to cool down and dry off when you are finished, perhaps very quickly, depending on where you live. This can lead to cracking in a yidaki that has yet to acclimate to a new environment. We recommend exercising incredible restraint - try to keep your playing to just 5-10 minutes per day on your new yidaki for the first week or so. After that, the wood should be a bit more settled. Build up your playing time from there, but know that it could be months before the wood has dried to match the environment. Beware of exposing it to sudden changes of temperature or moisture. We know this sounds extreme, but it has happened more than once that someone has complained about their yidaki cracking not long after receiving it, and without fail, the person was playing it at least an hour a day.

Yidaki Care:

• Temperature & Moisture - As said before, be careful of extremes of temperature or moisture. Don't get it wet then leave it to dry in the desert sun. Bring it inside during a blizzard. Don't leave it in a hot car. If you are taking it in your car, wrap it in a blanket, towel, or didjeridu bag.
  Some people recommend keeping the yidaki wet buy pouring water through it periodically, citing Aboriginal People who do this. Keep in mind that these Aboriginal People might live in a more humid environment than you, where the yidaki isn't subjected to overly quick drying after getting wet. They also are not collectors of the instrument. Didjeridus in Arnhem Land are often subject to harsh conditions, develop cracks, are then taped up or soaked, and simply used until they are no longer usable. Then another will be made. Most non-Aboriginal didjeridu players do not share this attitude about the instruments they have bought from far away, nor the do they have the convenience of making another one on short notice. If you believe your yidaki can handle being soaked and drying in the environment you live in, try it, but start slow and learn as you go. Some people swear by this technique, others say it causes cracks. A mild way to try it is a spray bottle, to mist the inside with water.
  
  
• Sealing the Instrument - There is much debate about the pros and cons of sealing instruments with PVA glue, epoxy, or even natural oils. The vast majority of the instruments we sell are coated on the outside and just a short distance in the ends with PVA wood glue, often thinned with water, before and in cases after painting. In most cases this is all that is necessary for a yidaki to last a very long time. There are however many options that you can find on the internet. Our personal recommendation is not to do anything to the inside of the yidaki as it will affect the acoustics. If you've chosen a yidaki from Northeast Arnhem Land, chances are you want the natural sound of the plain wood. Try it for a while. If you find you need more protection in your environment, do what you will. Be careful with the artwork on instruments - if you have purchased one from us with natural colours of ochre and clay, you will need to carefully choose what you do to the outside of the yidaki.
  
  
• Cracks! - While you may want a perfect yidaki with no chance of anything ever going wrong, the fact is these are wood that were once living trees, and they will move and adjust to environments. They can also be damaged. So cracks can occur. Rather than run away and cry as you may first feel like doing, we recommend you gain the confidence to fix these issues. It's worthwhile and actually will help you feel closer with your yidaki! You also won't have to fear cracks so much any more after you know how easy it is to fix them.
  There are many methods, but here's a simple one we recommend:
  • Sand off any paint around the area of the crack.
  • Use the smallest bit you can get to drill holes at the ends of the cracks - this will relieve the tension in the wood and prevent the crack from spreading again. You can also use a small blade to open the crack up further to release the tension and make room for a better patch.
  • Use a good two-part wood filler product or an even mix of sawdust and wood glue to patch the area - let it dry for a few days.
  • Sand it down to a nice smooth shape.
  • Give it a thin coat of wood glue.
  • Repaint. If it is natural ochres and white clay, do a web search or ask local art stores for resources in your area. If it is acrylic, mostYolngu use readily available Jo Sonja's Artist Colours, velvet matte finish artist paint in Red Earth, Yellow Oxide, Carbon Black, and Titanium White. The international company's website is www.chromaonline.com.
  • If your yidaki had a glossy finish, use another thin coat of wood glue on the area you worked on to make it match.
  • Now it's good as new!
    
    
• Mouthpieces - You've probably seen didjeridus with big yellow beeswax mouthpieces. The preference in this region is to have a natural wood mouthpiece obtained by finding a tree hollowed to the right size and working it correctly. In fact, the yellow beeswax is not even native to this area. Sometimes a bit of black or brown beeswax is used to make the opening more comfortable, but is is highly unusual for Yolngu to use big trees and build up wax mouthpieces to make a smaller opening.
  We do however recognize that you may not be comfortable with a rough mouthpiece that comes from this area. Our staff will not alter the work that comes in before it reaches you, but you are welcome to try what you like. We of course encourage you to try it the Yolngu way first. If you must, go get some yellow beeswax from a hardware shop, or preferrably a candle shop, where it will likely be more natural. Cut a piece off, heat it up (hot water, a hair dryer or a microwave will work) and then roll a little snake that you can pinch around the edges of the yidaki mouthpiece and mold to the shape you want. It's easy.