David Dharrapuy from Ramingiṉiŋ community plays a traditional didgeridoo, and explains the regional variations of the instrument in Gupapuyŋu language. Credit: iDidj Australia

Map showing the distribution of Aboriginal sound instruments. Fine lines mark State boundaries; thicker lines mark language or ‘tribal areas’; heavy lines mark tentative boundaries of musical regions.© AIATSIS, 1974. No reproduction without permission.

We have been collecting the different Aboriginal terms for the didgeridoo; some of these words below refer to ceremonial instruments, and may be used only in that context. If any of these names raises any issues or concerns, please contact us.

Cultural context

First Nations peoples of Australia maintain the longest unbroken traditions in the world. Aboriginal Australians arrived to the continent over 60,000 years ago and survived multiple dramatic changes in their environment over this long period. Before European colonisation, hundreds of distinct Indigenous groups or nations populated the Australian continent, each with their own traditional customs, languages, and instruments to accompany their songs.

Due to the significant differences in languages and traditional customs across Australia, it is almost impossible to talk about a homogenous Aboriginal culture and to do so would risk stereotyping. For the purposes of discussing the didgeridoo we will focus on the cultures of northern Australia where the languages, traditional practices and spiritual belief systems are still relatively strong. The foundational worldview of Aboriginal groups from this region is based on the intricate relationship between all things: living and non-living, human and non-human. This worldview is underpinned by a dualistic structure which sees the entire world divided in two, where everything, without exception, belongs to one of two moieties (moiety in Latin means half). In Arnhem Land these moieties are called Dhuwa (or Duwa) and Yirritja (or Yirridja). In the context of the didgeridoo, every instrument belongs to one of the moieties depending on the clan affiliation of its maker, the clan design painted on it, or the accompanying songs. Another defining feature of these cultures is the highly complex kinship system that connects all people, land and the environment together in specific relationships which incur different roles and responsibilities. Ancient knowledge systems are contained, preserved and passed on in the form of songs. These songs relate to specific geographical places which span vast tracks of land to form ‘songlines’ that connect land and people across the region, continent and even beyond. With their roots deep in the past, these systems and practices continue to define contemporary life in many northern Aboriginal communities.  Finally, it is worth noting that these concepts are deeply interdependent and cannot be seen or understood on their own.

The didgeridoo is recognised as one of the oldest instruments in the world. It is not known exactly when playing began, however some clans in Arnhem Land can trace the use of the instrument back several generations. Rock paintings in the West Arnhem Land region suggest the didgeridoo has been played for about 1,500 years in the area (Moyle, 1981). Custodians of various clans across the Top End say that their ancestors passed the didgeridoo onto them in ancient times, along with their customs, languages and Law. Astonishingly, no structural changes have been made to the instrument since the first man played the didgeridoo, demonstrating the instrument’s incredible antiquity and deep connections to traditional Aboriginal cultures.

In terms of its place in the culture and society, the didgeridoo plays a significant role as a ritual instrument which is played at certain occasions and ceremonies. In this context, the didgeridoo player blows rhythms which accompany the songmen and the beat of their clapsticks. Each group of singers is accompanied by only one didgeridoo. Apart from ceremonies, it is also played for recreational purposes. In most of the regions in northern Australia, women are not allowed to play the didgeridoo, although there are reports of women players in traditional contexts (Moyle, 1974; MacKinlay, 2003). Generally, this cultural law is only applied to Aboriginal people from the area and therefore non-Indigenous women are permitted to play the didgeridoo. However, it is important to remember that gender taboos are a highly sensitive topic for Aboriginal peoples and ignorance or transgressions in this regard can cause offence.

Undoubtedly, European colonisation has had devastating  impacts on Aboriginal people and cultures across Australia. Many Aboriginal clans and languages have not survived. The cultural clash between Aboriginal people and the dominant ‘white’ culture continues today and the erosion of Aboriginal peoples’ agency, traditional knowledge systems, languages and customs creates enormous challenges for their health and wellbeing and the strength of their cultures. It is important for non-Indigenous players to recognise the didgeridoo as a traditional property that belongs to certain Indigenous groups of Northern Australia. Every didgeridoo player, regardless of his or her nationality, gender or spiritual view, has an important role in helping to protect and empower the traditional cultures of this instrument.

Organic trumpet

The majority of traditional didgeridoos are made of the naturally termite-hollowed eucalyptus trees. Entering through the underground roots, the termites hollow out the tree from the inside, gradually moving from the bottom upwards. Eating the inner core, the heartwood, does not damage or kill the tree. As every hollowed tree is different so is every didgeridoo. At the start of the process, the didgeridoo maker finds trunks suitable for a didgeridoo; they consider the shape of the log, but most importantly the size of the hole inside it. The best didgeridoos are completely hollowed out by nature and finished by the maker only on the outside.

There are many eucalyptus species in Australia but only a few are used for didgeridoos. Due to the geographical, climatical and environmental differences across the region, there are different types of tree species used for didgeridoo: the local species of stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta) and bloodwood (Corymbia ptychocarpa) are the most commonly used for didgeridoos across Northeast and Central Arnhem Land, while the woollybutt (Eucalyptus miniata) is also used in West Arnhem, across the Daly River region and to the Kimberly in Western Australia. Although in the mid-twentieth century there were many records of the use of local species of bamboo (Bambusa arnhemica), it is no longer a common traditional didgeridoo material. The soft and lightweight trunks of pandanus species (Pandanus spiralis) were also used along the coastlines, although this practice has also faded away in the last century.

Due to the popularity of the didgeridoo, thousands of instruments are being made annually around the world. Unfortunately, traditional didgeridoos make up only a small percentage of these, which raises questions about cultural misuse and cultural appropriation. To support the continuity of traditional didgeridoo making we encourage players to only purchase traditional instruments from ethical  sources and always seek a certificate of authenticity.

Turning the breath into sound

Many different playing techniques have developed since the first didgeridoos were blown, as well as a wide variety of individual playing styles. Every player has their own characteristic style, created through their playing technique, personal character and musical ideas. We do not attempt to teach playing techniques on this website as it is far too complex to explain in written words.

Choosing a suitable didgeridoo for beginners and learning how to blow the basic drone are the first important steps. At the centre of the playing is understanding and mastering the breathing technique: circular breathing or rhythm breathing allows the player to blow the air into the instrument from their cheeks while taking air in to the lungs through the nose. During the learning process the player needs to understand the route of air circulation in the body and inside the instrument. While many non-Indigenous players concentrate on circular breathing as the starting point, traditional players start playing rhythms even without being able to produce the basic drone or circular-breath. Learning to play the didgeridoo is a painstaking and long process, requiring a deep understanding of the body and the dynamics of air inside the tube. Influencing factors include: the amount of the air blown into the didgeridoo, the position of the lips, the control over the respiratory system and the muscles, and the players familiarity with the aero-dynamics of different instruments.

Differences in sounds are most evident between players from different cultural grounds. Regardless of playing technique and style, an Indigenous player will always produce sounds and rhythms different to a player from Europe or Japan. The first language of the player and the sounds and music he has previously been exposed to will effect the way the individual plays the didgeridoo (read our article on Language and Didgeridoo Playing). Many non-Indigenous people attempt to learn and copy the sound and rhythms of traditional players, however, as discussed previously, this often leads to problems of cultural appropriation. Instead of trying to reproduce traditional styles, it is perhaps more appropriate and interesting to embrace the differences in playing styles and find new ways to apply the fundamentals of the traditional didgeridoo playing within our own, non-Indigenous musical-expressions.

According to Western musicology two distinctive didgeridoo plying techniques developed in Northern Australia over the previous centuries. These types were first mentioned by anthropologist and musicologist A.P. Elkin and T.A. Jones in 1953 (Elkin, A. P. & Jones, T. A., 1953):

• A: the ‘a-type‘, overtone absent style played across the western-side of the Top End (including West Arnhem Land) and Northeast western Australia;
• B: the ‘b-type‘, overtone present style played in East Arnhem Land.

Both playing styles use the same foundation in terms of creating the sound and continuous rhythms, however they bear distinctive acoustics, sound and rhythm characteristics that merit further discussion. To read more about these, see our articles Mago – the traditional didgeridoo across West Arnhem and beyond and Yiḏaki – traditional didgeridoo from the land of Northeast Arnhem.

Global phenomenon

The didgeridoo was first seen by European settlers in the early 19th century, and from the mid-20th century anthropologists and musicologists had begun studying the traditional Indigenous music of Australia.

In the 1970s and 1980s the Aboriginal Land Rights movement ignited the interest of the wider Australian community in Indigenous art, music and culture. During this period the first contemporary didgeridoo playing styles were developed by Aboriginal players who preferred not to use the ceremonial instrument ‘out of context’. At  the same time, non-Aboriginal players and bands picked up the didgeridoo, using its sound in their contemporary music. The first contemporary recordings were released by the non-Aboriginal player Charlie McMahon in Gondwanaland in 1981.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the legendary rock band Yothu Yindi from Northeast Arnhem Land popularised the didgeridoo internationally and showcased the traditional yiḏaki as their music swept the globe. By the end of the 20th century thousands of people were attending popular didgeridoo festivals in Europe and the USA, enjoying the sounds and tunes of world-famous didgeridoo players, both white and black from Australia and around the world.

During the last two decades there has been a tendency among didgeridoo artists to develop and play a wide variety of contemporary playing styles and deliver something new, unseen and unheard. They evolve not just their own styles, but techniques that are perviously unexplored. There are only a few performers who have made the effort to learn the traditional playing styles, which have influenced their stage performances.

The devastating impacts of colonisation on the First Nations people of Australia cannot be understated. The erosion, and in some cases loss, of Indigenous peoples’ languages and cultural practices has inevitably had significant impact on their musical heritage as well. For many Aboriginal people today the sound of the didgeridoo carries something that speaks to their identity and helps to reclaim and restore their ancient traditional knowledges and practices. For many, the didgeridoo is the sound of Australian Aboriginal cultures.