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To Be updated Soon. The Didgeridoo or Didge (also known as Yidaki - Which is the Yolngu Aboriginal name for a 'Didgeridoo') is a drone instrument originally used by Aboriginal groups in the Northern areas of Australia, mainly an area of the Northern Territory known as Arnhemland. This is an Aboriginal owned area of land. It was only traditionally used in these areas, and not throughout Australia by every Aboriginal group, as commonly believed today. It is thought that the Didgeridoo spread through Australia via Aboriginal trade networks, and eventually with the arrival of the whites. The name Didgeridoo is not an Aboriginal word. It is an onomatopoeic word - A word used to represent/describe the sound the instrument makes. It is a name thought to have been used by the first white explorers to the area. Traditionally speaking, there are roughly forty Aboriginal groups who use the instrument across the northern regions of Australia, and each have an individual name for the instrument. The traditional name you hear most frequently these days is Yidaki. 
Traditional distribution of the Didgeridoo prior to it’s spreading across Australia. (In the past 100 years didgeridoos have been cut and fabricated throughout Queensland, Western New South Wales and Western Australia.) Traditionally, the Didgeridoo was made from certain Eucalyptus species, these include Bloodwood, Woollybutt (E. miniata) and Stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta) that have been attacked by termites*. Termites nest in the trunks and branches, eating the wood from the inside, the Heartwood of the tree. After finding a hollowed trunk/branch, the player may chop it down, remove the bark covering and flesh, smooth the surfaces, clear the inner bore, whittle and shape the mouth end, mould beeswax around the rim and have the instrument ready for playing. |
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Eucalyptus hollowing termite.
