iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

[flyangler18]

Ah yes- I've seen you then! Great playing and I look forward to helping you formulate your project here!

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www.jdidj.com

[eliotstone]

Thank you everyone for your support and ideas thus far. I feel as though the aim for my project is pretty well developed and can be articulated by me well enough to the Fulbright committee, however, my project has many logistical issues that need to be addressed. I have never been to Arhnemland, nor Australia, for that matter. I am sure that there will be many challenges that are, from this viewpoint, invisible. The answers to many of the questions I will be asking below may seem obvious, but keep in mind that I am a beginner in this field and any guidance will be appreciated and heeded. That said this discussion is open to any and all with any relevant experience, advice or comment and I thank you for whatever you can offer. I hope that this discussion will also give you a bit of an insight into who I am and where I come from. I look forward to working with you all.

-First, I need to decide what communities I will be visiting. I latched on to Randy’s idea of using communities that were visited by Alice Moyle as a bit of a road map for this project. I like this idea because of the potential for being able to establish generational change in playing styles. I am pretty ignorant to the geographic spread of the communities and language groups of the top end that claim didgeridoo as part of their cultural heritage. Can anyone send me this information or point me toward the literature that may contain it? Having a map of the communities in the top end and their relative locations would be imperative for planning out this project.

-Secondly, how would I travel? Are there buses or taxi’s I can take between communities? Will I have to cover much distance on foot? Will this project entail outdoor skills? (If so, it may be relevant to know that I have 10+ years hiking and outdoor experience. I grew up in the desert southwest of Texas and I am acclimated to extremely hot weather. I have completed many survival hikes and over the years including trips with no supplies. I have no problem surviving outdoors, and although I do not expect that the conditions where I plan to visit would necessitate this kind of knowledge, I just don’t know what to expect). Will there be stores near these communities where I can buy food and supplies? Any suggestions as to outdoor gear I may need in Australia that I wouldn’t need here? Should I expect to be camping most of the time, or is there lodging open to researchers in the area?

-Third, if I must cover a lot of ground on foot, how will I transport recording equipment? I have experience in recording music, but zero experience doing field recordings. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to research field recording techniques? Does anyone know of a source for recording equipment that may be willing to lend the equipment to me for this sort of project?

-Fourth, how will I circumvent the language barrier? Do many aboriginal people speak English? Are there translators I could employ?

-Lastly, I need a sponsor in Australia. Can anyone suggest and University, museum or institute that would be interested in becoming my sponsor while I am there. Guan? Randy? Can you help me out with this one?

Once again, thank you all for helping me with this project. If there is anything I have left out that comes to mind, please let me know and we can discuss it further here on the forum.

Greetings from Texas,

Eliot Stone

[ididjaustralia]

-First, I need to decide what communities I will be visiting. I latched on to Randy’s idea of using communities that were visited by Alice Moyle as a bit of a road map for this project. I like this idea because of the potential for being able to establish generational change in playing styles. I am pretty ignorant to the geographic spread of the communities and language groups of the top end that claim didgeridoo as part of their cultural heritage. Can anyone send me this information or point me toward the literature that may contain it? Having a map of the communities in the top end and their relative locations would be imperative for planning out this project.

Hi Eliot, good to see you making some progress. You can find maps of all kinds on the web. Try Google Maps. If you have specific questions about localities, let me know.

Randy had a good recommendation about devising a proposal that is grand and impressive for the purpose of gaining Fulbright support. Once on the ground, you would need to focus on what is achievable in the limited time you have. Work with your strengths and know your weaknesses. It would be a difficult task to be on multiple steep learning curves simulataneously. You should decide early on if you want to tackle language, culture and other aspects on Yolngu society because these things take a long time to absorb.

-Secondly, how would I travel? Are there buses or taxi’s I can take between communities? Will I have to cover much distance on foot? Will this project entail outdoor skills? (If so, it may be relevant to know that I have 10+ years hiking and outdoor experience. I grew up in the desert southwest of Texas and I am acclimated to extremely hot weather. I have completed many survival hikes and over the years including trips with no supplies. I have no problem surviving outdoors, and although I do not expect that the conditions where I plan to visit would necessitate this kind of knowledge, I just don’t know what to expect). Will there be stores near these communities where I can buy food and supplies? Any suggestions as to outdoor gear I may need in Australia that I wouldn’t need here? Should I expect to be camping most of the time, or is there lodging open to researchers in the area?

Your best bet with travel is to hire a 4WD vehicle if you need to be constantly mobile. There are bush taxis that will bring you from one community/outstation to another, but they are very expensive. The other alternative is to go without a vehicle and to take charter plane flights or RPTs between communities/outstations. Again, not cheap, but getting to some places like Elcho Island, Milingimbi etc. there is no other way as the communities are surrounded by water! You need to be careful with snakes, mosquitos and sandflies (you know about the obvious one, crocodiles, right?)... you can get nasty viruses and tropical ulcers from insects up in the north, but a bit of common sense will see you thru no problems. There are stores in every community where you can buy groceries. In Gove you have the luxury of Woolworths and an array of other shops. In smaller communities you will find 1 general store which stocks the basics. Accommodation depends on each individual communities. Most communities are chockers already with a lack of housing for local community members. Some places have guest lodging available.

-Third, if I must cover a lot of ground on foot, how will I transport recording equipment? I have experience in recording music, but zero experience doing field recordings. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to research field recording techniques? Does anyone know of a source for recording equipment that may be willing to lend the equipment to me for this sort of project?

I'd say forget the footwalking bit. A 4WD vehicle is the way to go. What sort of recording equipment are you looking at? Consumer-style gadgets or professional field-recording set-ups?

-Fourth, how will I circumvent the language barrier? Do many aboriginal people speak English? Are there translators I could employ?

Some/many/most Yolngu have a grasp of English depending on where you are. It might be a different thing understanding Aboriginal English though, or for them to understand American English!

-Lastly, I need a sponsor in Australia. Can anyone suggest and University, museum or institute that would be interested in becoming my sponsor while I am there. Guan? Randy? Can you help me out with this one?

How about CDU in Darwin? ANU in Canberra? AIATSIS?

Guan

_________________
iDIDJ Australia - Didgeridoo Cultural Hub
E-mail: info@ididj.com.au
Web: www.ididj.com.au
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ididjaustralia

[eliotstone]

I received word today from the Fulbright committee that I have not been chosen to be further considered for a Fulbright award this year. Thank you all for your help, especially Guan, you really put an unexpected amount of effort into this. If I make my way to Australia through other means, you will get your promised tortillas and tequilla !

On that note, any one have any ideas of where else my project may find funding? If the Ultimate Didgeridoo Project is still in the works, I would love to be of assistance.

Eliot

[ididjaustralia]

Hi Eliot,

I'm sorry to hear the news, but as a consolation, at least we've had practice submitting grant applications! I would suggest trying some other organisations for funding, and one obvious place to look is at the OurCommunity website which is a great portal for all things community-oriented:

http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/

Good luck!

Come to think of it, I better get on with the 'ultimate didgeridoo project'... 'tis been a while since I looked at it.

All the best and do run ideas past us if you have any new projects you'd like to engage in.

Guan

_________________
iDIDJ Australia - Didgeridoo Cultural Hub
E-mail: info@ididj.com.au
Web: www.ididj.com.au
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ididjaustralia