iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

[YidakiMago]

Was just browsing YouTube, watching the wonderfull Darryl vids (oh boy, he is getting better and better every time. Grandfather picked the right one for sure). It's so nice that we have the oppertunitty to watch al these talented players, makers and artists up close and share there skills and thoughts with us. Getting more in touch of what we love so much. Honest it is, because I'm not living next door, nor do I own a private jet or can dematerialise my self. Tried that one the last time, so far no result!

But I seriously asked my self is it really a good thing? In time and space there is always the other side off things. On one hand it,s good to bring more awareness, learn from each other and bridge the caps. But in our enthusiasm and sincereness regarding indigenous matters and good course, we might overlook the overall consequences. YouTube is global and global means millions of people!!! And not every body has the same intention like most of us on this wonderfull portal. So maybe does more harm and damage then we have for seen?

The reason why I have this concern is that I was triggered by video clips on YouTube, where a few show off Yolngu style playing? Maybe it's done with the best intention? Bud it's spreading like a virus. This is all very personal I guess. But to me it feels awkward, when I see these vids. My toes curled up and my stomach made a 360. I really do wonder if Yolngu people want or like this kind of development. Are they aware of the fastness and the long reach of internet?

Maybe Darryl, Watjuku or any other Yolngu, could shine a light on this matter


Sincerely,

Peter

[Aboriginal Arts Ltd]

Hi Peter,

Quote:

The reason why I have this concern is that I was triggered by video clips on YouTube, where a few show off Yolngu style playing? Maybe it's done with the best intention? Bud it's spreading like a virus.

All the Yolngu playing movies on YouTube that I have seen appear to be done in the best light and with admiration and respect, I'm not sure what you mean though perhaps you have seen some movies that are derogatory in some way and you can show us the links?
best wishes,
colin

_________________
Colin
www.aboriginalarts.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=iDIDJUK
+44 20 8123 1575

[kdidj]

With the creation of 'Learn to Play' CDs it's not surprising that Western didjeridu players are posting their versions of Yolngu style. How this is viewed by the Yolngu is an other issue entirely and I wouldn't want to comment on their behalf.

_________________
www.kdidj.com
www.myspace.com/kylemaplesden

[ididjaustralia]

Hi Peter,

You bring up a valid point. Computers and the internet are strange things to most Indigenous Australians, but for the rest of the world they govern our lives and we have become dependent on these technologies. I am keen to bring Yolngu and other countrymen onto the internet so that they understand the technology, and you can see that I've introduced both Watjuku and Darryl Digarrnga to this Forum. I might be misguided, but I think through understanding comes the ability to determine one's future, or at least have some control over it. The internet is here to stay so it is better to know about it and learn about it, than to ignore it.

As for whether trad videos on YouTube is a good thing or not, I am sure an argument can be built around positive as well as negative impacts. My view is that YouTube is just another medium like a website, a magazine, a radio program or a television channel. And because there is already trad content in all these other media, some of which were created by Aboriginal people themselves or done in collaboration with them, extending this sort of content to YouTube is but a natural progression of good ideas and good stories looking for sympathetic ears and eyes. If people are touched by viewing extraordinary content, it is only hoped that they will afford Indigenous Australians the respect and dignity they deserve but have been denied for far too long under different regimes and government policies. And I think music is one way of reaching out and changing people's perceptions and biases.

I interviewed Mandawuy last week, and at the conclusion, thanked him for his time and enduring commitment to spreading his music internationally. I remarked that it was probably because of the Yothu Yindi band that there is now a throng of trad aficonados globally, and with a smile cracking across his face, Mandawuy replied "that's the power of yidaki!".

Guan

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

[flyangler18]

Your points are quite valid, Peter, and they definitely got me thinking these issues again. Thanks for that. As Kyle mentioned, with the ready access to teaching materials outlining traditional techniques- 'Mago Masterclass', 'Hard Tongue Didgeridoo', and of course the 'Djalu Teaches' titles, it is not surprising that Western players are using YouTube to showcase their efforts.

But I think the larger and more relevant question is how indigenous Australians are using technology to give their culture a wider understanding and reach in the global community. Yolngu have been recording ceremony for future generations for several decades, and the sharing of these recordings as well as Guan's videos on YouTube is a powerful way of showing the larger world (outside of trad aficionados, even) elements of Top End culture that most would otherwise have never been exposed to. It has been said that the internet is the most powerful democratizing force in existence, and I agree. There are several vignettes on the Ten Canoes DVD recorded and produced by Ramingining youth, embracing current technologies to meet their aims. There is also a larger project at Buku-L using Yolngu, some who grew up out bush, to catalog artworks digitally and work on the website. All very positive and exciting stuff!

Jason

_________________
www.jdidj.com

[brian47]

I have seen some of the videos in question. But I feel there has to be that little thing called respect. I am learning to play a didj myself and consider myself quite lucky in that my teacher emphasises that some things are sacred to certain people and therefore should not be done in the public arena. I guess education is the key here.

[flyangler18]

Quote:

in that my teacher emphasises that some things are sacred to certain people and therefore should not be done in the public arena.

Who's your teacher, Brian? He should be commended.

Jason

_________________
www.jdidj.com

[YidakiMago]

Aboriginal Arts Ltd wrote:

All the Yolngu playing movies on YouTube that I have seen appear to be done in the best light and with admiration and respect, I'm not sure what you mean though perhaps you have seen some movies that are derogatory in some way and you can show us the links? best wishes, colin

As I said it's all very personal Colin. It's my interpretation off things. Probably I'm coming from the old days were little was known about traditional playing and every thing was hush, hush, sacred and secret. So even today in my workshops (contemporary) I teach people to be mind full and play with respect, know where this wind instrument is coming from. And if one is with indigenous people, ask if it is oké to play. Because ballanda playing didgeridoo is for some indigenous people still a sensitive issue. Even when we have marvels of playing along CD's and vid's regarding to particular traditional playing styles, doesn't give one a free passage to put every thing in the public arena (thanks Brian47)!!!
And to illustrate my concern, I quote Darryl Digarrnga (Mago Masterclass) '"I do my own style. I am a traditional Kunborrk player but I don't pinch my Grandfathers's style, I play my own way, no animal calls.' You mob listening to this CD, do your own style too. You have to find your own way. You can't be one of us, you have to find your own way.""

Cheers,

Peter

[Josh Staley]

Quote:

Even when we have marvels of playing along CD's and vid's regarding to particular traditional playing styles, doesn't give one a free passage to put every thing in the public arena (thanks Brian47)!!!

I don't think those who put videos of themselves playing traditional style are doing anything remotely wrong. As you admit, there are CDs indigenous persons teaching the style, and videos on youtube showing indigenous players. In my eyes that makes the style public and not private. I think that means its open domain for imitation. They were put out to encourage imitation in the first place, not for intellectual curiosity.

Further than that, it seems obvious that those who make videos of themselves imitating are doing it from a position of respect and admiration for the yidaki tradition. Why would they work hard to emulate someone whom they don't respect?

Those who can play traditional styles have done a lot of work to do so and in my view they have a right to show off some of the hard work. They don't reveal anything secret, but perhaps pass on a bit of the sacredness to others.

I have to say that it seems to me that many people interested in the traditional aspects of didgeridoo seem to over do it with their attitudes of protection for indigenous Australians. I sometime feel like it borders on disrespect in that it almost assumes an attitude of parental superiority. As if they indigenous people of Australia are children who need protection from the big bad world. I get the impression that in general they are smart and resourceful people that are very capable of making their own choices. They put out instructional CDs and we question if its disrespectful to learn from them, and show off what we have learned? That seems almost like disrespectful second guessing to me. They can keep secret what they want to keep secret, but why on earth would they make a publicly available CD but then want what it teaches to remain secret? Do you think they didn't know what they were doing?

I think the videos you are worried about are just a sign that the gifts the very skilled indigenous players are giving are being gladly accepted, and thats good in my eyes.

[zeroZen]

Respect and a big YO for that, Josh!

[flyangler18]

Quote:

They put out instructional CDs and we question if its disrespectful to learn from them, and show off what we have learned? That seems almost like disrespectful second guessing to me. They can keep secret what they want to keep secret, but why on earth would they make a publicly available CD but then want what it teaches to remain secret? Do you think they didn't know what they were doing?

When Yolngu sell their instruments and CDs of their music, they're not selling the rights to that music. You might own the physical copy but certainly don't own the rights or knowledge to perform that music or benefit from it financially. And we're not just talking Aboriginal music either. Same goes for any CD that you pick up, be it Djalu Gurruwiwi or Coldplay. It all comes down to matters of respect, as you rightly pointed out, for any culture or group of people. I certainly wouldn't want people pinching my music and profiting from it without my permission. It's about sharing knowledge of culture, not giving it away.

So to get back to the question at hand- I see a study of traditional technique is respectful to the source culture of the instrument and acknowledges that ancestral heritage.

Jason

_________________
www.jdidj.com

[Josh Staley]

Quote:

You might own the physical copy but certainly don't own the rights or knowledge to perform that music or benefit from it financially.

I wasn't talking about financial benefit. I don't think that is the issue here. I do think that the teaching CDs give a right to perform the techniques taught. You certainly have a right to the knowledge it teaches. Once you learn from it (as desired) it becomes YOUR knowledge. We purchase the knowledge by purchasing the CD. Remember that the CDs (Hard-tongue Didgeridoo at least) only teach techniques, not songs. Its like teaching notes or chords. If you learn how to play chords on a guitar from some instructional CD, does that mean I am ripping off the maker of that CD by using those chords? Do they have no right to create their own songs with those chords? It just teaches a style, and if you teach others to play a style you have to expect that they will play the style too, otherwise, why teach it?

[flyangler18]

Quote:

I do think that the teaching CDs give a right to perform the techniques taught.

Yes, you can utilize those techniques. Absolutely. I was merely pointing out that there is a significant disconnect between 'ownership' in Aboriginal society and a Western interpretation of 'ownership'.

The sale of the M*lk*y CD does seem to satisfy the custom of renumeration for the sharing of knowledge, likely an adaptation of ceremonial exchanges of knowledge through song, dance, and the visual arts that Thomson outlines in his book 'Ceremonial Exchange in Arnhem Land' or something similar (the exact title escapes me). There is clearly something to be learned from traditional techniques-- precise timing, economy of motion, etc. I can discuss traditional techniques in a workshop (or rather my interpretations of those techniques), but I don't have permission nor the right to teach traditional rhythms and don't do it, all because of respect. I don't own the songs and therefore don't have the right to teach them to others. The 'Djalu Teaches' CDs are the property of Djalu and he likewise benefits from the sale of those CDs and the knowledge of yidaki that can be learned with close study.

Jason

_________________
www.jdidj.com

[YidakiMago]

Thanks Jason for bringing in the nuances. This is much appreciated. After all this is why I started the topic. If you read carefully this topic is not about pointing fingers, or for that manner who is right or wrong, done or not done. It,s about mindfulness, awareness, sharing and exploring! Questioning what seems to be "so obvious". So in fact I was questioning my own thoughts and beliefs. Just checking, reflecting and sharing with the out side world.
What SEEMS so OBVIOUS to YOU, is not so obvious to me Josh. Any maybe it's not so obvious to Yolngu either as group or individual?Please bare in mind that we are all perceiving the wold according to our own beliefs, social and cultural backgrounds, self interests and the level of knowledge and awareness ad given moment. The Buda once said " its your mind that creates this world'! So we got 6.5 billion truths alone on this planet and rising. And none of them are right nor wrong!!! In essence I'm saying "I know nothing". But I,m willing to learn, listen in effort to understand your world and come closer by respecting one other in doing so.

Thanks for your input Josh

Cheers,

Peter