iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

[ididjaustralia]

Welcome to new subscribers and sorry I haven't been on the forum for a while, been here there and everywhere. Anyway, hope you enjoy what this forum has to offer, make use of it and get involved. Remember, action is what this place is about... chat to your heart's content - here in the Roper Bar preferably - but at the end of the day, what can we do, however small, to change things for the better?

Lots of exciting stuff has been happening at this end. I'm juggling a couple of things like getting Djalu's Masterclass organised, starting the next artist-in-residence program here at iDIDJ Australia, traveling about having meetings, coordinating travel arrangements for Yolngu artists and one yidaki player in particular... and other such adventures.

The good news is that the Masterclass is gaining momentum, that's the main thing I'm focussed on at the moment. As I type, I have the following names either confirmed and paid-up, or seriously thinking about it but need to work out time and/or finances:

Morgan
Beni
Jason
Roberto
Lauren
Andrew
Kota
Andrew
Brendan
Garth
Jonathon + partner or father
Jan
Jack
Fiona
Sean

Ryohei
Marcos

Marcos and Ryohei will be helping out and hopefully cooking up a storm! Hey Marcos, do you know any vegetarian recipes? We have a handful of vegetarians so we need to come up with some gourmet meals for them too.

Among the folks coming to the Masterclass is an Italian artist and art therapist keen to do volunteer work in Indigenous communities, a Swiss didgeridoo player and darabouka drum percussionist on a self-study tour of Australia and following the didgeridoo trail. There's also a US shakuhachi student and performer/teacher of didgeridoo and north Indian tabla with a Masters of Science in Music Technology. A photographer/designer who spent 3 months last year living and volunteering in Nepal. Plus lots of other interesting people and Jason who is very active here on the forum and a top bloke! Can't wait to meet everyone that's for sure! With only 3 months to go, it is time to get things happening at Galuru.

If anyone here knows of a friend who might be interested in the Masterclass, let them know about it as there are still places available and a couple who haven't paid up might drop out - always good to hope for the best but plan for the worst as they say. Announcing the event on various foreign language forums would be great - thanks to those who have done so already!

The information can be found on 2 sites:

http://www.djalu.com/awareness.html

http://www.ididj.com.au/education/eco.html

On the yidaki front, I'm a bit behind with things, apologies if you've been waiting to hear from me. I just had a look at my inbox and despair at the number of emails I have to answer, but anyways...

Note, however, that the yidaki/mago season is only really starting now in the Top End, with the long drawn-out wet season behind us now and the bush finally starting to dry out a little. I was in Arnhem Land during the wet season a couple of times and whilst there were instruments about, it really is not a good time to be making purchases. Why? Cracks! It is not unusual for a new instrument made in the wet season to arrive at your doorstep cracked or covered in mildew/mould. It is kinda weird, but I had 2 instruments that I sent overseas develop cracks, and they were from the dry season of last year. Be cautious if you are in the northern hemisphere as daily changes in temperature and humidity at this time can have an effect on wood, even if it is cured and/or oiled.

Another interesting development here I've been working on is iDIDJ Australia being able to offer top quality Arnhem Land sticks that have been air-cured and further kiln-dried. These I reckon should be guaranteed not to crack. The important part of this process is proper drying of logs before they are worked on by Indigenous craftspeople and painted.

That wraps it up for the moment, hope everyone is well and happy. There's been a bit of trouble up north but I'll leave it for another time to go into that.

Be safe everyone.

Guan

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

[stockie]

Good to hear your well Guan and glad things seem to be movingf in the gen direction you want. you say travel arangements for Yidaki players would that involve anyone coming over to the UK or do you know of any plans in that direction?

oh and what you been up to recently tee hee

[ididjaustralia]

Hey Stockie,

It isn't as exciting as that I'm sorry to say

The travel arrangements are for Yolngu going to exhibition openings or needing to go to hospital interstate... sounds pretty mundane, but believe me, it is one hell of a thing to organise! The yidaki player might be here but I'll keep that under wraps for the time being, there's enough to do and catch up on as it is.

As for UK trips for Yolngu, there's none that I know of. Jeremy Cloake was working on one for Europe for this year but lack of time and funding means it won't happen this year.

How have you been? Been practising the dup-dhrill-dhrill?

Guan

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

[stockie]

Yeah thanks mate not been to bad at the moment and currently have man flu ha choo!!!! looking forward to the didge fesatival in Devon here in a week or so catch up with old faces and run away from others (Kyle see you there) and as for practacing the Dip Dhrll some one sugested to me that I try Dip Dronng Dronng which I find for some really weired reason a lot easier to breath as I cant seem to doing Dhrlll but can with drong and it feels vers similar to my playing as does the WAL wit a more need some fine tuning of Kyle.

Also had a sudden fasination with Mr Cameron at the mo just want to find out as much as I can as to me it seems he was a bit of a mystory hence the other thread on here and That just fascinates the pants of me as I cant find anything about the man himself on the web just about his instruments and on that subject are his instruments rare these days, how many did he make and for how long, did he tour with anyone like White Cocatoo for example just question after question.

[ididjaustralia]

Hi again Stockie,

The flu is no good, hope you get better mate. Don't pass your germs to others at Devon! Imagine seeing slimy green mucus on mouthpieces... Bwahahahahaha!!!

That's interesting what you say about drong compared to dhrill. Kyle will set you right, he's got a headful of tunes and a mouthful of technique. Does that sound right?!?! Anyway, what I meant to say is he's a damn good trad player.

As for Mr Cameron, I take it you mean Ambrose Cameron? I do recall meeting him at Ramingining in the 1990s. In fact, I wrote something about him in my field notebooks about 10 or more years ago and took pics of him, I remember because I checked my notebooks for certain details a couple of years ago. What I can remember is that he was an unusual person, very feminine. I won't go into too much detail about his personal life, but will leave it at that - he was not your typical Aboriginal man. The other thing is that he had the same sort of passion for crafting instruments as Djalu does. They're the only 2 that I know of who were career craftsmen like that, who made didgeridoos because they loved the work, the walks in the bush searching for suitable logs, the actual crafting process etc.

How many instruments did he make? I don't know, but I'd say he was active in the 1980s and 1990s making mago and wuyimbal-type instruments so they're bound to be around if you search hard enough. I've got a handful of his mago sticks and occasionally find the odd one around the traps. I saw some in Sydney last year but they weren't very good and had borer holes in them as well which might indicate some age but they didn't play well.

Did he tour with White Cockatoo? No. I don't know how good he was as a player, good enough to make beaut sticks I suppose, but his reputation was in making quality sticks rather than playing them. Family and community members in north-central Arnhem Land used his instruments in local ceremonies for overtone-absent didgeridoo accompaniment.

Another guy I remember from those days was another Rembarrnga craftsman who was outstanding, his name was Brian Nyinawanga. The logs those Rembarrnga men used to cut at Malnyanganak outstation were incredible. The shapes were perfect, all you had to do was peel off the bark - unbelievable but true.

Anyway, hope that's helpful to you.

Guan

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

[stockie]

Yeh Thanks Guan any chance you could post one or 2 of your pics on here as I would love to see what he looked like sounds an interesting charecter if he was passionate about crafting sticks (by the way what are Borer holes not heared of that term before) and makes it even more interesting when you say not your typical aboriginal bloke (not personally nowing any myself still want your job).

cheers

Stockie

[ididjaustralia]

I don't have permission to share those pics unfortunately, I did ask the family as I've had requests for pics from Christian previously. I don't have as strong a relationship with Rembarrnga families as I do with Djinang, Ganalbingu and Yolngu mob.

Borers are tiny insects that literally bore holes through wood. They do the same sort of damage as termites but are a lot smaller. You'll know you have borer problems if you see tiny pin-size holes in your wooden belongings.

Guan

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

[marcuz]

Hello guan, hello others,

yeap, ngatha wise... we of course have a lot of vegetarian possible options... either spanish/italian mediterranean or thai... starting from spanish potato omelette (tortilla de patatas) to gazpacho (cold vegetable soup, morning sickness (hangover) killer, even though we won't need it for that purpose there) and going thru all sorts of salads... same with pasta, but having italian people among us will put some pressure on my shoulders... (hey man, i got my "pasta cooker's license" in napoli, but please don't forget we talk about "bush pasta"), rice (spanish, italian, cuban, thai...) and all the thai options, khao pad (vegie fried rice), curries with tofu or mushies instead of meat or fish, stir-fried vegies... nope, we won't die of hunger and yes, we'll offer a wide range of possibilities for not to get bored with tucker...

and of course, most of all if we are sharing food with yolngu, the non vegetarian options.... yum!!

but most important is what people can't eat... so please all of u having dietary requirements/restrictions don't forget to remark them to Guan!!

hmnnn, got a bit hungry talking about that... wow, dinner time!

m

[ididjaustralia]

Thanks Marcos, I'm getting hungry reading this too!!

I expect nothing less than El Buli standard mate, seriously

If people like fish, we could do some interesting recipes yes? Hopefully we'll be able to save money and get a stack of fish from the sea, or stingray, or something that will feed a lot of people. Maybe a buffalo lol? I'm budgeting about $1000 for food per day which will hopefully feed around 35 people 3 meals a day.

We're going to need a couple of fridges and one deep freezer, not sure if I can afford to splash out on that just yet, or maybe we can get sponsorship for these sorts of things? Also, I'd imagine our food supplies will be coming from Darwin mainly, it is just too expensive in Gove.

Anyway, can't wait to taste your cooking Marcos, I reckon it'll be one of the many highlights of the Masterclass

Cheers everyone,

Guan

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

[marcuz]

ha, ha, ha!

Hey man, welcome to Galaru Delic Cafe... We kick Ferran Adria's ass, i tell u! Along with Ryohei, we could be the bush's Tetsuya's...

now seriously, yeap, logistics are gonna be soooo important... gove is just a rip off, i think we can't obviously think of daily groceries, unless it's strictly necessary or unless we're after fresh ngatha... i assume we'll be driving in most of the groceries from casuarina's mall (can't remember the name of the cheap one), specially all the dehydrated stuff like rice, pasta, plus oil, sugar, salt, vinegar, and all the other things that don't go off... of course all the utensiles as well... we're gonna need biggest mob of them! not only cooking stuff, pans, pots, knives, but cutlery, plates, all that...

i'd think of fridges just for meat, fish or milk... eggs perhaps too, but not that necessary... it might perhaps be cheaper to buy the vegies in two times, say the first shopping in casuarina, for the first 4 days (two-day drive, wow, maybe not that good idea) out of the fridge, and then to make a second vegie shopping for the rest of the days in gove... that might avoid the need of one more fridge...
something we should also think of is the cooking-preparing area... i assume we won't squat Gunariny's kitchen for that, ha, ha! we should then think of some proper tables, the higher the better to avoid dogs (and children, sorry!), for preparing the meals and cooking, next to a water tab for washing, etc... as well as containers to keep all the stuff that doesn't go in the fridge... those huge tupperware's work well, specially against insect invasion, and sometimes, often i'd say, are on sale at woolies...

dunno, perhaps we should discuss all this "technical" issues privately, let me know!!

cheers!
m

[ididjaustralia]

Hey Marcos,

So you know Tetsuya's in Sydney yes? I like the sound of Galuru Delic Cafe, this is going to be a lot of fun!!! I hope some of the Gurruwiwis will take interest in cooking...

The place in Casuarina is Bi-Lo, it's ok I suppose, a lot of Yolngu shop there. We could also get bulk foods from food cooperatives or eco-friendly stores where I am. The quality is a lot better, and it is good for the environment too, so if we need bulk rice, nuts, grains etc. let me know. Where I live there is a cheap organic food store. I don't mind carrying some of this up to the NT, or putting boxes on the bus and then perhaps putting it on the barge to go to Gove. Anyway, it has to work out economically as well.

Yup, let's brainstorm more ideas and thoughts. There's a lot of work to do.

Thanks Marcos, you're a champ!

Guan

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E-mail: info@ididj.com.au
Web: www.ididj.com.au
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ididjaustralia

[flyangler18]

Well, it seems my culinary skills pale compared to Marcos- but I'd help in any way that I can.

Very much looking forward to it all!

Jason

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www.jdidj.com

[marcuz]

hi there!

'course i know Tetsuya's in Sydney... though unfortunately never had the pleasure of enjoying its superb cuisine... i was once in Sydney and met a friend from home there... this friend is a cheff, and he was on a culinary travel around Australia and New Zealand... my Sydney exboss's wife is a cheff as well, and she gave us the "special list" of the unique places there, the 'off the guides' ones... i could go to most places in that list and in my friend's list, but obviously couldn't afford Tetsuya's... my friend had booked his table two months ahead... his face after the experience told it all... he was there for 6 hours...!!!
But Tetsuya's is also famous around here because Ferran Adria (El Bulli) always tells they go once or twice a year, with all his crew, and they love it...

yeah, definitely, organic stuff would be just lovelly!!! up to you, you're the one managing the budget... i won't be the one saying no to organic or fair trade stuff! once we specify better all the quantities, etc, we'll be able to have an idea of costs, etc... and then we could leave Bi-Lo's for all the plates, kitchenware, cutlery, oil, soap, bla, bla, bla...
the bus could be a great idea for it to get to darwin... and then , i pressume it shouldn't be difficult to put all that in a troopie... i assume there'll be some hired troopies going gove way, won't there??

hi jason, great to meet you! i should be honest and clarify that i'm just an afficionado, although i've had a brief experience proffessionally... and i've cooked in tricky situations like aboard a sailboat on a long distance-rough cruise, for big mobs or in aboriginal communities, i.e. for the gurruwiwi's... i do love cooking, but i'm much better at eating!! perhaps that make's me enjoy cooking... having not few friends who are cheffs also has been a good influence...
yeap, all hands will be welcome... it's defintely gonna be a harrrrrrd job!

looking forward to it so much!!!
m

[flyangler18]

Quote:

hi jason, great to meet you! i should be honest and clarify that i'm just an afficionado, although i've had a brief experience proffessionally... and i've cooked in tricky situations like aboard a sailboat on a long distance-rough cruise, for big mobs or in aboriginal communities, i.e. for the gurruwiwi's... i do love cooking, but i'm much better at eating!! perhaps that make's me enjoy cooking... having not few friends who are cheffs also has been a good influence... yeap, all hands will be welcome... it's defintely gonna be a harrrrrrd job!

Good to meet you too, Marcos! Only a few months now

I must admit, as occasionally polished as my cooking skills are under the right circumstances, I much prefer eating!

Jason

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www.jdidj.com

[Peter Lister]

marcuz wrote:

Hello guan, hello others, yeap, ngatha wise... we of course have a lot of vegetarian possible options... either spanish/italian mediterranean or thai... starting from spanish potato omelette (tortilla de patatas) to gazpacho (cold vegetable soup, morning sickness (hangover) killer, even though we won't need it for that purpose there) and going thru all sorts of salads... same with pasta, but having italian people among us will put some pressure on my shoulders... (hey man, i got my "pasta cooker's license" in napoli, but please don't forget we talk about "bush pasta"), rice (spanish, italian, cuban, thai...) and all the thai options, khao pad (vegie fried rice), curries with tofu or mushies instead of meat or fish, stir-fried vegies... nope, we won't die of hunger and yes, we'll offer a wide range of possibilities for not to get bored with tucker... and of course, most of all if we are sharing food with yolngu, the non vegetarian options.... yum!! but most important is what people can't eat... so please all of u having dietary requirements/restrictions don't forget to remark them to Guan!! hmnnn, got a bit hungry talking about that... wow, dinner time! m

Wow Marcuz !! I can't believe this !! I loved my time at Garma back in 2001 but it would have been something else to be eating like this.

For those of you who haven't been to Arnhem Land before you're gonna be in for a treat. It's truly a magical place. I have enjoyed all my visits and learnt something from every trip. It's been a few years now but I have a wealth of fond memories of times spent with yolngu. I'm not exagerrating when I say that the time I've spent with yolngu has enriched me and changed aspects of the way I view the world. It's relaxing, the country is replete with natural beauty (as are the girls if you believe those Garawiritja Boys !!) and you guys will have the chance to get the goods from the source !! Which is really what it's all about isn't it ! Seeing, hearing and playing yirdaki in context with the traditional owners of the instrument is something not like anywhere else. I recall my first trip - actually met up with Guan in Ramo. then, and I'd been reading and listening to recordings for twenty years but I was struck by the power of the music when I heard it live, right there in the bush. I had been invited to go to AL about 15 years earlier and I instantly regretted not having done it then- I had missed out on so much and that old man that invited me, Wandjuk Marika was, by then, gone. But it's so much more than then seeing and hearing - you will have the chance to ask questions - interact in a way you never can with a recording. I learnt in minutes what I'd been trying to grasp for years.

Be prepared for the unexpected. I had been in Ramingining a few times before I went to Gulkula and because Ramo. is somewhat inland and Gulkula is right on the coast it was a lot cooler than I expected. I just wasn't prepared for a lovely light cool breeze coming in off the Gulf - of course I still had a great time even if I got the sniffles. So take something to break the wind for such an occasion.

If any of you are teetering on the edge of deciding whether to go or not, then don't teeter any longer - just jump right in because you will regret it later (remember too that the costs of travel such as this are only going to increase with the way oil prices are escalating). Find out first hand what yirdaki is all about - don't miss out !!

If I could go I'd be on that list already - that food, in the warmth, away from Sydney's cold....remember me guys shivering alone at home when you're filling your bellies and talking your didjtalk......

have fun and all the best with it Guan et al,

_________________
Bita