The Didgeridoo is a long, slightly conical wooden trumpet or horn, used traditionally by the Aboriginal people of Northern Australia. Other names for the Didgeridoo are Yidaki, Kanbi, and Ihambilbilg - although somewhere around 40 different Aboriginal names are commonly used for this instrument throughout Australia--from the north of Western Australia through the Arnhem Land peninsula to Northern Queensland.

As you can see from the samples on the right, the Yidaki, or Didgeridoo, comes in a variety of shapes, sizes--and with a variety of artwork and markings.

To see many more varieties, check out our Yidaki Store.

Aboriginal men select a branch of from a tree that has been hollowed out by termites.

Different pitches are achieved by cutting the branches at various lengths and by finding branches with various diameters. The way that the termites (or white ants) have bored into the wood also has a major effect on the tone, resonance, pitch and timber of the wood.

After cutting, Aboriginals generally strip the bark and burnish the outside of the wood with a stone or more recently, sandpaper.

A mouthpiece is created by applying a coat of beeswax at the smaller end of the branch. The beeswax helps make a good seal around the mouth so that air will go only inside the Didgeridoo.

The patterns representing totemic and clan designs are exclusively the property of the artist, and so will have their own unique design signature.