Have you seen this article? Can you believe it?
Nicole Kidman upset Aboriginal groups because she played the didgeridoo, which is a cultural no-no. Fine, there are some traditions and such that we honour, there being a more than a few people getting upset over the French use of the Maori moko for example.
But the excuse? "It's not meant to be played by women as it will make them barren."
What? Are you freaking kidding me? Apparently, merely touching a musical instrument can strike women infertile… You have got to be seriously kidding me.
There are some way out there freaky thoughts, but this is beyond bizarre. Although, to be honest, there are other 'touch this and things will happen' ideas that are just as stupid. Yes, 'stupid'. Merely suggesting in a book that girls dare to play the didgeridoo is enough to cause offence.
Really? How about your stupid woman-insensitive culture that says "women shall not be allowed to do this!" (At this moment, I'm not sure this statement isn’t directly at a large number of religious organisations as well.)
Touching the didgeridoo makes women infertile. There's no about of head-slapping that makes that line make sense.
(Do I even dare ask for scientific evidence for this?)
[END]
Thursday 18 December 2008
Didgeri-dumb!
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2 comments:
That's funny. I play didgeridoo all the time and my wife does too from time to time. We aren't Aboriginal or Australian. This is a music instrument that anyone if they want to can play it or listen to it in the world. The real question is what was the intent of playing was it for ceremony? No it was not.
Warning! Playing a didgeridoo does not work as birth control my wife and I have 2 wonderful kids proving this. It is just another white man romanticized myth that was injected into Aboriginal culture that has been then twisted by some Aboriginal groups in areas where didgeridoo is not local traditional. All this is a lot more complex to talk about and cannot just be put into a quick sound bite here, if you know Indigenous affairs in Australia you know what I'm talking about.
It is too bad that so called Aboriginal “leaders” are saying this. I have studied didgeridoo in Australia in the part of Australia in the Top End where didgeridoo was created and used over the last few thousand years and even heard and saw women play and make didgeridoos. It is not a problem. I guess the bigger problem is that everyone tries to group all Aboriginal groups of Australia together and as it turns out there are many different regional customs and traditional beliefs where ever people have populated Australia pre-colony times. Oz is a huge place. So when something like this gets on the world stage unfortunately the loudest screaming voice is heard even if it is dead wrong. Most people don’t have the time, interest or passion to dive into the study of the Australian Aborigines so a pan-Australian quick answer is most craved.
By the way if you have seen the segment of Nicole attempting to play the didgeridoo she was not able to play it she was attempting to hum or to sing. She needed to press her lips on it and buzz the lips to get the sound of the drone. Quite a pitiful attempt that most beginners face when first trying, if you think this is a pro performance of didgeridoo excellence you are clueless. But I guess from all the outrage that this is the way a didgeridoo sounds. Not! Obviously these Aboriginal “leaders” don’t even know how the instrument sounds or is suppose to be played.
Talk to the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land, NT where didgeridoo was created and still used in ceremony today and get the real story. Indigenous women in Australia do play didgeridoo just not in a ceremonial function. It is not a matter that women can or not it is just usually women don’t mess with the didgeridooing. No taboos, curses or whatever. It’s all silly stuff that has been made up and turns into some so called tradition.
Thank you very much for your wonderful comments!
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