Uploaded February 2010 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
This is Darryl Dikarrnga Brown playing an old didgeridoo made by his ngadjatj or uncle (his mother's brother), Paddy Fordham Wainburranga. Darryl plays 'garrek' or goanna.
Paddy Fordham's old instruments painted in ochre are rare, and hence, highly collectible. He is better known for his Balangjangalang spirit carvings and his bark paintings, and indeed, in 1993, he won the 10th National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award with his bark painting "Eagle Hawk and Crow", beating every other Indigenous artist in Australia to take home first prize, and pocketing a cool $40,000 for his efforts.
In this video clip, Darryl also explains the difference in didgeridoo playing style between Western Arnhem Land and Eastern Arnhem Land practitioners, in particular, how the instrument is held and why. In Eastern Arnhem Land, a yidaki would be pushed into the ground or pointed into a bucket or anything that will help enhance the resonance of the instrument, whereas in Western Arnhem Land, a mago is always lifted off the ground and never placed inside a bucket. Darryl explains why, in Gunei language and in English.
This is Darryl Dikarrnga Brown playing an old didgeridoo made by his ngadjatj or uncle (his mother's brother), Paddy Fordham Wainburranga. Darryl plays 'garrek' or goanna.
Paddy Fordham's old instruments painted in ochre are rare, and hence, highly collectible. He is better known for his Balangjangalang spirit carvings and his bark paintings, and indeed, in 1993, he won the 10th National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award with his bark painting "Eagle Hawk and Crow", beating every other Indigenous artist in Australia to take home first prize, and pocketing a cool $40,000 for his efforts.
In this video clip, Darryl also explains the difference in didgeridoo playing style between Western Arnhem Land and Eastern Arnhem Land practitioners, in particular, how the instrument is held and why. In Eastern Arnhem Land, a yidaki would be pushed into the ground or pointed into a bucket or anything that will help enhance the resonance of the instrument, whereas in Western Arnhem Land, a mago is always lifted off the ground and never placed inside a bucket. Darryl explains why, in Gunei language and in English.
