David Dharrapuy - yirdaki maestro! Djambarrpuyngu manikay

This was the very first ceremony I ever filmed in Arnhem Land, back in 1996. In that year I used a Panasonic A3, a VHS-C video camera. This was before mini-DV video cameras were invented. The Panasonic did its job and I was pretty happy with it overall. This video clip is a compilation of material gathered over a number of days, of a Dhapi' initiation ceremony at Ramingining. The main group that was singing was the Djambarrpuyngu (Dhamarrandji patrilineage) clan. I've edited this clip to keep it under 10 minutes, as that is all YouTube will allow. The raw footage goes for many hours. The first 3 minutes of this clip has David Dharrapuy playing yirdaki. Dharrapuy is one of my absolute favourite yirdaki players. He has a wonderful lilt, or gentle swing, to his playing style. And he packs so much power when he plays that he boasts that he caused a yirdaki to explode once, as testimony to how hard he pushed when he gets going! Dharrapuy is a Gupapuyngu clansman, son of the great Bonguwuy who was son of the great warrior Waltjimirri. The rest of the compilation has a Garapapawuy Bukurlatjpi playing yirdaki. Garapapawuy is a Warramiri clansman who lives at from Elcho Island. You can compare the different playing style of these 2 guys, as they are using exactly the same instrument.