Music and poetry are sister arts, or brother arts... however you say it, they belong together. Poets are singers, instrumental musicians, troubadours... some popular songwriters are respected as poets... composers set poems to music, from the 19th century lieder to the present day, where poets & composers work together in groups like the American Composers Forum. We, your Poetry Guides, have been learning to play musical instruments: Bob the kora, following in the line of African griots, and Margy the flute.
Now Ngoma, master of words and music, brings a poem of the didgeridoo, whose deep droning earthy sound, “Primordial Subterranean Funk,” is a world-connection.
ENTERING THE DREAMTIME WITH MUSIC AND POETRY
The Yidaki, also known as the Didgeridoo, is the traditional wind instrument of the Australian Aboriginal People who were the first inhabitants of Australia. It is said to have originated in the north of Australia thousands of years ago, but is now used throughout the continent. It is also played and called by other names in other countries such as Indonesia, New Zealand and Haiti. It may be described as the first horn and is being used increasingly by non-Aboriginal musicians and healers worldwide.
The didgeridoo plays an important role in the creation mythology of Australia’s original inhabitants, where the sound of this wind instrument is said to have been used to create the world and everything in it. The deep vibrating sounds of this hollow pipe evoke a feeling of the power of the earth. Its unique primordial sound, in tune with the earth and the human body, heals all within its vast vibrations through the opening of the chakras. Its sound takes one into an altered state known as the “dreamtime”; thus it is nicknamed “dream pipe.” This phallic-like instrument, traditionally played only by men to stimulate and energize mother earth, honors her with its intense vibrational sounds.
~Ngoma
With that introduction, here’s the poem:
