Will White People’s “Didgeridoo” Jokes Ever End?
For some reason, American progressivism rarely extends to First Nations people.
Last week, Stephen Colbert played the Yidaki or “Didgeridoo” during a segment where he was covering Lachlan Murdoch’s (now dropped) defamation case against independent news media outlet, Crikey.
If you are wondering what the Yidaki has to do with Murdoch lawfare on news media in Australia, the answer is absolutely nothing — except total ignorance of and disrespect of Aboriginal peoples.
In an episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that aired last week, the titular host was covering Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation case against Fox News. The now settled case saw Dominion accuse the Murdoch-owned news network of knowingly promoting the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump via improper use of Dominion’s technology.
Colbert went on to explain other defamation cases connected to the issue, including the defamation suit Lachlan Murdoch brought against Crikey News. That case, which was dropped by Murdoch last week, saw Murdoch accuse the independent publisher of defamation after they named the Murdochs as co-conspirators in the January 6 Capitol attacks.
You would think with a smorgasbord of jabs available that include Lachlan Murdoch’s Daddy issues driving him to suppress press freedom and Donald Trump’s delusional followers, Colbert would go his renowned punch-up informative route. But the seasoned Late Night host chose to end the segment on a “didgeridoo” joke. He joked that Crikey‘s biggest competitor “Didgerinews” would be disappointed in Murdoch dropping the case, then proceeded to play the Yidaki (which he has done in the past), joking the sound would be the fake site’s “top story.”
Crikey gets the Colbert treatment. @crikey_news pic.twitter.com/BjQITnXNaf
— Fergus Ryan (@fryan) April 20, 2023
It seems every few months, non-First Nations peoples must be reminded to show basic respect for Aboriginal peoples’ culture. Last year, Canadian band Walk off the Earth were called out for using a yidaki in a cover of ‘i’m good’. The cover, which was uploaded to TikTok and YouTube, has over Twi million views and features lead singer Sarah Blackwood playing the yidaki, despite First Nations creator davygravy8 explaining why it is disrespectful for women to do so.
Recently, a Los Angeles organisation also tried to host a “female power didge” festival without any involvement or input from Aboriginal peoples. Billed as “the first international female didgeridoo festival,” the line-up included “players” from France, Denmark, and the apartheid state of Israel. After protest from Aboriginal peoples and our allies back home, the festival was thankfully cancelled.
For Aboriginal peoples, the Didgeridoo, which is more appropriately called a Yidaki, is a ceremonial instrument with sacred significance. Non-Aboriginal people can play it, but generally not without accompaniment or permission from First Nations Mob. Cultural protocols vary from Mob to Mob on who can play the Yidaki and when, but it should not need explaining why the ceremonial instrument should not be used as an accessory to non-Indigenous peoples who have no connection to Aboriginal peoples.
Much like the boomerang, the yidaki has suffered from global cultural appropriation made possible by the colonial erasure of Aboriginal peoples in popular culture. Often the Yidaki appears in non-First Nations media totally divorced from its cultural context. It becomes instrument of choice of the town’s creepy church leader in the award-winning Canadian sitcom Letterkenny. It is featured in the countless TikTok and YouTube videos of non-Indigenous people “teaching” others how to play, and there’s the instrument’s multiple cameos on Colbert – to name a few.
At best, the Yidaki, or at least its unique sound, is used to signal a general “Australianess,” with countless soundtracks using sound bites to indicate the arrival of an Australian or Australia itself. Rarely do these depictions respectfully acknowledge its sacred and ceremonial origins in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. At worst, the Yidaki is treated as just a quirky instrument free for anyone to pick up and play.
Steve Colbert should know better than to slip into the latter category. The veteran journalist frequently positions himself as well-researched and morally progressive on most issues he covers, from Trump to homophobia. So, why include such a regressive joke cantered on the Yidaki that also does not have anything to do with the lawfare of the Murdochs?
Even when its being used, as Colbert has, to signal “Australia,” the spiritual, cultural, or historical connection between Aboriginal peoples and the Yidaki is afforded next to no respect or even acknowledgement.
The answer is that the legacy of colonial Australia’s effort to erase and divorce Aboriginal peoples from their own land and culture is a strong one. Even when its being used, as Colbert has, to signal “Australia,” the spiritual, cultural, or historical connection between Aboriginal peoples and the Yidaki is afforded next to no respect or even acknowledgement. This is salt on the wound for First Nations peoples. It is an unnecessary cultural continuation of colonialism whereby Blakfellas are disregarded as the owners of our own instruments even while those same instruments are used as a national identifier for the nation that continues to colonise us.
It might not be “that deep” for some. But for Aboriginal people, the yidaki is our cultural instrument still used in ceremonies to mark our most important milestones and celebrations, and its sound has carried us through hundreds of thousands of years. It is not your souvenir, your hobby, and it sure as hell should not be your punchline.
Merryana Salem (they/them) is a proud Wonnarua and Lebanese–Australian writer, critic, teacher and podcaster on most social media as @akajustmerry.