The Indigenous nations of Australia are understood to represent the oldest continuous culture on Earth, stretching back tens of thousands of years -- thought to have remained in near-undisturbed isolation from other cultures from as many as 75,000 years ago (or at least 50,000 years ago) until about 500 years ago.
Intriguingly, despite this astounding length of time and relative isolation, some of the stories preserved in the sacred traditions of the many nations and cultures of the Australian Indigenous people show signs of the very same system of celestial metaphor which underlies the ancient myths and sacred traditions of other cultures from the other continents and islands of our globe, which is very important to consider as we try to learn more about the ancient story of humanity.
In common with myths and sacred traditions from around the world, the sacred stories of Australia have been preserved orally and often in the form of song and verse. The haunting and unique vibrating instrument commonly known as the didgeridoo (there are many different names for this instrument among the various Australian Aboriginal nations) plays a very important role in sacred song-cycles and story-telling among the Indigenous people of that land.
Above is a video of artist, musician and craftsman Lewis Burns of the Tubba-Gah Wiradjuri sharing a Creation song on the didjeridoo. You can hear his full introduction to this song if you go to this link (the discussion of the Rainbow Serpent and the Creation account begins around the 0:04:00-minute mark in the video).
The playing of this incredible instrument from the Indigenous cultures of Australia is characterized by a technique which is commonly called "circular breathing" through which the droning can be continued even as the musician inhales. It boggles the mind to consider how the didgeridoo was first invented and how many millennia ago that might have been -- and then to consider how this technique of circular breathing was first used among humanity and for how many generations it has been passed down to successive generations, through the long ages of time and continuing to this day.
In recent years, doctors and researchers have learned that the technique of circular breathing can actually have significant beneficial effects for the reduction of obstructive sleep apnea and snoring, as well as with daytime sleepiness which is associated with lack of good sleep caused by these conditions.
In addition to being associated with daytime sleepiness, sleep apnea is also associated with the risk of serious cardiovascular health conditions, due to the fact that those who suffer from sleep apnea are actually choking multiple times each night as they are sleeping, which as you can imagine is very damaging to the body and the brain. You can find many websites which discuss the terrible health dangers of sleep apnea and snoring.
This paper from a 2005 medical journal discusses the results of a controlled study in which patients with sleep apnea and snoring were given didgeridoo lessons and asked to practice a specific number of times per week -- a study which found statistically significant beneficial effects from those selected to play the didgeridoo (versus those in the control group, who had to wait until after the study was over to receive their lessons). You can also find the study results reproduced on the website of the US National Library of Medicine, here.
Learning the technique of circular breathing is challenging in the same way that first learning to drive stickshift is challenging, or in the way that playing piano (especially styles such as boogie-woogie) is challenging, in that the brain and body needs to learn to do two different and even contradictory actions simultaneously -- and the challenge is compounded by the fact that in the case of circular breathing, these seemingly-contradictory actions do not involve movements of the hands and feet but rather the very act of breathing itself, which is even more fundamental and even more ingrained and difficult to change (and upon which our very life depends from one minute to the next, making the act of learning to do it a new way somewhat more discomforting than the act of learning to drive stick or play the piano).
Fortunately, in the age of the web and online resources, there are a number of videos one can find to help with the process of learning this amazing ancient technique for the didgeridoo. I recently purchased a didgeridoo from the good people at DidgeridooBreath in Western Australia, which included fantastically helpful video lessons from Yoshitaka Saegusa -- "Sanshi" -- which got me on my way to learning circular breathing (each lesson ending with Sanshi's admonition to go practice each new step "1,000 times!!!").
I also found videos from David Yates of Breathwood and AJ Block of DidgeProject to be extremely helpful in starting to connect the drone past the inhales, and starting to learn some rhythms. And of course I am now enjoying watching videos of master musicians on the didgeridoo such as David Hudson and the above-linked Lewis Burns.
I'm still very new to this amazing instrument and its ancient history, but I can say that it is extremely addictive (something that is actually referenced in that medical study linked above, in which the authors note that while "compliance" with medical recommendations is often a major issue, the participants in the didgeridoo study ended up practicing their didgeridoos for longer periods and for more days of the week than they were told to do so in the study).
Below is a recent video of my efforts so far, and below that is another video which I made during the period that I was working on my first steps in circular breathing, in which I mention a couple things that helped me at the time. I wanted to preserve those while they were still fresh in my mind -- if they can be helpful to anyone who is working on it, that's great, but if they are not helpful then just ignore them!
But, since sleep apnea can have such serious negative health effects, I figure that if my humble progress as a new player can be of help to even one person somewhere, it's worth it.
The didgeridoo is considered a sacred instrument. I am convinced that every single man or woman is in fact a sacred instrument -- and that all musical instruments are really only an extension which enables us to better express the music that we already have inside.
The sacred didgeridoo is connected to the song-cycles and sacred stories of the ancient cultures of the original people of the continent of Australia. I am convinced that the ancient myths and ancient wisdom of the cultures of the world have a profound message for us today, in this very present moment -- and that it is very possible we need them today more than ever.
Respect and Gratitude to the Indigenous nations of Australia who have preserved this ancient treasure -- may they continue to pass down the ancient wisdom of their people to their future generations for at least another 50,000 years!
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Below are two clips, the first of me playing today, and the one below it from a week before with my attempts to connect the drone and learn circular breathing, and the various techniques and notes I was making for myself at the time as I was going through that process:
