THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ever wondered what music from one of the oldest wind instruments on earth would sound like? Mandela Van Eedan, who trots around carrying the ‘didgeridoo,’ will help you figure out just that. As Mandela plays the ‘didgeridoo’, dubbed to be several centuries old, you get a heady rush of primal music which transports you to the land of the Australian aboriginals.
Mandela, who is from Montana, US, played the didgeridoo at a programme organised by the Russian Cultural Centre here on Sunday. As she played, the crowd cheered, tapped their feet and clapped. 'Didgeridoo' - the name comes from the sound the Westerners heard when it was blown - is used by the aboriginals to accompany the 'Corroboree,' or story-telling sessions, where a 'song man' tells the stories, assisted by the didgeridoo and clap-stick players. “The aboriginals made the instrument from the eucalyptus tree. Once the tree is hollowed out by termites, it is cut down and didgeridoo is made. You can make it in glass, wood, pottery or plastic,” explains Mandela, who uses a plastic didgeridoo. The instrument, called ‘yidaki’ in Australia, is played by the men and is taboo for women to even touch it. “It is not sexism but cultural relativism,” clarifies Mandela.
Although Mandela is here to learn more about Ashtanga yoga, she has a larger motive of introducing the aboriginal art to students. "I hope to reach as many schools and colleges as I can to share this art form and wish to enlighten them about the different cultures out there,” says Mandela. She feels that the indigenous Australians have a lot to teach us about how to live with nature. In schools, she uses the didgeridoo to introduce students to ethno-musicology, the study of culture through music, and aboriginal art.
Apart from being a yoga teacher and a whitewater rafting guide, she hosts an adventure radio show in the US titled 'The Trail Less Travelled.' Although she loves her multiple jobs, she agrees that it doesn't pay much. She lives in a school bus in Montana with her boyfriend. “I wouldn't be in India if I were paying the rent. So I save that money incurred in rent and travel,” says Mandela.
Raised on a nature reserve her family has in South Africa, she was always one with nature. The only musical entertainment she had then was her father's didgeridoo and started playing it when she was eight. But it was in college in an aboriginal anthropology class that the didgeridoo sparked her interest again. At 18, she started an organisation to teach students to the play the didgeridoo. And ten years hence, she is still at it.
“Music is a universal language and community's common denominator. I believe that children are our greatest natural resource. I want to inspire them to learn about other cultures from an early age,” says Mandela.
She has played didgeridoo in the streets of Mexico, Paris, London, South Africa, US and Panama. She doesn't charge for her performances nor for the classes. Asked about the expenses, she says that there is no funding and it is her way of giving back. “It is Karma. I don't want to be repaid for this. I just want to give back,” she adds. Mandela, who is staying at Kovalam, will be here in the city till February 26.