December 2004 Newsletter from didjshop.com

Editorial

As promised in the last newsletter we have added another 40 didjes to Didjshop.com. These are all 1st or 2nd class didjes (most are painted), so they are mainly cheaper learners didjes. Now you can browse through nearly four hundred didjes in our virtual shop and all are objectively sound graded, each one with at least a picture, all their vital data and most with individual sound files - there is simply nowhere else you can do that!!!
With Christmas approaching fast we thought it best to clarify by when those last minute orders need to be in:
Almost all orders placed by 16th December will be delivered in time for Christmas. Just make sure you check your emails in case we need any additional information to process the order. Orders placed between the 16th and 20th can still get there in time, some orders take only three days to be delivered in USA, but that is a risk you take.
You might also want to consider our Gift Vouchers - they are an ideal Christmas present. The recipient can pick whatever they like from our wide range of products and they will receive their voucher on the day you specify to us together with your personal message to them
The 16th December is also the last day of our big range of Christmas Specials which are our Christmas present to you.

On our own Christmas wish list are these two items:

1) The Aboriginal Ngarralinyi Radio Station in Taree NSW has for the first time been denied Government funding to keep the place running despite all the work being done on a voluntary basis. They do a great job not only for the Aboriginal people of the area but the local community in general. Yet another case of government short-sightedness where a small amount of money could keep a lot of people happy. It is these small decisions which lead to more and more resentment and problems in Aboriginal communities (see Death in Custody triggers Riots). Please support these guys with an encouraging email or even better with a few dollars so they can keep going. Since they have no credit card facility, you can use our secure credit card form to make a donation, we will forward the money to them - please do let us know in a separate email that you sent the money as a donation for them.

2) Since we do not spend any money at all on advertising but rather put that money into good workmanship and customer service we do rely on word of mouth. So here is our Christmas wish: please do some advertising for us and tell everyone you know about us and what better way to do so than with a Didjshop greeting card. Send your seasons greeting to all your friends with some real didj music! and while you do you might want to invite them to participate in our worldwide didj circle on 21st December (see below). Thank you.

On a different note, our 2004 didj competition will finish on 31st December, so if you have not yet entered our questionnaire, do so soon for your chance to win this magnificent didj. If you have entered already and want more chances at winning you can either find some dead links or other mistakes on our website and report them to us or you can simply join the discussions on our forum. For every three valuable contributions you will get an extra entry.
And since we need to find some good questions for our 2005 questionnaire, we offer ten extra entries in the draw to anyone who suggests a question we will use. Send us your suggestions of what you think would be a good question to ask in next years questionnaire.

PS: Did you know that as you read this there are trillions of termites busy hollowing out wood :-)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

Svargo

Last Days of our Christmas Specials

As most of you have read in the last newsletter, we currently have a big Christmas Special. Many of you have already taken advantage of it but time is running out. The Christmas Specials will be available only for another week - until 16th December.

This year for the first time ever we give you discounts not just on some really nice didjes but also on a wide range of other products.

Here again the full list of discounted items:

Selected Didgeridoo CDs
all Shields
Returning Boomerang - Fish
Ceremonial Boomerang - Medium Painted
all Small Canvas Art
Teaching Video
all Spears
all T-Shirts
all Medium Canvas Art
all Large Canvas Art

And last not least check out our Christmas Didgeridoo Special.

But you need to hurry... All of these specials will be available only until 16th December, so go for it while you can...

Lets Play Didj Together!

Christmas is a time of reflection and sharing.

So we want to invite all of you to join us and many didj players around the world on 21 December in a worldwide didgeridoo circle. Lets share our passion for this ancient instrument and send a wave of didj music around the world. Whenever the sun sets where you are on that Tuesday, please play your didj for 45 minutes and then sit 15 minutes in silence.

Reflect on peace and sharing, nature and awareness and when you play your didj, send those qualities around the globe. These are values humanity needs to reflect on in these troubling times...

Let our didjes speak for the earth and mother nature, let them speak of peace and sharing and spread the true message of Christmas! Just imagine this wave of didgeridoo music going around the globe following the sunset...

So please participate in this Worldwide Didj Meditation and please let us know where you will be participating. Thanks

Death in Custody triggers Riots

On the 19th November on Palm Island Cameron Doomagee died in police custody from broken ribs puncturing his lungs and liver about one hour after being arrested. The police claims he fell down some stairs while the Aboriginal community suspects murder.

After the coroner published his findings that the injuries could have been caused by events as described by the police up to 300 Aborigines rioted and burnt down the local police station.

Murrandoo Doomagee, a cousin of the deceased, reflects the general mood well: "We've had enough mate, this is ridiculous. If the system works we'll respect it. The system not only is not working for us, it has never ever worked for us or delivered justice. What is going on Palm Island is a genuine reflection of how all Aboriginal people are feeling at this stage across Aboriginal Australia." (He seems to be at least somewhat vindicated by the Australian justice minister)

The Queensland government reacted by sending 80 special forces to the remote island. Many islanders were arrested in operations reminiscent of a war - with houses stormed by the crack troops, children and women being threatened with guns and forced to lay on the ground, stun guns used during arrests and a general atmosphere of intimidation and overwhelming force. The police claimed that the riots were planned and pre-meditated and the government accused Aboriginal elders for not preventing the riot. What these government people fail to understand is that the riot was a spontaneous expression of years of pent up frustration with government agencies. Once that anger was expressed there was no further violence on the part of the islanders and the heavy-handed approach of police was not needed but just created more resentment again.

18 Islanders have been charged and are in jail. They have been refused bail and will most likely not be able to attend Cameron Doomagee's funeral further inciting emotions - Aboriginal custom dictates that you cannot miss a relatives funeral. Aboriginal elders have also asked Police to steer clear of the Palm Is funeral, which was immediately refused by the Queensland police commissioner who appealed for calm during the funeral. Again a serious misunderstanding of Aboriginal culture - during a funeral there will never be any riotous behaviour out of respect for the family of the deceased.

One Palm Is leader warned of police 'payback', suggesting spearing of the officers involved in Cameron's death could settle the score. This outraged the police so much that they were considering taking action against that Aboriginal activist. Because of the heated atmosphere the government agreed to a second autopsy which will delay the funeral.

What needs to be recognised here (specially by state and federal governments) is the similarity to events in Redfern earlier this year. What also needs to be recognised that similar things could happen in any other Aboriginal community in Australia. And last not least what needs to be understood is what the causes of resentment are. Just dealing with the symptoms by using overwhelming force to crush any dissent is not going to solve the problem.

Interestingly Australia just celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Eureka stockade. At the time those miners which dared to refuse paying their taxes were considered to be criminals but today they are heroes. I do wonder whether the rioters of Redfern and Palm Island will one day be celebrated for their stand?!? I do hope that we do not need any further incidents like that before the real causes of Aboriginal resentment will be addressed. I will not hold my breath however seeing that neither major political party is interested in our proposed Aboriginal art labelling legislation.

Didj Healing Experiences etc

As usual here are last month gems of the many generously shared sound healing comments:

• Anthony Cooper from USA: "A very close friend of mine had realized that he had grown addicted to pain killers. He admitted he had a problem and began seeking help. He started to cut down drastically on his intake of the pills and began going through very painful withdrawals, such that he could hardly move from his couch.
  I had come over for support and offered to play my Didj over him(which was purchased from you're awesome shop), telling him it would help him slip into a state of meditation and ease his suffering. He agreed to let me play over him, and after about 10 minutes he reported a significant release of pressure from his stomach, his nausea was easing away.
  He had something to eat after our session, and felt little stomach discomfort,a nd was able to rest easy that evening! This was the most awesome and immediate experience of didj healing I have taken part of! an amazing instrument, that heals the mind, body and soul. beautiful!"
• Andrei Fedichev from Israel: "I had some stomach ache and a friend of my put the end of the didge above the stomach and played the didje for a while. I felt the vibration went threw me and than the warm overcalming feeling spread all over me . and then the stomach ache was gone."
• Mauricio d'Orey from Portugal: "It was an incredible experience, cause the energy released by the didj sound not only had effect on the other person, but on me also. It was like a bound of energy that was created between all the people evolved. Amazing..."
• Anonymous from USA: "I have had extreme ADHD my whole life. Last year I was finally put on meds to curb its effects. I recently bought my first after hearing a friend playing, and found that when I am in the zone, I do not have the side effects of ADHD,ie hyperactivity. I actually sit still and focus on the music. I have found this as a great method of relaxation. I often struggle with fidgeting and never just relaxing. This has been a blessing to me. I have found a way to sit still and calm."
• Amano Chaurasia from United Kingdom: "Somewhere around 1993 I was living in Sedona Arizona, which is a four million yr old red rock area in the USA.....I was hanging out with a couple of friends ullas and larry we were on a road trip from la......anyway i'm sitting there with my didj at that time which was a gift from an aboriginal brother from kukularanji people...and this woman walks up to me in this country and western bikers type bar and goes "my angels tell me you can do healing .....my son is in hospital with a broken neck" to which I replied"yeah it's such and such a vertebrae"......the guys name was brian and I got everyone in the bar to scream " get well soon brian" .....anyway two days later I went with his mother who owned a hair salon in sedona...and went to work on brian with my didj and a few crystals and bits of wood.....i was initiated into spiti/aura healing by an english healer back in 1989 in a bar underground in covent garden.....I went to work on brian with my crystals placed on various chakra points.......I was standing there for about an hour or two doing my aura healing didj thing...and I can't really explain it in words to you I just kind of vibe my way around.....anyway remember brian is layin there with a STEEL FRAME bolted to his skull in four places to hold his broken neck in place......anyway two days later I spoke to him on the phone an he said this "your music brought me back from the tunnel" and he told me that he was on the crossway between life and death, in a tunnel of light with spirit beings waiting for him....and his mother told me that later on after he came back he was crying a lot and kissing this bit of wood which I left behind....she also said that the duty nurse was in tears saying "this is a miracle" because not only brian got better but everyone else in the intensive care unit got noticeably better after I was there......So I say to you guys at didj shop that I owe this miracle to the ancient aboriginal people and the didj I owned at the time...yes man ...the sacred didjeridoo actually brought brian back from deaths door....."

And here just a few of the hundreds of wonderful comments about Didjshop.com:

• Anthony Cooper from USA: "Wonderful site with great attention to detail on sound quality!! I've only purchased one didj, and it was from you folks, but I will not go to any other place to look for one, nor recommend any others!! you guys are tops, my didj is beautiful and plays awesome even for not being a concert quality. I couldn't be any happier with my didj :)"
• Philip Brook from United Kingdom: "The best didj web site I've seen,I've used didjes from other sites and they are no where near the quality and standard of the didjes on this site, I recommend it to everyone."
• Rik van Luijn from Netherlands: "I think its really good except for the design and set up of the site, but how the didgeridoo's are graded, shown and presented is really very good. I don't have the money to visit australia to buy a didj and travel around the beautiful country but buying a didj at didjshop.com was the best alternative for me because when I received it, it was everything it was said to be!"
• Edward La Corte from USA: "Well,you guy's have a really Great site,an Amazing variety of Didges in all Keys,that no one else have. That's why I bought two didges from you, both very low keys, and both Excellent players. A low G, and a low D# that I was tempted by for maybe over a year, and I listened to the sound file so many times till I just decided I had to have it. When I first got it, it took a few days to get it to play, but after a while I came to really LOVE that low D#."
• Garry Knox from Australia: "Great. I bought from you :)" [OUR COMMENT: We and our Aboriginal suppliers do need to live, so we really appreciate people like you]
• Anders Winlund from Norway: "Undoubtable the best web site on the planet when it comes to didjes. AND as a bonus, you get so much more than just didjes. This would be an excellent site for people outside OZ who are privileged to our aboriginal heritage regularly."

And please do not miss the wonderful descriptions of people sharing their first reaction to the didj. Here just a couple of samples: "what an amazing individual sound. Not only was the sound mesmerising it was one of those unique sounds that you can actually 'feel' " and: "Mother earth plays it's own instrument." Well said...

It's inspiring for me to read the hundreds of great comments we get every month and I just hope that at least some of you enjoy them as much as I do :-)

There are hundreds of great comments, and dozen's more sound healing experiences to browse through!

Monthly Winner

The winner of our December A$50.- shopping voucher is:

Dean Humphreys from Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom.
Dean placed two orders with us this year and his winning ticket is from one of those. I really like Deans description of his first impression of the didj: "I was blown away,speechless, amazed and I wanted to know more!!" as well as his comment about Didjshop.com: "One of the best sites I have vested, informative, with loads of choice!" and he has visited dozen's of other didj sites...

Congratulations, Dean and we trust the extra cash will come in handy sooner or later.

Next month we are going to draw the winner of the 2004 didj, so if you have not yet answered our 2004 questionnaire, do so very soon for your chance to win that amazing didj.

Aboriginal News

There is an abundance of Aboriginal news stories in the last three weeks, some of which are related or relevant background information to the main Palm Island story (see above) You can find all of them in our Aboriginal Australia news web logs, but here are some of the major ones:

• International press freedom group Reporters Without Borders has condemned a police raid on the offices of the National Indigenous Times newspaper. The paper published leaked documents about the planned abolition of ATSIC, prompting the government to get a warrant to secure the documents. This is not only a case of trying to shut the barn after the horse has bolted, but more worryingly a clear attack on the freedom of the press and its ability to protect sources.
• The governments planned abolition of ATSIC is creating further waves with Leroy Littlebear, a Canadian Indian, criticising the Australian National Indigenous Council concept, because it is government appointed rather than elected. Due to the lack of any clear government policy of how to handle funding and day to day issues, the ATSIC abolition causes confusion in Aboriginal communities. And the ATSIC commissioners plan to challenge the governments plans in the High Court.
• Cane Toads, which were introduced into Australia by sugarcane farmers are invading Arnhem Land and Kakadu National Park. The highly poisonous cane toads kill traditional Aboriginal food sources like goannas. Many other animals like snakes, birds of prey, dingoes etc will also be decimated. I find it amazing that these pests were introduced to combat cane beetles and at the time no-one was smart enough to realise that the cane beetles live in the top of the cane and cane toads can't jump that high. Embarrassing enough, but now we have this poisonous toad slowly taking over the whole country, the government just ignores it...
• Indigenous leader's funeral prompts Uluru closure. This is only the third time in 19 years that the climb is closed for cultural reasons. Aborigines do not climb the rock and do not like anyone else to do so. Most tourist operators do not respect those wishes and continue to encourage visitors to climb. For Aborigines it is the same as if someone would sell abseiling tours from the Vatican. But in typical Aboriginal gentleness, Aborigines ask for understanding from tourists which cannot climb for one single day...
• A report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed that Indigenous people are murdered at a rate 11 times higher than the rest of the population while the Australian justice minister admits progress slow in Indigenous justice. And while our Prime Minister John Howard calls for action on AIDS in Africa, his governments inaction on Aboriginal health helps AIDS to spreads through Australian Aboriginal communities.
• Former Australian football star Michael Long walked from Melbourne to Canberra to attract attention to Aboriginal issues and an audience with the prime minister. John Howard did not join the walk despite walking every morning and being urged to do so, but federal opposition leader Mark Latham did join the walk. The prime minister did grant Michael an audience in which he was asked to visit more Aboriginal communities to get a better understanding of their problems. The irony of this event is that Michael Long was told that he cannot display the Aboriginal flag in front of the Australian parliament (which he did just for a photo)!!!

Please find many more interesting news stories in our Aboriginal Australia news web logs.

Keep on didjing until next month ...

from Svargo and the DIDJSHOP.COM team