Didgeridoo

While waiting for the Langdale ferry yesterday I was reading a portion of a chapter in a book which described an ancient form of tuning instruments to the natural frequency of the earth. The subject matter of the book is a bit dry by pop culture standards I guess, but lately I seem to be into such things. The gist of the book consists of research of comparisons between ancient societies and their accomplishments concerning the structures they built without the aid of modern conventional engineering. The book began with Stonehenge with its celestial orientation and compared it to other structures like the Egyptian and Aztec pyramids that pre-date written records.

The basic principle that was discovered is that the earth is based upon circle geometry consisting of 366 degrees rather than the conventional 360 degree circle that is the norm today. Like I said, it’s a bit dry but nonetheless interesting. I’m getting towards the end of the book now and it’s currently comparing other systems outside the realm of measurement, i.e. music to see if the 366 system could be applied in that field, and if so what the ramifications would be. Skirting around the theoretical heavy lifting detailed in the book, suffice it to say that the researchers discovered that their data indicated a harmonic frequency associated with a fundamental measurement unit from Stonehenge-era data generated a note in Hertz just slightly above our modern day C sharp. Further research provided the surprising revelation that this slightly higher C sharp was used in ancient times by Australian Aborigines to tune their didgeridoos for playing music to the earth. This particular note is considered to be the most sacred of all tunings.

If anyone has managed to read this far without drowsiness overtaking them I will say that it has been with some purpose that I had to set the stage in this fashion. Because really, how often is it that one considers the didgeridoo at all, especially in North American culture? That’s what makes what I’m about to say so interesting.

Quite literally I was reading the passage about the digeridoo as the lined-up ferry traffic ahead of me began to move. I tossed the book on the passenger seat without even marking my place, started the car and fastened my seat belt as I caught up with the cars ahead of me.

As one of the weirdest coincidences I’ve ever come across, just as I crested the stairs into the ferry’s passenger lounge from the car deck, the very first person I saw was a seated young woman blowing into a didgeridoo! I could probably count on one hand the number of times in my life I’ve ever even seen a didgeridoo in person.

It was just a little too strange for words.