“When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen”
In case you’ve never heard of (or maybe forgotten) it, that slogan was a key part of E. F. Hutton’s advertising campaign in the 1970s. Okay now, for the purpose of this narrative, I ask you to delete “E. F. Hutton talks” from the slogan and replace those words with “Mama Emma plays.” Hold that change for now.
Now if well-known musical instruments were invited to attend an Oscar Awards-like ceremony at the glitzy Waldorf hotel in New York, arguably the award winners would be the saxophone, tuba, flute, trumpet, guitar and drums. Yes?
But wait!
How about the less charismatic “didgeridoo,” a wind instrument played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone and special breathing? Or would its stereotypical “primitive” image in some quarters result in it not making the cut?
Okay, to be clear now that we’re nearing the end of National Women’s History Month, your humble columnist thought it time to shine the light on the often-shadowed didgeridoo and its playing expert Mrs. Emma Salahuddin, aka “Mama Emma.”
So, who is this “Mama Emma” and what’s her history, her claim to claim? Who is this show- stopper of a woman whose presence, ebullience and charisma lights of the room as a conversationist and mesmerizing instrumentalist? Well, I sat down with her recently in a local coffee shop to find out.
With our small talk over with, we turned to her fascinating life story. And what a story it is!
But unfortunately, because I was unable to write fast enough to keep pace with what she shared, after a few calls from me over the next few days seeking clarification of my Illegible handwriting, she was kind enough to send me a 2000 plus word bio of her life for me to extract from. Oh, what a relief that was.
Emma Salahuddin was born in Thomasville, Georgia. Her indigenous heritage comes from her parents and originates from the Red Hills and Central Georgia’s Flint River region. Her husband Ronald was also born in Thomasville. Former U.S. Ambassador and Atlanta mayor Andrew Young once lived in Thomasville as did four-star general and former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
In her senior year in high school, Emma was selected as a participant into the Governor Honor’s Program, a prestigious six-week summer program for academically and artistically advanced students that offered a unique educational experience on a college campus. The keynote speaker at her program’s ceremony was the late president, Jimmy Carter.
The Honor’s program was Emma’s introduction to Chapman College where she participated in World Campus Afloat, now known as Semester at Sea, a four-month voyage program offering students an educational experience at sea, including college classes and cultural immersion in various countries. Emma entered Chapman College (Now Chapman University) in 1967.
After graduating from college with a degree in art education, Emma worked as an art teacher for elementary school children in the Chapman College after school art program and in the Santa Ana Unified School District. She received her Master of Science Degree from California State University, Fullerton in 1985 while working as an Offset Lithographer and Art Teacher in the Continuing Education Department for the Rancho Santiago Community College District in Orange County, California.
Mama Emma moved back to Georgia in 2012.
In 2013 and at age 65, Emma began playing the didgeridoo as a profession. For those don’t know, the didgeridoo is the oldest wind instrument known to man outside of the flute and is over 40,000 years old. It originated with the Indigenous Aboriginal people from the Northern Territory of Australia. Today Emma owns 36 different didgeridoos.
A member of the Baha’i faith, Emma has played at Baha’i events and at both private and public events throughout Atlanta. In 2019 she played at the Human Rights Forum for President Jimmy Carter and for human rights defenders from 29 different countries at the Carter Center in Atlanta.
We turn now to some questions I posed to her:
WHO WERE YOUR BIGGEST MUSICAL INFLUENCES?
Although I never had a chance to meet him before he passed away in 2022 at age 87 Australian born Djalu Gurruwiwi is considered a legendary master of the didgeridoo. Aspiring didgeridoo players from across the world would make the trip to learn from him. He was a master teacher.
FIVE YEARS AGO, YOU PERFORMED BEFORE A JAM-PACKED CROWD AT THE VINE CAFÉ IN DOWNTOWN DOUGLASVILLE WITH GROUP OF OTHER WOMEN. WHO WERE THEY AND ARE YOU STILL PERFORMING WITH THEM TODAY?
Oh yes, I remember that day so well because that was the same day that former NBA basketball star Kobe Bryant died in that terrible helicopter crash in California. Now the group of women I performed with that day was the Conundrums, a cross section of women of different races, economic backgrounds brought together and united in love and bringing people together. We still perform as a group today.
AS A WOMAN, A WOMAN OF COLOR IN PARTICULAR, TO WHAT EXTENT HAS GENDER DIFFERENCES PLAYED OUT IN YOUR FIELD AS A DIDGERIDOO PLAYER?
Good question. If you look at the history of the instrument dating back to the days of its origins in Australia, men have always dominated the field. When women began making progress they were relegated to minor background roles. And even today, women who play the didgeridoo encounter gender bias because they are women.
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON REACTIONS FROM YOUR AUDIENCES WHEN THEY HEAR YOU PLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME?
Those unfamiliar are typically in awe. But after a few minutes of listening to me play you will notice oohs and ahhs, heads nodding and finger snapping.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE REALLY CLICKING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE?
(laugh) It’s the laughs, the ‘you go girl,’ the ‘all right now,’ the foot stomping and hand clapping. I can feel the energy increasing in the room. Every now and then someone from the audience will leave their seat and dance in the aisle. Shucks, this old lady still has a few nifty dance moves of her own!
GIVE US A SENSE FOR THE VARIETY OF YOUR AUDIENCES.
I’m accepted and welcomed by all genres including county and western, jazz, blues, reggae and by all generations. I’ve played in Catholic churches, Synagogues and before Buddhist and First Christian audiences, and I often get requests for return performances. In churches I do more hums and vocalizations and in other events I’m typically more physically mobile.
IF YOU COULD SOMEHOW TALK TO A YOUNG EMMA OF, SAY 30 TO 40 YEARS AGO, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU OFFER HER BASED ON WHAT YOU KNOW NOW?
I’d say to her and other young people that you must put in what you expect to get out of your career goals. My mother told me to never let someone else tell you who you are and never carry yourself to meet the expectations of others. Plain and simple, that would be my advice.
DO YOU HAVE ANY MAJOR PERFORMANCES PLANNED IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE?
Well as we speak, I’m planning to do a duo with Zakiya Hooker, the award-winning blues singer and daughter of the late blues icon John Lee Hooker. We’re planning to perform in May of this year and are currently locating a good place to perform.
Here’s a departing warning to those who may be enjoying a meal when Mama Emma is about to take the stage. Once she starts performing and your attention returns to your meal, your French Fries will likely be cold. Why? Because when Mama Emma throws down on her didgeridoo, people listen!
Terry Howard is an award-winning writer. He is a contributing writer with the Chattanooga News Chronicle, The American Diversity Report, The Douglas County Sentinel, Blackmarket.com, The Augusta County Historical Bulletin and recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, and third place winner of the Georgia Press Award.