Banula (David) Marika is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

dancer, actor, singer and performer from

Yirrkala Yirrkala is a small community in East Arnhem Region, Northern Territory, Australia, southeast of the large mining town of Nhulunbuy, on the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land. Its population comprises predominantly Aboriginal Australians of the ...

in North East Arnhem Land, in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

of Australia. The son of

Roy Marika Roy Dadaynga Marika (1925 – 1993) was an Aboriginal Australian artist and Indigenous land rights in Australia, Indigenous rights activist. He was a member of the Marika family, brother of Mawalan 1 Marika, Mathaman Marika, Milirrpum Marika and ...

, he is a member of the

Rirratjingu The Dangu (Dhaŋu, Dhangu) are an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, one of many Yolŋu peoples. They are, according to Norman Tindale, to be carefully distinguished from the Djaŋu. Two prominent clans of ...

clan of the Yolngu people, and is known for his performances with the

Bangarra Dance Theatre Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-born ...

since the 1990s. He is credited as David Manula Barika for his role as

didgeridu The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

player in ''

Jindalee Lady ''Jindalee Lady'' is a 1992 Australian film about an Aboriginal Australian woman who is a successful fashion designer. Directed by Brian Syron, it is the first feature film directed by an Aboriginal person in Australia.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Austra ...

'' (1992), and as Banula (David) Marika for his first role as an actor in the film ''

Bedevil ''Bedevil'', stylised as ''beDevil'', is a 1993 Australian horror film directed by Tracey Moffatt, the first feature directed by an Australian Aboriginal woman. Plot The film is a trilogy of surreal ghost stories. Inspired by ghost stories she ...

'' (1993), His stage performances with Bangarra include ''Up Until Now'' (1991), ''Praying Mantis Dreaming'' (1992-3) and ''Bloodland'' (2011-2). He also served as cultural consultant on Bangarra's 2020 television production of ''Ochres''. He has performed as both vocalist and dancer and toured extensively with the band

Yothu Yindi Yothu Yindi (Yolŋu Matha, Yolngu for "child and mother", pronounced ) are an Australian musical group with Australian Aboriginal, Aboriginal and ''List of English words of Malay origin#B, balanda'' (non-Aboriginal) members, formed in 1986 as ...

, including on their famous song "

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations An international organization or international o ...

". He performed vocals on their third album, ''

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

'' (1993). He also performed with them in a joint project with East Journey, called ''Genesis'', in 2015, which included a performance at the National Indigenous Music Awards 2015. He has collaborated with founder of the

Australian Dance Theatre Australian Dance Theatre (ADT), known as Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre from 1993 to 1999, is a contemporary dance company based in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1965 by Elizabeth Cameron Dalman . The ADT was the first moder ...

, choreographer

Elizabeth Cameron Dalman Elizabeth Cameron Dalman (born 1934) is an Australian choreographer, teacher, and performer. She founded Australian Dance Theatre and was its artistic director from 1965 to 1975. She is also the founding director of Mirramu Dance Company. Ear ...

, in a work entitled ''Morning Star'' (2012–3). Marika is custodian of the Morning Star (Barnumbirr) story, and served as cultural consultant on the work. The

Mirramu Dance Company Mirramu Dance Company is an Australian contemporary dance company founded in early 2002 by Australian dance pioneer Elizabeth Cameron Dalman (the founder of Australian Dance Theatre) and dancer-choreographer Vivienne Rogis. The company is base ...

performed ''Morning Star'' in March 2013 at the James O. Fairfax Theatre,

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. , Marika is on the board of the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation (since at least 2018), along with artist and law man Mawalan 2 Marika, and has also been a Dhimurru

Indigenous ranger The Indigenous ranger projects were introduced by the Australian Government in 2007 as part of its Working on Country program. Indigenous rangers are Indigenous Australians who combine traditional knowledge with conservation training in order to p ...

since 2002. In this role and as a

traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

, he has contributed to papers on

cross-cultural Cross-cultural may refer to *cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis *cross-cultural communication, a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate *any of vari ...

consultancy and

environmental conservation *Environmental protection *Nature conservation Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protec ...

measures. His son, Milika, is also a dancer, primarily in the

hip hop style In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region is ...

, and has featured in a TV series shown on

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marika, Banula Australian dancers Australian actors Australian performance artists Year of birth missing (living people) Indigenous Australian actors Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory Living people Indigenous Australian dancers