Mawalan Marika (born 1957), also referred to as Mawalan 2 Marika to distinguish from his grandfather

Mawalan 1 Marika Mawalan Marika (1908–1967), often referred to as Mawalan 1 Marika to distinguish from Mawalan Marika (born 1957), Mawalan 2 Marika, was an Aboriginal Australian artist and the leader of the Rirratjingu clan of the Yolngu people of north-east ...

(1908-1967), is a Yolngu artist and land custodian of

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

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. He is the son of well-known artist and leader

Wandjuk Marika Wandjuk Djuwakan Marika OBE (1927 or 1930 – 16 June 1987), was an Aboriginal Australian painter, actor, composer and Indigenous land rights activist. He was a member of the Rirratjingu clan of the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land in ...

, and nephew to

Banduk Marika Banduk Mamburra Wananamba Marika (13 October 1954 – 12 July 2021) was an artist and printmaker from Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. She was a member of the Rirratjingu clan of the Yolngu people, whose traditional land is Yalangb ...

. His name derives from the ''mawalan'', or

digging stick A digging stick, sometimes called a yam stick, is a wooden implement used primarily by subsistence-based cultures to dig out underground food such as roots and tubers, tilling the soil, or burrowing animals and anthills. It is a term used in ar ...

used by the

Djang'kawu The Djang'kawu, also spelt Djanggawul or Djan'kawu, are creator being, creation ancestors in the mythology of the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is one of the most important stories in Aboriginal Austra ...

of the creation story 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. He is (as of 2018) the top male custodian of the clan's law, a responsibility shared with two women of the clan. Mawalan has particular responsibility for the

ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

associated with the eastern side of the Port Bradshaw peninsula at

Yalangbara Yalangbara is a coastal area in the East Arnhem (Miwatj) region of Australia's Northern Territory, around south of Nhulunbuy, the largest town in the area. It is on the country of the Rirratjingu clan of the Yolŋu people, and is one of the m ...

, known as the "sunrise" side. Marika produced most of his paintings before the late 1980s. He did, however, create paintings about Yalangbara for the 1999–2000 "Saltwater" touring exhibition mounted by the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, later acquired by the

Australian National Maritime Museum The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) is a Australian government, federally operated maritime museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After considering the idea of establishing a maritime museum, the federal government announced that a nation ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. His work is also held in the

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 ...

and the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

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 ...

, the

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) is the main museum in the Northern Territory. The museum is located in the inner Darwin suburb of Fannie Bay. The MAGNT is governed by the Board of the Museum and Art Gallery of the ...

in Darwin, and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia houses one of the finest Indigenous Australian art collections in the world, rivaling many of the collections held in Australia. It is the only museum outside Australia dedica ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

. In 2010 he gave an opening address at the ''Yalangbara: Art of the Djang’kawu'' exhibition launch, in which he mentioned his aunt,

(who was largely responsible for the creation of the exhibition), her (unnamed) son, a "great man", and his father Wandjuk. Apart from his artistic career, Marika has worked in various educational,

environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

and cultural roles at

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

, and more recently at Sheperdson College on

Elcho Island Elcho Island, known to its traditional owners as Galiwin'ku (Galiwinku) is an island off the coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Wessel Islands group located in the East Arnhe ...

. In 2003, he worked with his aunt, Banduk, and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

Geoffrey Bagshaw, to get Yalangbara listed on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marika, Mawalan 1957 births Living people Australian Aboriginal artists 20th-century Australian artists Artists from the Northern Territory