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 I ...

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 Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

of Australia. The son of Roy Marika, he is a member of the Rirratjingu 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 C ...

since the 1990s. He is credited as David Manula Barika for his role as didgeridu player in '' Jindalee Lady'' (1992), and as Banula (David) Marika for his first role as an actor in the film '' Bedevil'' (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 ( Yolngu for "child and mother", pronounced ) are an Australian musical group with Aboriginal and '' balanda'' (non-Aboriginal) members, formed in 1986 as a merger of two bands formed in 1985 – a white rock group called the Swam ...

, 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, individuals, business entities, and other legal per ...

". 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 one ...

'' (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 The National Indigenous Music Awards 2015 are the 12th annual National Indigenous Music Awards. The nominations were announced on 10 July 2015 and the awards ceremony was held on 22 July 2015. For the first time in National Indigenous Music A ...

. 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, in a work entitled ''Morning Star'' (2012–3). Marika is custodian of the

Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

(Barnumbirr) story, and served as cultural consultant on the work. The Mirramu Dance Company 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, and has featured in a TV series shown on NITV.

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