Mathaman Marika (1920–1970) was an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

artist and Indigenous rights activist. He was 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 ...

clan of the

Yolngu people The Yolngu or Yolŋu ( or ) are an aggregation of Aboriginal Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. ''Yolngu'' means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The terms Murngin, Wulamba, Yalnuma ...

of north-east

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

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, and one of the well-known Marika family, brother of Mawalan 1 Marika,

Milirrpum Marika Milirrpum Marika (1923 – 7 November 1983), also known as Jacky and also referred to simply as Milirrpum, was a Yolngu artist and community leader from East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory of Australia. He was best known for his involvement ...

, Roy Dadaynga Marika, and Dhunggala Marika. Mathaman was second oldest after Mawalan. Mathaman and his four brothers led the other clans in presenting the Yirrkala bark petitions to the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

in 1963, in the lead-up to the Gove land rights case, and Mathaman continued the struggle for land rights after the death of his elder brother Mawalan 1 in 1967. Mathaman painted the third portion of the Dhuwa side of the Yirrkala Church Panels in 1963. His painting depicts the Djang'kawu Sisters arriving at their first camp, singing their journey across a newly-created watering hole. The remaining Marika brothers were involved in the 1971 ''

Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd ''Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd'', also known as the Gove land rights case because its subject was land known as the Gove Peninsula in the Northern Territory, was the first litigation on native title in Australia, and the first significant legal ...

'' (named after Mathaman's brother Milirrpum, also known as the Gove land rights case). All five were politically active for the rights of the

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

, and four were also well-known Aboriginal artists. Includes short bios of: Mawalan 1 Marika (c. 1908–1967), Mathaman Marika (c. 1920–1970),

(c. 1923–1983), Roy Dadaynga Marika MBE (c. 1925–1993), Wandjuk Djuwakan Marika OBE (1929–1987),

Banduk Marika Banduk Mamburra Wananamba Marika (13 October 1954 – 12 July 2021), known after her death as Dr B Marika, was an artist, printmaker and environmental activist from Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, who was dedicated to the developme ...

(1954–2021),

Dhuwarrwarr Marika Dhuwarrwarr Marika (born 1946), also known as Banuminy, a female contemporary Aboriginal artist. She is a Yolngu artist and community leader from East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. She belongs to the Dhuwa moiety of the R ...

(born c.1946), Wanyubi Marika (born 1967), Yalmay Gurrwun (Marika) Yunupingu (born 1956),

Mawalan 2 Marika Mawalan Marika (born 1957), also referred to as Mawalan 2 Marika to distinguish from his grandfather Mawalan 1 Marika (1908–1967), is a Yolngu artist and land custodian of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. He is the son of ...

(born 1957), Jimmy Barrmula Yunupingu (born 1963) (son of Dhuwarrwarr Marika). Mathaman Marika held an important place in ceremonial life and produced most of his artwork from the late 1950s until his death. An art dealer in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Jim Davidson, was a friend and became his agent in the 1960s. His painting themes included the

creator being A creator deity or creator god is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatristic traditions separate a ...

s Djang'kawu's journey to

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 mos ...

, the

Morning Star ceremony Pawnee mythology is the body of oral history, cosmology, and myths of the Pawnee people concerning their gods and heroes. The Pawnee are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, formerly located on the Great Plains along tributaries of ...

, various

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a town and locality in the far north of the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established in the late 1960s, the town's econ ...

stories, and also the stories of a different (Manhdalpuy) clan, the

Wagilag The Wawalag sisters, also written as Wauwaluk Wawilak Waggilak, Wagilag, or Wawalik, are ancestral creator beings whose story is part of widespread sacred rituals in the Aboriginal Australian culture, Aboriginal culture from Arnhem Land, Arnhem ...

sisters. (Special rights were obtained for the latter by his grandfather in the 20th century, and have been passed down since.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marika, Mathaman 1920s births 1970 deaths Year of birth uncertain Australian Aboriginal artists 20th-century Australian artists Artists from the Northern Territory Australian Indigenous rights activists