Organized by the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection

Wandjuk Djuwakan Marika OBE | The Coming of Djan’kawu

Wandjuk Djuwakan Marika OBE

The Coming of Djan’kawu, 1962

Djan’kawu ga Yalaŋbara

Clan

Rirratjiŋu

Songline

Djan’kawu

"The Djan’kawu named the places, they planted the trees, they made the well water, and then they went over to Ḻiḻirrtjawuy and made water there. And before going back up the hill, they stopped and collected some oysters. At the other side at Biḻbamwuy, they saw the mangrove goannas, and they heard maŋirrigirri (Pteropus alecto, black flying fox)—the dark black ones, which are Dhuwa— hanging on the djota tree."

– WANYUBI MARIKA

Additional Information

Decade

1962

Medium

Natural pigments on eucalyptus bark

Dimensions (IN)

47 ½ x 21

Dimensions (CM)

120.6 x 53.3

Credit

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia. Edward L. Ruhe Collection. Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997. 1993.0004.045

Narrative

Rirratjiŋu

The Rirratjiŋu clan belongs to the Dhuwa moiety. The major spiritual themes relate to Yalaŋbara,...

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Songline

Djan’kawu

When I was a child, my father would put me on his lap and sing...

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Location

Yalaŋbara

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Location

1960s

The 1960s were a decade of tumult and triumph for Yolŋu art and artists. In...

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About The Artist(s)

Clan

Rirratjiŋu

Artist Dates

c.1927-1987

Alternative Names

Wandjug, Wandjuki, Wondjuk

Wandjuk Djuwakan Marika OBE

Wandjuk Djuwakan Marika was the eldest son of Mawalan Marika. He became one of the most famous Indigenous Australian artists, traveling around the world in his role as chair of the Aboriginal Arts Board. In 1979, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

Collections Represented

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Art Gallery of South Australia

Art Gallery of Western Australia

Berndt Museum of Anthropology, University of Western Australia

British Museum

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

National Gallery of Australia

National Museum of Australia

Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Saint Louis Art Museum