Lulumu, 2025

The Madarrpa travelled to live permanently at Bäniyala, clan land north on Blue Mud Bay under the direction of the clan leader and father of the artist, Wakuthi. The Madarrpa always had an Ancestral connection to this land – no dispute. Gurrundul’s grandfathers are buried under the sacred ground there. The setting up of an outstation at Bäniyala was part of the initial push back to the homelands from the intolerable intrusion of large-scale mining that had surrounded the Yirrkala community (formally mission) from the early 1970s. There are hugely significant stories out of this country for the Yirritja (some of which are shared with the Dhalwaŋu and Maŋgalili clans) that deal with law and ritual. The sacred design of the waters shared by these clans is also shared. Other stories, perhaps no less significant, deal with creation or more recently fabled events. The depicted Gurrtjpi is the stingray hunted much on the shallow shores of Blue Mud Bay. It is also a totem for the Madarrpa at Bäniyala as they talk of Gurrtjpi having a path of creation at Bäniyala. A few hundred yards down the beach at Bäniyala, a small Ɵdal creek cuts through the dunes to the flat country immediately behind. This small tidal creek named Mäwaŋga was used by Gurritjpi to track back into the bush. Here, he bit into the ground, forming several small billabongs, a source of water for Yolŋu living there. His path continued along the direction that is now the Bäniyala air strip to flat sandy country before heading out to the point Lulumu to become a white rock surrounded by the slow tides. During the days of Woŋgu the Djapu warrior, an area in the shape of the stingray was cleared by him and others who came to country to hunt Gurrtjpi mid-way through the dry season. The area is still clear today, his two eye holes in the ground where the current inhabitants pick sand to throw in the direction of the rock at Lulumu for good luck and plentiful fishing.

Gurrundul Marawili is the sister of Djambawa Marawili and the wife of Wanyubi Marika, whom she assists with painting. In 2008, she emerged as a talented painter in her own right, with Bark and Larrakitj depicting Yilpara stingray sites and Madarrpa themes. Her first exhibition was in 2009, when she had a small but successful show at Annandale Galleries alongside her sister Yalmakany. This was repeated in 2010 with a different body of work. From this point on, her work has been sought after and sold through commercial galleries both in Australia and overseas. She lives in Yirrkala.