nalkuma-burarrwanga
Homeland: Bawaka
Clan: Gumatj
Moiety: Yirritja
As a young man I studied land management through Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. After that I started work at Dhimurru Land management for the Arnhem Land region in 1993 Than I worked for YNOT and studied mechanical maintenance in 1995. Next I went back to Dhimurru to work with Land management. I traveled to North Queensland to meet with other rangers for a meeting. I lived at Bawaka my homeland for a while after that than I started traveling with Djakapurra Munyarryun, playing Yidakki( didgeridoo), singing and dancing at many festivals such as the Festival of Dreaming, Adelaide Festival, Perth and Brisbane Festivals. In 2006 I traveled to Paris to perform at the opening ceremony for the Musee De Quai Branli. At the opening were people from Torres Strait, the Bangarra Dance Company and Djakapurra Munyarryun. Gulumbu Yunupingu from NE Arnhem Land was one of the Indigenous artists involved in the large installations of her work there. Her work was represented on the entire ceiling of one level with stars representing the universe. In 2007 I took part in The Eyes of Marege The sights and sounds of Indigenous Australia and Indonesia were brought to life in The Studio at the Sydney opera House, with a fusion of high-powered physical theatre, music, song and dance. Staged on a huge bamboo boat, The Eyes of Marege tells a traditional tale with a contemporary edge. Six artists from Sulawesi’s top contemporary theatre company, Teater Kita Makassar, worked alongside five of Australia’s best Indigenous artists and musicians to celebrate 400 years of trade and cultural exchange between the two cultures. Re-creating the hidden history between the peoples of Northeast Arnhemland and the Makassan fishermen, The Eyes of Marege tells the extraordinary story of a young Indigenous man’s journey to Makassar at the turn of the 20th century. I have toured with the Black Arm band on a National tour, singing traditional words with the Yothu Yindi song Treaty at the Sydney Opera House. In 2005/06/07 I toured with Emma Donovan to New Zealand for the Kiwi Festival. In 2008 I traveled to Perth for the International Tourism Conference I’m also involved in Business ventures for the Bawaka Business, eco tourism to my Homeland Bawaka, also we have the contract for fencing around Yirrkala community and a car wash business.
