Jason Dhawulunbulun

Jason Dhawulunbulun is a senior Djambarrpuyŋu Dhamarraṉdji man who lives in Yurrwi with his extended family. He is the son of esteemed artist and ceremonial custodian Collin Yerrilil and the grandson of the prolific painter, ceremonial leader and Djambarrpuyŋu man Mark Manuwa. Dhawulubulun counts these two men as his foremost teachers in manikay (ceremonial song cycles), miny’tji (clan designs), raypirri (humility and discipline) and rom (law). 

Dhawulunbulun says he also learnt from other family members and cultural leaders from his Ŋandipulu (mother clan), märipulu (maternal grandmother clan) and his yapapulu (great great maternal grandmother clan) with whom he shares close ceremonial and social bonds. 

Much like his father Yerrilil had learnt from his father Manuwa, Dhawulubulun received much of his education from these two men under the shade of the colossal djambaŋ (Tamarind tree) at Ŋamuyani, a beachside camp that has been used for generations. These men passed down their Djambarrpuyŋu totems including Buḻ’manydji (shark), Baṉumbirr (morning star) Bäpi (snake), and Ḏaruma (conch shell) and are the designs that Dhawulunbulun now paints. 

Dhawulunbulunn is recognised as a strong ceremonial man that often leads members of his clan in buŋgul (ceremony), and along with his brother and other designated legal caretakers and ceremonial executors designated by gurruṯu (inter-clan kinship), holds custodianship of the Djambarrpuyŋu clan ancestral totem Buḻ’manydji.

Dhawulunbulun also works with the local Crocodile Island Sea rangers and as a cultural consultant for the Art Centre’s Djalkiri Keeping Place.