Editing David Gulpilil (section)

==Early life and education==
Gulpilil was probably born in 1953.<ref name="portrait2021">{{cite web | title=David Gulpilil, Arnhem Land, 1981 (printed 2000) | website=[[National Portrait Gallery (Australia)]] | date=7 July 2021 | url=http://www.portrait.gov.au/portraits/2001.75/david-gulpilil-arnhem-land/ | access-date=11 July 2021}}</ref> In the 2021 documentary about his life, ''My Name is Gulpilil'', he said that he did not know how old he was. Local missionaries recorded his birth on 1 July 1953, based on "guesswork".<ref name="mcguirk2021">{{cite news |last=McGuirk |first=Rod |date=30 November 2021 |title=Famed Australian Indigenous actor David Gulpilil dies at 68 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/famed-australian-indigenous-actor-david-gulpilil-dies-68-81445291 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] }}</ref> He was a man of the [[Mandjalpingu]] (Djilba) clan of the [[Yolngu]] people,<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Gulpilil, David; Reynolds, Molly (director) |date=2021 |title=My Name is Gulpilil |trans-title= |type=Television broadcast |language= |url=https://iview.abc.net.au/show/my-name-is-gulpilil |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] }}</ref> who are an [[Aboriginal Australian|Aboriginal people]] of [[Arnhem Land]] in the [[Northern Territory]] of Australia.<ref name="Biography">{{cite web |url=http://www.gulpilil.com/biography.htm |title=Biography: Who is David Gulpilil? |work=gulpilil.com |year=2001 |access-date=22 April 2021}} Note: This site appears to have been [http://www.gulpilil.com/authorization.htm authorised by the subject].</ref>

As a young boy, Gulpilil was an accomplished hunter, [[Aboriginal tracker|tracker]], and [[Aboriginal ceremony|ceremonial dancer]]. Gulpilil spent his childhood in the bush, outside the range of non-Aboriginal influences.<ref name="Biography"/> He did not see a white man until he was 8 years old.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news|title=David Gulpilil obituary|newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/david-gulpilil-obituary-5ttqqjnss|access-date=3 February 2022|issn=0140-0460}}</ref> He received a traditional upbringing in the care of his family, until the death of his parents. After that, he attended the school at [[Maningrida, Northern Territory|Maningrida]] in North East Arnhem Land,<ref name="Biography"/><ref name="naa"/> where he was assigned the English name "David".<ref name=nyt2021>{{cite web | title=David Gulpilil, Famed Aboriginal Actor, Dies at 68 | website=[[The New York Times]]| first=Neil |last=Genzlinger | date=29 November 2021 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/movies/david-gulpilil-dead.html | access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> When he came of age, Gulpilil was initiated into the Mandhalpuyngu tribal group. His [[skin group]] totemic animal was the [[kingfisher]] (the meaning of the name ''Gulpilil'')<ref name=buckmaster2021/> and his homeland was [[Marwuyu]].<ref name="Biography"/><ref name="naa">{{cite archive |first= |last= |item=David Gulpilil – engagements for acting |item-url=https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?irecordid=1044 |type=Textual record |item-id=F1, 1973/4846 |date=1969–1972 |collection=Northern Territory Administration |institution=National Archives of Australia }}</ref>

After appearing in his first film, ''[[Walkabout (film)|Walkabout]]'' (1971), Gulipilil became fluent in English. He added this to his ability to speak several [[Australian Aboriginal languages|Aboriginal languages]].<ref name="Biography"/>