Josh
Trindade
[paper presented at 5th Timor-Leste Studies Association (TLSA) conference Liceu Campus, National University of Timor-Lorosa’e, Dili, Timor-Leste, 9 – 10 July 2015]
Introduction
One of the key features of Timorese customary
society are the complex relational dimensions that glue the society together. The
relational dimensions that underpin East Timorese customary society have been
critical to the reproduction and reconstitution of society, before during and
after colonial occupation.
In this paper, I explore these relational dimensions
focusing on three areas of discussion. First, I describe the relationship
between the people (the ‘real’ world) and the world of the spirits and divine
entities. Second, the relationship between people and nature and the importance
of natural resources such as land, water, forests, rivers, lakes and mountains
for the survival of East Timorese communities. Finally, how relations between
people are organized and managed within ‘traditional’ East Timorese society.
For this purpose I will specifically unravel the significance of brother-sister
alliance (feton-nan), brother-brother
alliance (maun-alin and alin-maun) and sister-sister alliance (bin-alin).
What are relational dimensions?
In Social Capital Theory, ‘relational dimensions’
are resources (such as trust and reciprocity) that define and affect the
quality of a social network. Social capital is made up of ‘social obligations’
or ‘connections’ which can be converted into collective or individual economic
benefits or other forms of capital (Bourdieu 1986). Different
social sciences emphasize different aspects of social capital but they share
the idea "that social networks have value". With this notion in mind, this paper sets out to
understand how East Timorese customary society has managed social relations
without recourse to specialized institutions such as the armed forces, the
police, or judiciary.
Many other traditional societies are characterized
by the same relational dimensions that underpin East Timorese society. The
significance of different types of relationships have been debated within
academia but they are often misunderstood or misinterpreted by those external
actors or powers who seek to weaken the social cohesion and solidarity of
‘traditional’ societies and indigenous peoples. The colonial strategy of
‘divide et impera’ (divide and conquer) is well documented across the globe.
Totem
Poles and Relational Dimensions in Timor-Leste
In Timor-Leste, relational dimensions are symbolically
represented in totem poles found across the island and common to all ethno-language
groups. For example, in Tetun Terik the totem pole is called Sarin, in Mambae it is Ai-Tidin la
Gernora, in Makasae Ate Sika Porkili,
and Kaibira in Naueti. A totem pole
is a pole upon which totems are hung or on which the image of totems are
carved. A totem is a natural object or animal which is believed to have spiritual
meaning by a particular society and used by them as their emblem to represent
them. Timorese totem poles are made out of wood or stones, some are beautifully
carved and some are not. These totem poles either have three branches, five
branches or seven branches. The branches of the poles represent a relational
dimension. For example, the number of clans or the stages of afterlife
journeys.
The Ai-Tidin
la Gernora, (ai-rin tara bandu in
Tetun), the pole ‘to hang the law’ of the Mambae people has three branches. Two
branches pointing one to left and another to the right, and the third branch
pointing upward towards the sky. The branches of this pole represent specific relational
dimensions. The pole is planted into the earth, representing the relationship
between people and nature or the environment. The earth, soil or land is
believed to give life, has feminine characteristics that associate it with
motherhood. This is the reason why Timorese refer to the land of Timor as rain-inan (motherland). Land or nature
is perceived as a mother because land, earth or soil nourishes people like a
mother nurturing her baby [Trindade 2012].
The branch pointed towards the sky represents the
relationship between people and the divine entities. As a dualistic society,
Timorese divinities have dual elements of the feminine-fertility goddess of
creation called maromak and the
masculine-god of strength, security and protection called the loro [Trindade 2012]. This branch also
represents the underworld, the world of the dead or the spirits of the ancestors.
The two branches to the left and right represent the
relationship between people and people. Timorese relationships are complex and
multilayered but it can be simply categorized into the dualistic realm of the masculine
and feminine. The branches of the totem pole to the left and right symbolize these
masculine and feminine aspects. For example, when a woman from one clan marries
out, the wife-giving clan is called ‘wife-givers’ (umane; Tetun). The clan into which the woman
is married is called the ‘wife-takers’ (fetosan;
Tetun). In other words, every individual or clan in Timorese society is
simultaneously wife-giver in relation to clans into which women of the clan
have married out and wife-taker in relation to clans from which women have
married into their own clan.
It should be noted here that in relation to these
dualistic dimensions, the masculine world is politically superior and ritually
inferior to the feminine world. Consequently, the feminine world is ritually
superior and politically inferior to the political world. These complex
asymmetrical relationships and alliances bond society together to resist
internal and external pressures in the time of war, conflict, life or death rites
and other misfortunes. For example, between people, nature and divine entity,
people are considered to carry masculine values while the divine entities and
nature are considered to carry feminine values. In people to people
relationships, it is more delicate to determine who carries feminine values or
masculine values
Generally, the relational dimensions of East Timorese society can be summarized in the following diagram (from the ego of an individual or a clan).
Diagram 1: Timor Leste relational dimensions
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From diagram 1, we can see that each individual or
clan is vertically connected to the nature or land below and the divine
entities above, and horizontally to other people. To ensure peace and
tranquility in the society, each individual must work to ensure balance between
the nature/earth and the sky and between Wife-Givers (Umane) and Wife-Takers (Fetosan).
Keeping the balance between masculine and feminine values continuously is not
only important but essential for the survival of the entire community. Timorese
resilience depends on this concept.
Unlike the three branched totem of the Mambae people, the Tokodede of Liquica have a five branched totem pole. The five branches of the pole represent the five clans that historically made up the local community in the area. The totem poles of the Naueti of Viqueque and Baikeno of Oecusse are comprised of seven branches. Representing seven clans or seven stages of the journeys afterlife.
Timorese totem poles commonly stand near the sacred
house (uma lulik) or in sacred places
where rituals or blood oaths take place. The poles are normally used to hang
offerings to spirits of the ancestors or the divine entities. Therefore, one
will see that during sau batar (corn
harvest) ritual, hemu-ran (blood
oath) or tara-bandu ceremonies, the
pole stands in a place considered sacred or important to place and hang
offerings to the ancestors and the divine entities.
People
and the Divine Entities
As described above, the dualistic nature of the
divine is characteristic of East Timorese belief systems.
Within Tetun Terik societies, Maromak is the fertility goddess responsible for peace, prosperity
and tranquility, while Loro, the
masculine god is the symbol of security, strength and protection. Maromak is superior to the Loro because it is viewed as the source
of life, the creator. One should not confuse the feminine indigenous
understanding of Maromak with the
christianised masculine version of ‘Aman Maromak (god the father).
Etymologically the term Maromak is derived
from the Tetun Terik of mak naroman
(the enlighten one) which became mak
roman and finally maromak. For
the Tetun Terik speaking people, maromak
refers to the mother of the maromak oan
(the child of maromak) who resides in
the underworld. The marmak oan is the
highest ruler of Wehali, the ritual center of Timor Island, East and West
(Therik 2004).
The concept of dualistic divine entities of feminine maromak (Hicks 1984) and masculine loro is found in some form or other in all language groups in Timor-Leste. For example, the Naueti people refer to their divine entities as wu’lara, derived from wula (moon, the feminine) and ‘lara (the sun, the masculine). The same concept also exists among Makasae speakers where they refer to their divine entities as uru-watu (uru = moon, and watu = sun). Similarly, the Fataluku people of Lautem refer to their creator as uru-watsu (uru=moon, watsu=sun).
Second to the divine entities are the spirits of the
ancestor. They are also important within Timorese belief systems and must be
treated with respect. If neglected, ancestral spirits can bring misfortune to
the living.
During Portuguese and Indonesian colonial periods,
the colonial authorities considered Timorese customary beliefs as inferior to
monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Islam. The ‘natives’ were viewed
as godless or ‘uncivilized’ savages. During 450 years of Portuguese occupation,
however, only managed to convert 30% of the Timorese population to Catholicism and
it was the 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation managed to convert more
than 95%. In another words, 24 years Indonesian occupation converted more
Timorese to Catholicism than the Portuguese did in 450 years (Garrison 2005, 5).
People
and Nature Relationship
Nature in this context refers to the environment and
natural resources such as water, trees, forests, land, rivers, lagoons,
mountain/hills that are important for the survival of the community.
The majority of the population of Timor Leste are
near subsistence farmers and foragers. For many agricultural societies, infertility
is feared and the concept of a fertility goddess (or other divine entity such
as maromak) is a central part of
everyday social and ritual life.
Nature itself is considered to be a living entity
and various natural resources are guarded by a spirit, such as bee-nain (water spirit), rai-nain (land spirit), ai-nain (tree-guardian), etc. Timorese
believe that looking after the environment is important for the reproduction of
society and future generations. Nature and its resources are not ‘owned’ but
borrowed from the forefathers to be passed down to the unborn in the future. If
you take care of nature, it will take good care of you in return. People are
able to develop relations with nature through the mediation of nature ‘spirits’
or guardians.
The relationship with nature is mediated through
different rituals and ceremonies. For example, before planting seeds in a field,
people carry out a small ceremony. They give an offering to the spirit of the
land and to the fertility goddess in exchange for a good harvest. The sau batar (making the corn sweet) ceremony
is conducted right before corn harvest to show gratitude to the spirits of the
land, the spirits of the ancestors and to the fertility goddess for the
blessings received during the farming season.
During the building of an
Uma Lulik
(sacred house) it is also important to show gratitude to the land and the
trees/wood and other materials locally gathered for the building. The building
of Uma Luliks involves cutting down trees
and harvesting other materials. Before the materials are collected rituals are
conducted to show respect to the land and the plants and to apologize to other
forms of life that will be disrupted during this process. It is thought that a
failure to follow this process will cause infertility to the clan or entire
community in the form of disease and other misfortune.
People
and People Relationship
People to people relationships are the most delicate
relationships within customary Timorese society. This relationship is not only
important but also multilayered and it provides security to individuals or
families within it. It also dictates social interactions between individuals
and clans. The relationship can be categorized into masculine and feminine aspects
in which it defines the position of superiority and inferiority over one
another within the clans.
Diagram
2: People to people relationships within Timor-Leste customary society
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The essence of Timorese relationships can be
simplified in three main categories of brother-sister relationship,
brother-brother relationship and sister-sister relationship (see diagram 2
above). This categorization can be applied to all ethno-linguistic groups in
Timor-Leste and can be found in both patrilineal and matrilineal
societies.
The Fetosa – Umane
(Brother – Sister) Relationship – is based on marriage and it can unite two
families or clans. The Fetosan is the
family or clan of the sister who married out or the Wife-Taker and the Umane is the family or clan of the
brother who stays in the house of origin or the Wife-Giver. This relationship
is crucial in patrilineal society; once this relationship is established, the
two clans will constantly exchange goods to cement it and it will last for many
generations. Umane is ritually
superior and politically inferior to Fetosan.
During colonial periods, the relationship between Wife-Givers
and Wife-Takers and the practice of gift exchange during marriage or barlaki has been misinterpreted and
misunderstood. In the colonial context, this can been seen as attempt to weaken
Timorese unity, their relationships and affinities because strong unity among
the colonized disadvantaged colonial interests. Therefore, colonizers
interpreted Timorese barlaki practice
as an act of selling and buying women in economic sense (Niner, 2012; Hicks
2012). This misinterpretation of Timorese marriage practice and barlaki is best summarized by Niner
(2012, 138) as follows:
“As
early as the 1960s they [barlaki] have
been blamed for the subjugation of women and more recently cited as central a
cause of high levels of domestic violence. This condemnation fits into broad
global feminist critiques of traditional marriage practices as mechanisms for
the control and exploitation of women by men”.
Unlike the colonial authorities and some contemporary
gender activists who view fetosan-umane
relationship and marriage gift exchange as an act of exploitation and
subjugation of women and the cause of domestic violence (UNFPA, 2005), for Hohe
and Ospina (2001, 26):
“The Wife Giver
is often associated with the value of fertility. It is not perceived that the
woman, as an individual person, is passed on to another family, but that the
value of fertility is supplied to one’s Wife Taker. In the Wife Taker family,
the new woman produces new life again in her children and this new life is then
passed on to one’s own Wife Taker. Thus, we speak of a ‘flow of life’ that
flows from the Wife Givers to their various Wife Takers. As ‘life’ and
therefore reproduction is one of the most important values to society, the
maintenance of the system is incredibly important. In daily life the
relationships of Wife Givers and Wife Takers are always remembered. Often in
conversations, people do not call an absent person by name, but they use the
term for Wife Giver (uma mane) or Wife Taker (feto san) according to their
relationship towards the person. These relationships order a big part of the
social cosmos, with the Wife Giver always seen as superior. The advantage of
this system is that it can combine a large number of families and hence,
contribute to the establishment of peaceful relationships in a wide territory”
The
Maun – Alin (Brother to Brother) relationship
– Maun is the older brother and alin is the younger one. This
relationship is strong among patrilineal society, and it forms the basis for
the clan. Maun-alin refers not only
to the blood brothers, but it is also used to describe all male line in the clan.
Blood brothers may be refered to as maun-alin
rasik (direct brother), while cousins may refered to as just maun-alin. In Tetun Terik society, a brother
alliance which is created through a blood oath (hemu ran) is referred to as alin-maun.
The
Bin – Alin (Sister to Sister)
relationship – Sister to Sister relationships areparticularly important within
matrilineal societiesand make up about 12% of Timor-Leste population. The three
matrilineal ethno -linguistic groups of Timor Leste are the Bunak, Tetun Terik
Fehan and Galolen (Niner 2012, 144). Matrilineal groups do not have the same
complex marriage exchanges found among patrineal groups. The goods exchanged
between out-marrying and in-marrying son clans are called aituka-bemanas
and are more symbolic than material in nature.
Conclusion
The
relational dimensions that characterise interactions between people and divine
entities, people and nature and people to people relations are critical to
Timorese society past and present.
These
relationships also facilitated Timorese resistance networks to fight against
foreign occupations. In contemporary settings, these relational dimensions are still
alive and valid among the Timorese people. Across the country communities are
involved in conducting rituals and ceremonies such as rebuilding scared houses
(uma lulik) and death and life rites (lia mate-lia moris) with the objective
of reconnecting with the divine entities, the land (nature) and with each other.
This is particularly important in the context of independence as conflict and
violence during subsequent colonial periods undermined certain relational
dimensions.
This
local understanding should be included in school curriculum so that local
concepts and knowledge can be passed down to the younger generation in
Timor-Leste. It is also essential for the academics and the Government of
Timor-Leste to research this issue further.
Given
the importance of these relationships, policy makers should take into account
and consider the local context in building a better Timor-Leste because it is
important for the Timorese to continue to value their culture as their heritage
and identity.
References:
Bourdieu, Pierre 1986. "The forms of
capital." Cultural theory: An anthology, 2011. 81-93.
Garrison, Randall, “Who should harvest the fruits of victory?
Constitution Building in Timor-Leste.” Paper prepared for IDEA’s Democracy and
Conflict Management Programme Stockholm, Sweden, 2005
Hicks,
David 1984, ‘A maternal religion, the role of women’ in tetum myth and ritual, Special Report no. 22, Monograph series on
Southeast Asia, DeKalb Center fo Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illionis
University.
_____
2012, ‘Barlake: Compatibility, resilience and adaptation: The Barlake of
Timor-Leste’ [online]. Local-Global:
Identity, Security, Community, Vol. 11, 2012: 124-137
Niner,
Sara 2012, ‘Between Earth and Heaven: The politics of gender’, The Politics of Timor-Leste: Democratic
Consolidation after Intervention, Editors M. Leach and D. Kingsbury,
Ithaca, NY: Cornell Southeast Asia Program, pp. 239—258
Therik, Tom 2004, Wehali: The Female Land – Tradition of a Timorese Ritual Center, Pandanus Books, Canberra.
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Values’, in Peskiza foun kona ba / Novas
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", Edited by Michael Leach, Nuno Canas Mendes, Antero B. da Silva, Bob
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(Digital version at: http://tlstudies.org/pdfs/TLSA%20Conf%202011/chp_58.pdf)
