Fataluku Living Landscapes

Bibliographic Data

ID23656343
AuthorsA Mcwilliam (0000-0001-5245-0685, corresponding author)
Year2011
Publication date2011-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueLand and life in Timor-Leste (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherANU Press (PUBLISHER • AU)
DOI10.22459/lltl.12.2011.04
OpenAlexW2198124997
ISBN9781921862595
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited16

In his magico-realist depictions of life and times in East Timor during the 1960s, \nLuís Cardoso writes about sharks as transmuted forms of ancestors: ‘No one \nfrom the island was ever lost. Sometimes they lived in the sea, sometimes on the \nland. These cycles demanded their due if they were to continue’ (2000:21). In \na variety of evocative encounters, Cardoso draws attention to certain Timorese \ncultural notions of attachment and agency in relation to land and its living \nforms that are constituted in terms of spiritual and moral authority. Reminiscing \nabout his own father’s connection to revered freedom fighter Xanana Gusmão, \nfor example, Cardoso writes: \nMy father never mentioned his name. He was afraid that saying it might \nbreak the charm. This was what he had always done. When he traversed \nrivers, he did not call out the name of the creature that lived there, the \ncrocodile. When he crossed the sea, he never invoked the name of the \nmaster of the coral-rich waters, the shark. He thought he was still in the \nmiddle of a long crossing, that men needed a rai-nain or lord of the earth \nto watch over their paths. (2000:148; my emphasis) \nAcross Timor, engagement with the emplaced ‘spirit’ realm is an enduring \ncultural value. It forms an important component of customary landownership \nand connections to land among the dispersed rural populations who rely on the \nblessings and providence of the natural environment to secure their livelihoods. \nCardoso’s reference to the rai nain—the ‘lord of the earth’—speaks to this \ncultural orientation and provides a starting point for understanding the nature \nof Timorese customary land relationships.

Geography · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

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