Baha Liurai (festival)
Baha Liurai ( German mountain of the ruler ) is an animistic festival in the East Timorese Suco Babulo, which is mainly inhabited by Naueti ( administrative office Uato-Lari , municipality of Viqueque ). It takes place every seven to fifteen years on the " holy mountain " of the same name , or when the elders consider it necessary. Here are ina ama , father and mother of the ancestors to be buried. A sacrifice is made to the ancestors at their grave during the festival. One speaks to them, thanks the ancestors for their protection for the inhabitants in the “holy land” and asks for their further protection and freedom of movement.
It was not celebrated after 1974 because such animistic ceremonies were forbidden under the Indonesian occupation (1975-1999). According to other sources, the last festival took place just before the community flew from the invaders to Matebian in late 1976. The first Baha Liurai after the occupation took place in November 2003. Reinitialization was problematic as none of the elders who performed the final ceremony were still alive. The ritual reunification with the founding ancestors was seen as indispensable for restoring the “orderly order of things” after 24 years of war, occupation and displacement. For the first time cameras were allowed to be taken to the ceremony and western foreigners were allowed to take part. In order to please the spirits for these deviations from the rules, a pig was sacrificed to them by the village. Another festival followed in 2015. The next one is planned for 2025.
The connections between the clans, houses and the various offices are discussed in more detail in the article on Suco Babulo .
procedure
The population migrates separately to their clans on the Baha Liurai. The spiritually leading clan of the Daralari meets at its two most important holy houses (Uma Luli) , Uma Buti (white house) and Uma Ita (black house). Rice, betel nuts and holy water, the most important offerings, are brought to or taken from the Uma Buti and given to the elders of the various houses of the Daralari clan and their relatives. The Burmeta hold traditional, secular power. They begin the ascent at their holiest house in Borulaisoba . Before the ascent, the participants' foreheads are moistened with water with a betel pepper leaf. This is to take away mischief and possible curses if they have broken rules in the past. The water is distributed by the leader of the Daralari clan , who is the spiritual leader of the sucos . The Bu Dato , the spiritual leader, comes from the line of the rea bu'u ( German lord / owner of the land ) and can derive his descent from all family members most closely via his male ancestors from the ancestor. The Kabo Rai , the main representative of the Uma Kabo House, which watches over the use of land and natural resources, lines up the participants according to their rank, in which they then walk to the top of the hill. The offerings of each clan in the Suco for the ancestors are carried on the head. Only traditional materials and objects are allowed at the festival, which is why traditional tais are worn. Girls and women of childbearing age are not allowed to attend the ceremony because they are believed to become sterile. Furthermore, alcohol, chewing betel nuts, smoking, defecating, swearing and improper contact between men and women are prohibited during the festival on the hill.
The Makaer Luli , the keeper of the Holy House of Uatosoba , the most important in Suco
Preparing to climb at the bottom of the hill
The sexes are separated. Here the women wait ...
... and here the men with the water buffalo, which will later be sacrificed
On the way to the top of the hill
A pig is also brought upstairs
The hierarchy determines the place in the queue on the way up
On the hill, the Daralari , Beli and Burmeta people meet in a place called ita mata, kai hene (door and gate) . The ritual master, the Makaer Luli from Borolalo and the elders of the Daralari are responsible for “opening the door” to the summit. For this, the Makaer brings Luli with him from his holy house. His assistants from the Daralari houses of the Asu Rati Reino and Asu Rati Liurai then lead the festival community on the way to the ancestral tomb on the top of the hill. They are followed by the Bu Dato of Beli and Daralari and the Liurai of Aha B Uu and Cota Nisi . After that, other community leaders come and take the offerings. These include animals such as water buffalo and pigs, rice, betel nuts, betel pepper leaves and water from one of the sacred springs (we-mata luli) .
At the highest point of the hill, the forest has been cleared to create a space for the festival. The prepared sacrificial dishes are offered on two altars ina ama Beli Daralari (mother, father Beli Daralari ), the mythical first couple. The sacrificial altar is made only of the sacred materials found on the hill. Gold, silver or other metals are therefore not used. It represents the gate between the realm of the living and the forbidden realm of the dead. Men of the Asu Rati Reino and Asu Rati Liurai guard this gate overnight at the altar to prevent the spirits of the living from mixing with those of the dead or penetrate the realm of the dead. They hit the sides of the altars with bamboo sticks to keep the evil bu′u away. The other people present are also asked to stay awake and to commemorate the ancestors and those parishioners who cannot be present. Representatives of Daralari eighth all night that no one dozes off or breaks other rules.
On the top
Bars with light nut wax are used for nighttime lighting
Women grind rice
The dignitaries of Daralari
Boruana , the "holy water / water of life", is passed through the rows in a jug
The night watch at the offerings
At sunrise, the offerings are distributed among the clans according to the hierarchy. Care is taken that everyone receives part of the meat of the water buffalo, no matter how small. The spokesman for the elders of the Daralari clan and the Kabo Rai reminds those present of their social and moral obligations towards their ancestors and the rea mumu, rea uato (lords of the land). The announcement also sets out general norms of behavior and rules for social contact between men and women and between the various groups in Suco. In addition, there are bans on access to certain regions, forests and other natural resources and the reminder of rules for agricultural work depending on the season, such as clearing, burning, planting and harvesting.
After this address, the participants of the celebration leave the place in silence in a single queue without turning around. The conclusion is the Makaer Luli , which closes the “door” to the summit again. During the descent, one man carries the gifts for his family in a basket on his head. Only the right hand holds the basket, while the left is on the hip. This means that the ceremony was performed with a good heart, based on honesty, trust, and pure intent, and based on these values one would want to live together. Usually carrying items on your head is a woman's job. The men take on the role of women for the festival. The offerings brought home are called "Iluwai Malu bu", "the spit and the betel nut". Spit symbolizes the blessings of the ancestors and the land, the betel nut the ancestors. Each member of the sucos receives their share of the offerings, including those who live overseas.
Water buffalo horns on the Baha Liurai
Descent from the hill
Back in the village with the offerings
The festival serves several purposes: First, you visit the graves of your ancestors and talk to them. With the festival one thanks the holy land and the ancestors that they protect the village. You also ask for a good future. The ancestors should bless the land, ensure rich harvests and protect the grandchildren from sterility and misfortune. In addition, the village laws are examined and, if necessary, renewed or new ones adopted. The status of each group and the relationships to each other and to the ancestors are evoked and renewed. The laws are designed to ensure peace, calm and order in the Suco by strengthening the bonds between residents and the country. They determine how the natural resources are distributed and protected.
literature
- Susana Barnes: Customary renewal and the pursuit of power and prosperity in post-occupation East Timor: a case-study from Babulo, Uato Lari, Dissertation, Monash University, 2017.
Web links
supporting documents
To the receipts
The anthropologist Susana Barnes carried out extensive studies on the culture of the inhabitants, which are reproduced here. One of her local informants on site and who can be found in her work under the Acknowledgments was Josh Trindade, who also provided the pictures in the article. Several times the date of the first celebration after independence is incorrectly given as 2004, but Barnes' work of 2017 corrects the mistake and names the year 2003. According to Barnes, the last celebration before the Indonesian invasion took place in 1976, shortly before the population fled to Matebian from the approaching Indonesians. Trindade, born in 1976, gives the date 1974, the year before the beginning of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor, which is deeply rooted in the memory of the population with the beginning of the end of the colonial power of Portugal .
Main document
- Susana Barnes: Precedence and Social Order in the Domain of Ina Ama Beli Darlari. In: Andrew McWilliam and Elizabeth G. Traube (Eds.): Land and Life in Timor-Leste. Ethnographic essays. Canberra: Australian National University 2011, ISBN 978-1-921862-60-1 , pp. 23-46, online PDF 2.4 MB, accessed September 20, 2017.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ministériu Finansas (ed.): Sensus Fo Fila Fali. Babulo. Distritu Viqueque. Dili: Ministériu Finansas o. J. (2011), Online PDF 8.3 MB, accessed on September 20, 2017 (results of the 2010 census for the Suco Balbulo, tetum ).
- ^ Barnes, p. 41.
- ↑ a b c d e f Barnes, p. 42.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Josh Trindade's Facebook page: Baha Liurai (Sacred Hill) , March 14, 2009 , accessed on January 22, 2017.
- ↑ Susana Barnes: Customary renewal and the pursuit of power and prosperity in post-occupation East Timor: a case-study from Babulo, Uato Lari, Monash University, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Barnes, p. 43.
- ↑ Josh Trindade on Facebook: Baha Liurai (Sacred Hill) Ceremony , November 4, 2015 , accessed on November 5, 2015.
- ↑ Barnes, p. 28.
- ^ Baha Liurai (Sacred Hill) Ceremony , accessed January 22, 2017.
- ↑ Barnes, pp. 43-44.