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All East Timor Lospalos Uma Lulik

Uma Lulik

These sacred totem houses connect the Fatakulu people with the spirits of their ancestors.

Lospalos, East Timor

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Max Cortesi
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Uma lulik in Oecusse   Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
Uma lulik in Maupitine   Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
Uma lulik in Lospalos.   Nuno_Alex_GM
Holy houses in Aldeia Macausa, Irabin de Baixo, East Timor   Isabel Nolasco/CC BY-SA 4.0
Elaborate carvings decorate the spirit houses   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The Fataluku people of Timor-Leste (East Timor) are an ethnic minority renowned for their elegant totem houses on stilts, sacred houses called uma lulik. These holy huts symbolize a link between the past and present, the dead and the living.

There are traditional uma lulik still in place throughout the indigenous villages of East Timor, as well as several replica houses built more recently to honor the tradition and to display the Fataluku people’s craftsmanship. 

These homes, which are built or renovated every 10 to 20 years, serve as a bond between families. The rebuilding process strengthens the ties between the past and the present and families that members are born into and those they choose. A uma lulik belongs to a specific family, but it also stands for all other descendant groups that have formed a bond with it through marriages. Ultimately, uma lulik embody the spirit of the family, its network, history, traditions, and, inevitably, its essence. 

The presence of the uma lulik is as a testament to the resilience of the Fataluku people. First colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, the island was later occupied by Japan and Indonesia. The indigenous people were persecuted during Indonesia's 25-year occupation. During this time, many of uma lulik were destroyed or fell into disrepair. In 2002, when the country gained its independence, a resurgence of traditional customs emerged and these sacred homes began appear again.

Uma lulik are usually built with local timber, bamboo and twine. Yet, each and every element transcends its physical properties and is charged with symbolism. This mingling of physicality and spirituality is extended to the way each element of the uma lulik is bound together with others to form something higher than itself. The structures are a connection between past and present, those here and those who have gone.

Related Tags

Houses Architecture Tradition History Culture Homes

Know Before You Go

Uma Lulik can be found in villages throughout Timor-Leste. The above coordinates are for a sacred house in the Lospalos district.

Community Contributors

Added By

Max Cortesi

Edited By

Meg, Ashawnta, Scott Mansfield

  • Meg
  • Ashawnta
  • Scott Mansfield

Published

January 3, 2018

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Sources
  • https://davidpalazon.com/uma-lulik/
  • http://manyhands.org.au/our_activities/2013_projects/research_project_preservation_of_endangered_forms_of_fataluku_cultural_expr/project_background_about_fataluku_people_and_culture/
  • https://visiteasttimor.com/
Uma Lulik
Lospalos
East Timor
-8.495548, 126.998863
Visit Website

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