Museums in the Context of the Uma Lulik
4.3. Museums in the Context of the Uma Lulik
As humans our Ancestors also liked to gather things of historical value, arts and knowledge. Just like the Neanderthals who gathered special items together our ancestors also stored things like this in caves, some painted plants and animals and other things like the sun, stars and moon in caves such as those at Likere-kere in the sub-district of Tutuala in Lautem.
In the end they built houses with beautiful forms and architecture to gather these special items together that we now know as uma lulik.
In 1991 I undertook a course in basic Museology in Jakarta. My lecturer Dr Bhasrul Akram said: “The oldest museum in South Asia is the Batavia Asch Genootschap Van Kunsten en Weteschappen which is now known as the National Museum of Indonesia”. I stood immediately and responded: “If museums are just places to store cultural items, then in “Timor Timur” we already had them before colonialism came to dominate us, because the people of Timor have always had uma lulik and houses hose function is to preserve the cultural items of Timor considered to be sacred and of historical value”. Some of my colleagues from Province 27 laughed at me, but the lecturer said: “if that is so then in the final exam try to write an article about these uma lulik”. I did indeed write that article at the end of the year and because of this I was invited to attend a course in Special Museology. In this last course I did not see the faces of those colleagues who laughed at me.
Uma lulik contributes greatly to the preservation of the cultural objects of Timor- Leste that are considered to be not sacred and sacred. These objects stones of various shapes and colors (precious stones), animal bones, belak, kaebauk, morteen – coral bead necklaces, keke – talisman bracelets, loku - armlets, mutisala – slave collars made from red beads, usually coral, fugadór, butiliman – bracelets, manu- lain – feather head-dress, dasa-rai – brooms, tambór – drums, rota, trasada – drawings, surik, carta patente, farad liurai clothing of the liurai, xapeu – hats, devisa – emblems, usually of military rank, estatua - statues and so forth.
Uma lulik gives spiritual power to the liurai to govern the people and only the uma lulik can give spiritual power to the dato (noblemen, chieftains) to become lulik-na’in or lia-na’in.
The relationship of epic poems to uma lulik
Photo: Haburas Foundation
Uma Lulik Rai Timur Uma rin besi, Kakuluk osan mean didin osan mutin, Uma laran kakaluk lulik Rai Na’in Tau Lulik Hafutar Aman Maromak Katak: Uma Lulik iha rai Timor ne nia espirito bot tebes Nia kakuluk ho nia didin nia valor sasukat laek Buat hotu iha uma laran ne lulik hanesan ho Rai Na’in Maibe buat sira ne hotu nia objectivo mak adora ba Aman Maromak
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The uma lulik of Timor have post of steel Roofs of gold and walls of silver Inside are the sacred things of the sacred earth spirits Placing the sacred to decorate God Meaning that: The uma lulik of Timor have a great spirit Its roofs and wall are of intangible value Everything inside is sacred like the earth spirits But the objective of all these things is to worship God