Uma Lulik

The uma lulik is the sacred clan house of Timor-Leste. In Tetum, the national language, uma means house and lulik means sacred. Each house belongs to a lineage, holds the clan's heirlooms and acts as the spiritual and social centre of the community. Its most visible feature is a tall, steep thatched roof over a raised timber platform.

Construction

Recent descriptions record the following traditional features:

• Frame: local hardwood posts and beams, bamboo and timber planks.
• Joints: members tied with rope made from native palms rather than fixed with metal nails.
• Roof: high-pitched and covered in natural thatch or coconut palm leaves.
• Platform: the house is raised, and the shaded space underneath serves as a public meeting place.

In Lautem municipality, at the eastern end of the island, the Fuiloro community builds square houses up to about 9 m (30 ft) high, where the roof makes up most of the building's height. Forms differ between Timor's many ethno-linguistic groups.

Role

The house stores sasan lulik, sacred heirlooms guarded by senior elders. Ceremonies such as nahe biti ("spreading the mat"), in which elders settle disputes, are associated with the clan house.

Destruction and rebuilding

Many uma lulik were destroyed during the Indonesian occupation (1975-1999). Since independence there has been a sustained revival of custom that includes the phased reconstruction of origin houses. Research among the Fataluku people describes a delayed revival of their equivalent houses, with builders combining traditional forms and new methods as economic conditions improve. Rebuilt houses show recent innovations within traditional construction.

Context

Nationally, traditional palm-leaf, thatch or grass roofs covered 18.9% of houses in the 2015 census, and about a quarter of rural houses. The uma lulik is therefore one of the main places where thatching skills remain in active use in Timor-Leste.