#BeautifulSunday and #SublimeSunday :) - The Sacred houses of East Timor

Hi, my friends,

This is my entry for the #BeautifulSunday challenge, initiated by @ace108. Thanks, my friend!

And I'm also posting today inspired by #SublimeSunday, a tag from @c0ff33a! Thanks!

Today I'm bringing you to a special concept and tradition of the country where I'm currently living, East Timor. The sacred houses, or, in the local language, "Uma (house) Lulik (sacred)". They are everywhere once you leave Díli, the capital, and the more you travel to the interior and unexplored places of the country, the more you find them.

Uma Luliks are sacred animist totem houses in East Timor, made out of natural materials like timber, bamboo, wooden planks, twine and rope made out of the native palm called arenga pinnata.

Sacred houses can be of different styles and dimensions, by they all serve the same objective: they are build by and to each family, belong to them and are proudly conserved from generation to generation. They use them to put and cherish the relics of the family, like the antique artifacts, sacred objects, and festive ornaments.

So, they are not only a construction, as the concept of Uma Lulik also includes rituals, ceremonies, and beliefs – these were the houses where the living could communicate with their ancestors, their dead loved ones.

The word itself, Lulik, refers to the spiritual cosmos, a root of life and sacred rules that dictate relationships between people and nature. These houses are built by traditional architects, who have the knowledge of rituals to be performed during the construction process.

They know the intricate details of the building materials – which materials have to be used for the house's roof, what type of wood they have to use for making posts and planks, which fibers to use to tie the parts together. All the materials have to be natural in order to tie the house with the uncertain forces of nature.

The keepers of the sacred houses are always the patriarchs of the family, the eldest, called Uma Nain (the owners of the house), who are respected and venerated by possessing the secrets and the power to dictate rules and settle disputes, or even to let into the houses the other members of the family.

I've heard some of these houses hold treasures as old flags from the Portuguese Monarchy era, on the 18th and 19th centuries. And swords, crowns, scepters and other royalty symbols and objects of the Liurais (the kings of the ancient kingdoms of Timor).

Today they are beautiful houses that make any visitor's jaws drop. Just check out for yourself!

I hope you enjoyed this visit with me :)!

My original text and photos.
source

Thanks, @ace108 and @c0ff33a :)
Have a great Sunday, my friends!

Hippiesoul @nolasco
Isabel
www.isabelnolasco.com

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