Wehali: The Female Land
eBook - PDF

Wehali: The Female Land

Traditions of a Timorese Ritual Centre

  1. 438 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Wehali: The Female Land

Traditions of a Timorese Ritual Centre

About this book

Wehali defines itself as the ritual centre of the island of Timor. As a ritual centre, Wehali continues to be the residence of a figure of traditional authority on whom, in the 18th century, the Dutch conferred the title of Kaiser ( Keizer ) and to whom the Portuguese gave the title of Emperor ( Imperador ). At one time, Wehali was the centre of a network of tributary states, which both the Dutch and Portuguese regarded as paramount to the political organisation of the island. This book is a study of Wehali in its contemporary setting as it continues to maintain its rituals and traditions.

Significantly, Wehali is a 'Female' centre and its 'Great Lord' is considered to be a 'Female' lord. Whereas other Timorese societies are organised along male lines, in Wehali, all land, all property, all houses belong to women. Men are exchanged as husbands in marriage. Wehali is thus considered to be the 'husband-giver' to the surrounding realms on the island that look to its inner power as their source of life.

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Yes, you can access Wehali: The Female Land by Tom Therik in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Cultural & Social Anthropology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. List of Figures
  2. List of Maps
  3. List of Photographs
  4. List of Tables
  5. Preface to the 2023 Edition
  6. Foreword
  7. Summary
  8. 1. Introduction
  9. 2. The Ethnographic Setting
  10. 3. Two Perspectives on Wehali
  11. 4. Social Relations: Giving Away the Centre to the Periphery
  12. 5. Marriage and Alliance
  13. 6. Paths and Borders: Relations of Origin, Consanguinity and Affinity
  14. 7. Ancestral Path in the Wehali House
  15. 8. Life-giving Rituals
  16. 9. Conclusion
  17. Language Texts
  18. Bibliography
  19. A Note on Language
  20. Glossary
  21. Ritual Language Pairs
  22. Acknowledgements