East Timorese Songs From the Ancestors: Have a Care They may be Lulik

Abstract

The most widespread form of music making in East Timor is singing. Songs are sung by the East Timorese for many of the occasions of daily life and often utilized in many of the rituals associated with life and death and as a means of communicating with ancestors. Ancestral worship is the foundation of the indigenous belief system of the East Timorese and integral to it is lulik. Lulik translated into Tetun (the lingua franca of East Timor) simply means, ‘sacred’ or ‘forbidden’. Lulik is a complex concept, with many layers, and the governance of lulik’s sacred rules and regulations shapes most relationships in East Timorese society. This article examines the role of traditional songs in East Timor, and factors which may affect their survival. In particular the consequences of singing them if they are believed to have lulik connotations. Can trajectories be negotiated through the lulik domain by those who wish to continue singing these songs in culturally appropriate ways? The songs selected are those with lulik implications and were recorded by the author in numerous fields trips undertaken over a fourteen-year period from 2003 to 2016.