The Origin of Fehan Tetun People in Suai

Based on ethnicity and cultural diversity across the island of Timor, there can be no doubt that the ancestors of the Timorese people must have migrated from different Southeast Asian regions, and the Fehan Tetun people in Suai are no exception. Although there is not enough archaeological evidence to suggest the origin of Timorese ancestors, most anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians firmly believe you can trace Timorese ancestors in Southeast Asia. With in-depth research and studies, you can discover the origin of the Timorese people.

Two ethnicities live in Suai Covalima; the Bunak and Tetun people. In Suai, there are two Tetun tribes: the Foho Tetun, who live in the mountains, and the Fehan Tetun, who live in the coastal plains. The first consists of Fatumea, Fohoren and Tilomar, while the second consists of Kamanasa, Suai Loro, Matai, Busakukun, Nuarae and Raimea. Foho and Fehan people speak the same Tetun language with slightly different slang. Although the Fehan and Foho Tetun are the same Tetun ethnicities, they have cultural differences, particularly concerning the marriage system. The people of Fehan Tetun are matriarchal, and those of Foho Tetun are patriarchal.

The word Fehan means flatland, and Tetun means Tetun Terik's language. So Fehan Tetun means those who speak Tetun Terik and live in the flatland. Most of these people reside in Suai's rich coastal plains. They live in six different villages, as mentioned above. They have lived and thrived in this lush land for thousands of years since their ancestors migrated from somewhere in Southeast Asia. They share the same cultural characteristics: family structure, marital system, socio-political organisation, and subsistence strategy.

Fehan Tetun's ancestors never left any written records because they were illiterate; they did not know how to write or read. They recorded their cultures, histories, and traditions through oral history. They passed down all cultural information from generation to generation through oral tradition. They use myths and legends to explain their origins, customs and traditions, to understand mother nature.

After the arrival of the Europeans on Timor Island in the 16th century, some anthropologists and archaeologists began documenting the history of Timor Island and East Timor in particular. Based on the variety of languages spoken in East Timor, they merely speculated about the potential migration of Timorese people from Southeast Asia.

Because Tetun belongs to Austronesian languages, the Tetun people's ancestors were part of a series of migrations of Austronesian of Malaya-Polynesian descent from mainland Asia to Southeast Asia. They sailed from mainland Asia via the island of Taiwan 5,500 years ago. They arrived via two distinct routes: the first was through Butan (Celebes), and the second was through Ambon in the Moluccas. Some of these migrants even travelled as far as Madagascar. They used boats or rafts to cross the sea (Durand, 2016). It does not clearly show where the Tetun people migrated from; it just shows us the overall migration of Austronesians.

The second suggestion of probability is the migration of Malacca or the Malay Peninsula. Most historians believe that the Tetun people may have migrated from Malacca on the Malay Peninsula many years ago. These earliest seafarers sailed from Malacca via Larantuka, Flores and arrived on West Timor's southern coast. It is uncertain when they arrived and what kind of boats they travelled on. They came in multiple waves and arrived at different times. After they arrived on the southern coast, they made their way into South Belu and established their homes and kingdoms. They referred to themselves as "Sina Mutin Malaka" (White Chinese from Malacca) and named their new location Malaka after their place of origin. Some migrants travelled east of Timor Island and settled in Suai, and perhaps other tribes expanded to Timor-Leste. There are several reasons why the ancestors of these people left their homeland; they may have done so because of tribal wars, diseases, earthquakes, volcanoes, or even by accident after being caught in monsoon winds and swept towards West Timor's south shore (Benny Ulu Meak, 2023, online source).

This migration must have happened before Islam arrived in Malacca; otherwise, the Fehan Tetun people would have become Muslims like the Minangkabau people. Our ancestors were animists and had no religious affiliation. Even though some of the Fehan Tetun people have practised Christianity, they still uphold their traditional beliefs.

It is likely true that the ancestors of the Fehan Tetun people in Suai and Betun, West Timor, could have migrated from Malacca, the Malay Peninsula, especially in Sumatra, the Minangkabau. The cultural parallels between the Fehan Tetun people of Suai, Betun, and Minangkabau support this presumption. These people have one thing in common: the matrilineal marriage system or the kinship group based on the mother's lineage. Most historians and traditional leaders of the kingdom of Wehali believe that the Tetun people originated in Malacca. Therefore, I also believe that we, the Fehan Tetun in Suai, are descended from Malacca on the Malay Peninsula. We take great pride in our Malaccan ancestry and heritage.