The Traditional Belief Systems

Like the ancients of Egypt and Greece, the Fehan Tetun also believed in the supernatural through their belief systems. They believe that a divine authority called Maromak rules the universe. They, therefore, adore this unknown power through natural objects such as rocks, tall trees and rivers. These objects are known as Lulik (Sacred). They also established Uma Lulik (Holy House) as a place to worship the spirits of their ancestors and the supernatural.

After people invented agriculture and civilisation, they started to wonder about the nature of the universe. They wonder if some powerful spirit might exist that created and controlled how the universe behaves. From Ancient Egypt to Greece, Rome and other ancient civilisations such as Maya, Aztecs, Incas, and many others believed that the earth was created by a supernatural. Most of them referred to that divine power as God. They built pyramids and tramples to worship their deities; some even sacrificed human beings to the supernatural. However, they all collapsed because of wars and natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and drought. Thus, one begins to wonder if this supernatural exists.

The East Timorese and Fehan Tetun use the word Maromak (God) to describe the supernatural. That term existed and was used by the people of East Timor long before the Europeans arrived on the island of Timor. For instance, the king of Wehali - Liurai Wehali, considered himself Maromak Oan (son of God). Then, when the Europeans converted some people into Christians, they also used the word Maromak to describe their goddesses. Thus, the Tetun people invented the Maromak, and the people of Timor have been using it to this day. They use it to depict their divinities.

The people of Fehan Tetun people are spiritual. They believed in ghosts and spirits that exist in the invisible or spiritual world, which is untouchable and unseen. They worship big rocks, trees, rivers, and other objects to connect the material world or physical world to this unknown world. They refer to these sacred objects as Lulik, which has existed for thousands of years, and some still believe until the present day.

In the 1960s, greedy missionaries destroyed some of the Lulik because they regarded it as uncivilised or primitive. However, they were ignorant that Lulik is the same as other forms of belief. All faiths, whether traditional ones like Lulik or modern ones like Christianity and Islam, have the notion that a supernatural power created the universe and all organisms. The only difference between them is how to get to that invisible world.

Ancient civilisations created pyramids and temples; modern civilisations built churches, mosques, and synagogues for worshipping their goddesses. The people of Fehan Tetun did not create modern buildings but a simple traditional house called Uma Lulik, which they used for worshipping the supernatural spirit and their ancestors. The Uma Lulik is not 2023 years old, but far beyond that. It has been in existence for some time, probably 5,000 years.

No matter what faith you belong to, whether you are spiritual or not is a matter of personal choice. The world we live in is vast and mysterious.