Halo Uma Tali - Building a Palm Tree House of Tetun-Fehan in Suai, East Timor

Cooperation is the key to the success of the Fehan-Tetun people in building houses for their families. Men and women work side by side to help build their houses.

Building a new house is called Halo Uma. The Fehan-Tetun people construct traditional houses with simple timber, bamboo, and palm leaves for the roof. This house is called Uma Tali, with a thatched palm leaf roof. It is a simple house that does not require special skills to build; anyone can build it, but if you want to build a bigger house, you will need assistance from the community. Through cooperation, the entire community builds houses for their families or clans. Working together as a community is crucial for its survival. They have long supported one another, working together to build their traditional homes.

You must go through three steps to build Uma Tali, the traditional house. Hari Uma, Hisa Uma, and Ha Uma Wen are the three steps. Hari Uma is the first step when you dig the soil for the poles and install the house's roof. It is an enormous task, so you need a lot of men to do it. Once you have assembled all the poles and laid the roof, doing the second step will take several months.

The second step, Hisa Uma, is to attach the palm leaves to the roof; this is another excellent work that requires support from members of the community. The community has helped the owner do Hari Uma and Hisa Uma; now Uma Nain (the house owner) and his family members must take care of the rest.

When the new house is finished and ready, before people move in, they will do a ceremony called Ha Uma Wen, the ceremony of the new house. Traditionally, the new house requires a blessing.

Unlike the European brick house, which costs much money, the traditional palm house does not cost a fortune. You do not need to buy expensive materials like cement, brick, roof, and floor tiles and pay a builder. If you want to build a new house, you must arrange all the materials you can get from the bush, for instance, the pole, wood and palm leaves for the roof, bamboo for the wall, and other materials. When they are ready, you send invitations to each household in your community to come and build the house; you do not need to hire a builder. However, the owner of the new house is responsible for providing food and beverages to feed the people who helped construct the house.

The traditional palm house has few rooms, unlike the European-style brick house. It has only two main divisions: uma laran (the back room) and labis laran (an open front room). The front room is an open space, and that is where the boys sleep. They cover the back room with palm tree wood and have three doors: one in front and the other on both sides. At the rear of the house, there is an open space on the site that is used as odo matak rae (laundry dishes), where you keep water and wash cutlery. There is also a small area on the opposite side known as Lusaen, which is reserved explicitly for Mane Fou (the son-in-law). The back room is dedicated to mothers and girls because it is safe and secure. There is also space for cooking and maternity. A woman must sit by the fire for two weeks when she has a baby.

The traditional palm house is perfect for the tropical climate. Although you always feel warm during dry seasons, it's better than a brick house; you can breathe fresh air. You can feel the breeze from below on both sides of the house. At night, men and boys enjoy an incredible night's sleep in labis laran, an open front room. This room does not have a secure door, so it is unsafe; however, people still sleep here because they feel safe as they live in a close-knit community bound by their Uma Lulik; everyone knows each other.