Wooden model Uma Lulik

Maker Nelson Lay

Datec 2005

Object number00046799

NameModel

MediumWood, plant fibre, cloth, plastic, paper

DimensionsOverall: 696 x 229 x 230 mm, 1644.35 g

ClassificationsModels

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Nelson Lay

Terms

DescriptionModel of an Uma Lulik (sacred house) created byTimor-Leste (East Timor) migrant Nelson Lay from scrap wood and broom bristles. HistoryUma Lulik are traditional sacred houses or 'potent houses' built by the Fataluku people of Timor-Leste. These structures appear in villages across Timor-Leste and serve as a bond between families, between the past and present, the dead and the living. Uma Lulik are built with local timber, bamboo, twine, and are a repository for sacred ancestral objects. During the years of Timor-Leste's Indonesian occupation and struggles for independence, many Uma Luliks were destroyed and Fataluku people made replica houses to continue the tradition and connect those who had fled to the Fataluku culture and family history. SignificanceMost of Timor-Leste's sacred houses were destroyed during the Indonesian occupation of the island (1975 - 1999) when thousands of Timor-Leste residents fled their country. For exiled Timorese fighting for their independence, miniature Uma Luliks became a popular and powerful symbol of cultural identity.