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uncover oral traditions. Long periods of time often lead to interesting and meaningful
encounters, because that is where the concepts of local wisdom are structured within the
framework of the ecology. For example spiritual poems used by traditional communities
at certain moments, commonly expressed in strains of prayers full of calm in traditional
houses, in the shade of a banyan tree, or the curve of rock and in other strategic places
(Fox, 1999, Kruyt, 1923, Middelkoop, 1960, 1963, Schulte-Nordholt, 1971, 1980, Van Baal,
1987, Zondervan, 1888) (Lechovic, 1966, 1971, Manehat and Neonbasu, 1990, Neonbasu,
2002, 2005).

Oral Tradition and Timorese Society
The following is a reflection on one of the Melanesian regions that is a traditional
community of Timor to study its oral traditions which contains a variety of written sources
on the island of Timor (both the western and eastern parts) plus Rote and Sabu (Sherlock,
1980). Many of these sources contain information on the researchers who have collected
data and written about the island of Timor. From the beginning of the 16th century until
the mid-20 century, the process of the first data or materials collection to study and
th
reflect on the area of the island of Timor in a spectacular way took place. The materials
contain, in addition to geological-physical nature, anthropologically historical exposure
and analytical-methodical studies.
Schulte-Nordholt (1980) has provided input on oral traditions. However, certain senses
should actually be looked into more closely to clarify some of the data in the paper (Usfinit,
2003). Sources which form the basis of Nordholt’s paper, in addition to written documents,
also include aspects of heritage and tradition of traditional societies, which is used as a
specific approach to find Timorese local wisdom. Ethic fathers have dominated the study
and reflection of Schulte Nordholt.
There are two phenomena in the image of a traditional society that is the disclosure
of paradigms of life and study of the dynamics of togetherness. Traditional societies show
a simple strategy of ordinary life as it is without involving complicated technological
resources. Their lives are not a patchwork, and they always rely on the solidarity not
involving technology. Oral tradition formulates all this in a beautiful and captivating
packaging, depicting the root of life of local communities. It seems that at the peak of oral
traditions, various meanings and values upheld in society can be inherited. The pattern of
inheritance is certainly in tune with the strategies to pass on the values as the dynamics of
‘ladder of life’ in the context of a particular community. Laws and rules and regulations of

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