Page 340 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

respect nature. Ormeling (1957) reviewed how people there pay a lot of attention to the
preservation of Timor Island. Ormeling concentrated on the extinct ampupu trees that
adorn Mutis Mountain Range in the area of Mollo between North Central Timor and South
Central Timor Districts. Metzner (1977) reflected on the integrated relation between
ecology and the life of Timor people on the eastern side of Timor Island. The two touched
on the internal relations between Timor people and nature in the macro sense.
Nature is a kind of window for humans to go across to the supernatural world. The
way humans see nature is not limited to the engineered understanding process, which
has been given from generations to generations since the beginning of time, but it is
enriched by knowledge that happens because of new situations and life over some length
of time. That is why humans do not depend only on their intellectuality but also other
observatory dimensions, which are personal (reflection, meditation, and contemplation),
social (relations, social and networking psychology), and ecological (networking among
humans, the natural, and the supernatural). There is always dependence between humans
and nature, and also, a symbiotic networking between humans’ rules and order that comes
from nature.
Timorese people see everything that happens in the nature as a natural reflection of
the richness of nature in human life. That is why a dignified life should not go against what
happens in history and nature. Timorese people know a special relationship with ecology
in the signs that connect directly to their life. To them, the humble and small thing does
not merely refer to common happenings one does not count, but on the other hand, they
have deep meanings that dominate humans’ mindset and behavior.

Water, Rock, and Wood
There are three natural materials that always become the base and foundation of the
Timorese people’s life, water (oe), rock (fatu), and wood (hau). First is water. Water is
natural richness that occupies a central position in human life (Neonbasu, 2011). The main
role of water in life and the development of nature is not just in the aspects and functions
that are visible, but more than that if seen from the perspective of ritual enactment. The
characteristic of water is giving life and in the level of ritual process, it is seen as a significant
element in the three time dimensions: past, present, and future. In this case, water also
has the meaning of purifying. Water is the sole agent that cleanses and at the same time
frees humans from their life problems. Water erases everything chaotic and brings humans
to the right path by getting rid of any obstacles in life, including how to overcome any

340 Chapter 9

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