Liurai is a ruler's title on

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, ...

. The word is

Tetun , nativename=Tetun , states= Indonesia East Timor , speakers=, mostly in Indonesia , date=2010–2011 , ref=e18 , speakers2=50,000 L2-speakers in Indonesia and East Timor , familycolor=Austronesian , fam2=Malayo-Polynesian , fam3= Central–East ...

and literally means "surpassing the earth". It is originally associated with Wehali, a ritually central kingdom situated at the south coast of Central Timor (now included in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

). The sacral lord of Wehali, the Maromak Oan ("son of God") enjoyed a ritually passive role, and he kept the Liurai as the executive ruler of the land. In the same way, the rulers of two other important princedoms,

Sonbai Sonbai (also spelt ''Sonnebay'', ''Sonba'i'', or ''Sonbait'') was an Indonesian princely dynasty that reigned over various parts of West Timor from at least the 17th century until the 1950s. It was known as the most prestigious princedom of the Ato ...

West Timor West Timor ( id, Timor Barat) is an area covering the western part of the island of Timor, except for the district of Oecussi-Ambeno (an East Timorese exclave). Administratively, West Timor is part of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The ...

and Likusaen ( Liquica) in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-w ...

, were often referred as Liurais, which indicated a symbolic tripartition of the island. In later history, especially in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the term Liurai underwent a process of inflation. By this time it denoted any ruler in the Portuguese part of Timor, great or small. In the Dutch part in

the title appears to have been restricted to the Sonbai and Wehali rulers. The rulers in the west were known by the Malay term raja, while there were internally used terms such as ''Usif'' (lord) among the Dawan-speaking groups, and ''Loro'' (sun) among the

speakers. The role of the Liurais underwent changes after the great Boaventura Rebellion which was suppressed by the Portuguese authorities in 1912. Up to then they were by and large traditional rulers in whose realms the colonial authorities seldom interfered. However, after this date the Liurai was often appointed due to his loyal stance and connections with the colonial center in

Dili Dili ( Portuguese/ Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesia). It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed i ...

. The Liurai families have kept a certain role in Timorese society until recent times, and a few scions have enjoyed nationwide political roles. The Liurais do not have any official rank any more, but still tend to command a degree of local respect.Gunn (2011) p. 120.

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

* Castro, Affonso de (1867), ''As possesões Portuguezas na Oceania''. Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional. * Geoffrey C. Gunn (2011), ''Historical dictionary of East Timor''. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. * S. Müller (1857), ''Reizen en onderzoekingen in den Indischen Archipel'', Vol. II. Amsterdam: Muller. * H. G. Schulte Nordholt (1971), ''The Political System of the Atoni of Timor''. The Hague: M. Nijhoff. * Tom Therik (2004), ''Wehali, the Female Land: Traditions of a Timorese Ritual Centre''. ANU: Pandanus Books. History of East Timor

See also

References

Bibliography