Part 1

• Ritual Exchange in Timor-Leste: Regulation, Resistance, and Social Inequality in the Post-Independence Era Alberto Fidalgo-Castro Universidad Complutense de Madrid Susanna Barnes University of Saskatchewan

  This paper presents a comprehensive review of the current literature on the ritual exchanges in Timor-Leste, focusing particularly on “lia mate” (death rituals) and “lia moris” (life rituals) since the country’s independence. The literature reveals a complex picture of how these cultural practices, deeply rooted in the social fabric of East Timorese society, play a significant role in shaping socio-economic dynamics and community relations. he paper synthesizes findings on the role of state and non-state actors, including religious organizations, in influencing these ritual practices. It also explores intersections with issues such as sorcery accusations, domestic violence, and theft, examining how they may serve as mechanisms for both resisting and reinforcing the traditional exchange system. By aggregating insights across studies, this review aims to outline gaps in the current research and propose directions for future inquiries into the changing landscape of customary exchanges in Timor-Leste.

• Remittance and Exchange in Rural Timor-Leste Andrew McWilliam Western Sydney University

  Ritual Exchange and cycles of gift giving among networks of familial relatives remains a fundamental feature of contemporary Timorese society, especially across rural areas of the country where gift exchange and attendant debt obligations have traditionally provided sources of enduring social protection. The scale and intensity of ritual exchange among participating households is a reflection of their economic capacity to contribute desired resources to life cycle events (esp. births, deaths and marriages). In this respect practices of gift exchange reflect directly upon household status and renown. Wealthy households gain enhanced status and respect, while poor household’s lacking the financial capacity to contribute gifts lose status and more importantly, risk losing the social capital and implicit obligations that sustain the system. In this presentation I offer some perspectives on the dynamics of ritual exchange in the context of changing patterns of poverty and prosperity in rural Timor Leste. In the process I draw on several surveys highlighting the impacts of temporary international labour migration and the remittance economy on rural communities.

• Lo Le’a Lo Mata: Marriage, ritual exchange and power among the Naueti of Timor-Leste Josh Trindade University of Melbourne

  The Naueti people are a small ethnolinguistic group that live in the mountains of southeast coast of Timor-Leste. This paper describes rituals through which they mark occasions such as marriage and death, and the nature of the socio-economic and political compact they perpetuate. Drawing on the author’s own auto-ethnographic work in a Naueti speaking village, and seeking to counter ill-informed critiques of its ritual practice by local and foreign observers, the paper focuses on the concept of “lo le’a, lo mata” (lo = to make; le’a = matters, issues, sound, voice; mata = death) which encapsulates the traditional exchange of gifts and goods between families that has historically order its sociality. In particular the paper investigates how, although it is sometimes misunderstood as a form of ritual exchange related to marriage (barlaki), for the Naueti people “lo le’a, lo mata” is a much broader concept that continues to order social relations and resource distribution for decades after matrimony, and has a particularly important role in rituals related to birth and death. The paper uses a description of rituals associated with “lo le’a, lo mata” as a starting point to reflect on the tensions between customary norms and external interventions, shedding light on the complexities of navigating tradition and modernity in contemporary Timor-Leste.

Part 2

• The Suai Supply Base oil project: changes in the matrilineal transmission system in Kamanasa Brunna Crespi Independent

  In the kingdom of Kamanasa, in the south of Timor-Leste, access to land is often the result of alliances between the clans of the “original inhabitants” and new arrivals who, through marriage or friendship, have received permission to settle on the territory and use the land. This land is then used not only to support subsistence activities, but also to establish social networks and alliances, while continuing to be an essential element in the identity of local populations. The inhabitants of this kingdom have a system of matrilineal succession and uxorilocal residence, so it is the women who inherit and own the land, the house, sacred objects and other assets.
  Today, however, an oil infrastructure project called Suai Supply Base, located in the region of this kingdom, is changing the socio-political dynamics present in Kamanasa. By purchasing land that previously had a complex system of appropriation, the project has not only induced a process of monetarization unprecedented in the region, but is also beginning to change the alliance and power relationships between local clans. The aim of this article is therefore to present these changes and demonstrate how this reality poses a problem for the matrilineal transmission system and amplifies women’s vulnerability.

• Person, inequality and ritual Exchange in contemporary Timor-Leste Miguel dos Santos Filho University of Brasilia

  This paper presents an ethnographic analysis based on two events, namely, a life ritual
  (lia moris) and a death ritual (lia mate), in contemporary Timor-Leste. The events
  narrated are expressions of central importance for social reproduction and the continuity
  of the flows of life. Fitted into the language of reciprocity and obligation, lia mate and
  lia moris occupy a significant role in the social life of the different East Timorese
  communities. In this work, I discuss the role of these rituals in the constitution of
  relationalities and persons, indicating the notions of inequality and hierarchies as key
  categories. The discussion does not focus on a symbolic-structural analysis or even on
  the meanings of the rituals, but seeks to reflect on the practical dynamics between
  concrete subjects, which dimensionate the reproduction of relations based on inequality
  as a constitutive aspect of relationalities and persons.

• Social protection and state-citizen relations in Timor-Leste Kate Pruce Institute of Development Studies

  Social protection can be a tool for stabilisation in post-conflict settings and can also affect both state-society relations and citizen relationships within communities, with implications for state legitimacy. The government in Timor-Leste introduced several social protection programmes in response to civil unrest in 2006 that caused high levels of internal displacement and humanitarian crises. Government expenditure on social protection is high in Timor-Leste by regional and international standards, with the largest amount going to the veterans’ scheme. While there is an expectation that cash transfers provided by the government are spent on nutritious food, schooling and health to tackle poverty and inequality, these payments may also be used to contribute to customary exchanges such as the lia.

  This paper examines government and citizen perceptions of social assistance allocations in Timor-Leste, based on primary data from semi-structured key informant interviews with policy-makers, as well as workshops conducted with community members in selected districts. An innovative methodology is used combining a “lab-in-the-field” experiment to reveal perceptions and preferences among participants with focus groups discussions to gain qualitative insights into the results of the experimental data. Drawing on this mixed-methods data, the paper investigates how perceptions of fairness and deservingness may shape the design and targeting of social protection in a context where support for veterans is politically charged and difficult to change or remove. It also considers the ways in which government social protection interacts with customary exchange relations prevalent in Timor-Leste.

Abstract