Domingos Lafu (ASSISTANT), Melbana people, Baikenu language group, b.1994, Timor-Leste / Agus Klaen (ASSISTANT), Melbana people, Baikenu language group, b.unknown, Timor-Leste

In the coastal enclave of Oécussi, a deep-rooted faith in Timor-Leste’s ancestral belief system Lulik thrives. Lulik is a revered system of law that establishes the sacred rules and regulations to guide relationships between people and nature, ancestors and the cosmos. It defines moral standards, principles of indigenous stewardship of the land and other core values. Uma Lulik (sacred houses), once scattered across Timor-Leste, encapsulate this belief.

In recent years, Oécussi-based artist Mariano Lafu has begun to create non-sacred doors adorned with references to ancestor spirits and animals with totemic significance. Many are coated with a special mixture of soot (from the chimney of the Uma Lulik) and honey water, which gives them a black, ashen surface. Along with a group of ancestors, such as male and female Liurai (rulers) and human and animal spirits, these objects and figures commissioned for the Triennial highlight the extraordinary skill and knowledge of the artist and his community.